Principal Applied Scientist

** Overview*
* We are looking for a  
** Principal Applied Scientist
** to help define, evaluate, and build the next generation of AI-powered product experiences. This role requires a leader who combines deep applied science expertise in  
** LLMs, evaluation systems, AI, MLOps, experimentation, and software engineering
** with strong product judgment and a proven ability to ship high-quality AI solutions.

You will play a critical role in shaping how AI capabilities are developed, measured, improved, and brought into production. The ideal candidate has experience building AI-based products end to end, defining what success looks like for customers and the business, and creating rigorous evaluation frameworks that guide fast, high-confidence product iteration.

Microsoft's mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. As employees we come together with a growth mindset, innovate to empower others, and collaborate to realize our shared goals. Each day we build on our values of respect, integrity, and accountability to create a culture of inclusion where everyone can thrive at work and beyond.

** Responsibilities*
* + Lead applied science strategy for AI-powered product areas, from ambiguous opportunity identification through experimentation, launch, and continuous improvement.

+ Define  
** what success looks like for AI product experiences** , including customer value, quality thresholds, reliability, safety, engagement, and measurable business impact.

+ Design and operationalize  
** LLM evaluation frameworks across the product development lifecycle** , including early prototyping, model/prompt iteration, feature development, pre-launch validation, launch readiness, and post-launch monitoring.

+ Build evaluation methodologies for  
** LLM-based, agentic, retrieval-augmented, and multimodal AI systems** , including text, image, document, audio, video, and interaction-based experiences where applicable.

+ Develop robust  
** offline experimentation and evaluation pipelines
** to compare models, prompts, system designs, retrieval strategies, grounding quality, tool use, and end-to-end product behavior.

+ Partner closely with  
** engineering and PM leadership
** to align science priorities with product strategy, roadmap decisions, customer needs, and execution plans.

+ Work with software engineering teams to product ionize AI systems with strong attention to reliability, scalability, latency, observability, maintainability, and MLOps best practices.

+ Drive fast iteration cycles by forming hypotheses, defining metrics, running experiments, interpreting results, and recommending clear product or technical actions.

+ Establish quality bars and decision-making frameworks for AI launches, including evaluation scorecards, regression testing, guardrail metrics, and responsible AI considerations.

+ Mentor scientists and engineers, raise the technical bar, and influence cross-team best practices for AI development, experimentation, and evaluation.

+ Communicate findings, tradeoffs, risks, and recommendations clearly to technical and non-technical stakeholders.

** Qualifications*
* *
* Required Qualifications:

*
* + Bachelor's Degree in Statistics, Econometrics, Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering, or related field AND 6+ years related experience (e.g., statistics, predictive analytics, research)

+ OR Master's Degree in Statistics, Econometrics, Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering, or related field AND 4+ years related experience (e.g., statistics, predictive analytics, research)

+ OR Doctorate in Statistics, Econometrics, Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering, or related field AND 3+ years related experience (e.g., statistics, predictive analytics, research)

+ OR equivalent experience.

** Other Requirements:*
* + Ability to meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security screening requirements are required for this role. These requirements include but are not limited to the following specialized security screenings:

+ Microsoft Cloud Background Check:
This position will be required to pass the Microsoft Cloud background check upon hire/transfer and every two years thereafter.

*
* Preferred Qualifications:

*
* + Master's Degree in Statistics, Econometrics, Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering, or related field AND 13+ years related experience (e.g., statistics, predictive analytics, research)

+ OR Doctorate in Statistics, Econometrics, Computer Science,…