Microsoft

Builds workplace software, PCs and cloud services

Senior Applied Scientist

Applied Machine LearningConfirmed live in the last 24 hours

Full-timeLondon, UK£74.7k - £122.6k /yrIn-person

About the Job

Requirements

A bachelor's degree in Statistics, Econometrics, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field and 4 or more years of related experience; or a master's degree in one of these fields and 2 or more years of related experience; or a doctorate in one of these fields; or equivalent experience.
Experience applying machine learning, natural language processing, or information retrieval techniques to search or recommendation problems.
Experience using data analysis and offline or online evaluation to diagnose metrics, user journeys, and model behavior, and to improve product quality.
Applied machine learning engineering experience using Python and modern machine learning frameworks such as PyTorch.
Hands-on experience with dense or vector retrieval and text embeddings, including bi-encoders, approximate nearest-neighbor search, contrastive training, or hard-negative training.
Familiarity with information retrieval fundamentals and retrieval evaluation, including recall@k and nDCG metrics, offline evaluation pipelines, and interpretation of A/B test results.
Experience fine-tuning or adapting transformer or large language models for a specific domain, including domain adaptation, distillation, parameter-efficient fine-tuning, and curation of clean in-domain training data.
Solid applied machine learning engineering skills in Python and PyTorch, with experience running large-scale training and evaluation jobs on cloud or GPU clusters.
Ability to meet Microsoft, customer, or government security screening requirements, including passing the Microsoft Cloud Background Check upon hire or transfer and every two years thereafter.

Responsibilities

Research and evaluate tools, technologies, and methods from the community that can improve the quality, performance, or efficiency of M365 Copilot Chat and Search, and apply them to deliver business impact.
Build deep knowledge of the M365 Copilot Search service while staying current with industry trends and advances in applied machine learning; consult with engineers and product teams to apply advanced concepts to search quality improvements.
Mine data to identify opportunities to apply state-of-the-art algorithms that improve M365 Copilot search quality; apply statistical analysis to map user journeys, evaluate deployed model behavior, validate assumptions about evaluation results, and communicate insights to the team.
Develop expertise in search relevance, natural language processing, and data-driven analysis, including relevant research literature and techniques; use this understanding to identify, adapt, or create research-backed, novel, data-driven, scalable, and extensible solutions that improve M365 Copilot Chat and Search quality.
Build collaborative relationships with product and business groups across Microsoft, contributing expertise and technology to create business impact; this may include authoring papers, developing and maintaining internal tools and services, and publishing research.

Desired Qualifications

Experience applying machine learning, natural language processing, or information retrieval techniques to search or recommendation problems.
Experience using data analysis and offline or online evaluation to diagnose metrics, user journeys, and model behavior, and to improve product quality.
Applied machine learning engineering experience using Python and modern machine learning frameworks such as PyTorch.
Hands-on experience with dense or vector retrieval and text embeddings, including bi-encoders, approximate nearest-neighbor search, contrastive training, or hard-negative training.
Familiarity with information retrieval fundamentals and retrieval evaluation, including recall@k and nDCG metrics, offline evaluation pipelines, and interpretation of A/B test results.
Experience fine-tuning or adapting transformer or large language models for a specific domain, including domain adaptation, distillation, parameter-efficient fine-tuning, and curation of clean in-domain training data.
Solid applied machine learning engineering skills in Python and PyTorch, with experience running large-scale training and evaluation jobs on cloud or GPU clusters.

Overview

Do you want to be part of a team that delivers innovative products and machine learning solutions to hundreds of millions of users across Microsoft every month? The Copilot Agent & Search Quality team is at the forefront of the core Copilot experiences across Microsoft products, including Copilot Chat and Search, helping users find the right information in their organization and accelerating their productivity.

As a Senior Applied Scientist, you will work alongside other scientists to solve problems that delight Copilot Search and Chat users. Examples include adapting state-of-the-art vector search algorithms to the enterprise domain, and applying advanced ML to improve the retrieval quality of business-critical information by jointly optimizing query understanding and the retrieval algorithm. You will also partner closely with our platform team to accelerate the evaluation of retrieval algorithms at scale.

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

Research and evaluate tools, technologies, and methods from the community that can improve the quality, performance, or efficiency of M365 Copilot Chat and Search, and apply them to deliver business impact.
Build deep knowledge of the M365 Copilot Search service while staying current with industry trends and advances in applied ML. Consult with engineers and product teams to apply advanced concepts to search quality improvements.
Mine data to identify opportunities to apply state-of-the-art algorithms that improve M365 Copilot search quality. Apply statistical analysis to map user journeys, evaluate the behavior of deployed models, validate assumptions about evaluation results, and communicate insights to the team.
Develop expertise in search relevance, NLP, and data-driven analysis, along with the relevant research literature and techniques. Use this understanding to identify, adapt, or create research-backed solutions—novel, data-driven, scalable, and extensible—that improve M365 Copilot Chat and Search quality.
Build collaborative relationships with product and business groups across Microsoft, contributing expertise and technology that create business impact. This may include authoring papers, developing and maintaining internal tools and services, and publishing research.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

Bachelor's Degree in Statistics, Econometrics, Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering, or related field AND 4+ years related experience
- OR Master's Degree in Statistics, Econometrics, Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering, or related field AND 2+ year(s) related experience
- OR Doctorate in Statistics, Econometrics, Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering, or related field
- 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:

Experience applying machine learning, NLP, or information retrieval techniques to search or recommendation problems.
Experience using data analysis and offline/online evaluation to diagnose metrics, user journeys, model behavior and improve product quality.
Applied ML engineering experience using Python and modern ML frameworks such as PyTorch.
Hands-on experience with dense/vector retrieval and text embeddings, including bi-encoders, approximate nearest-neighbor search, contrastive training, or hard-negative training.
Familiarity with information retrieval fundamentals and retrieval evaluation, including metrics such as recall@k and nDCG, offline evaluation pipelines, and interpretation of A/B test results.
Experience fine-tuning or adapting transformer or large language models for a specific domain, including domain adaptation, distillation, parameter-efficient fine-tuning, and curation of clean in-domain training data.
Solid applied ML engineering skills in Python and PyTorch, with experience running large-scale training and evaluation jobs on cloud or GPU clusters.

#CAP #Copilot

Applied Sciences IC4 - The typical base pay range for this role across United Kingdom is £ 74,700.00 - £ 122,600.00 per year. Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation.

Find additional benefits and pay information here:
https://careers.microsoft.com/v2/global/en/corporate-pay/united-kingdom-corporate-pay.html

This position will be open for a minimum of 5 days, with applications accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled.

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, immigration status, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran or military status, race, ethnicity, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance with religious accommodations and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, read more about requesting accommodations.

About the Company

Microsoft

Builds workplace software, PCs and cloud services

Microsoft builds workplace software, operating systems and cloud infrastructure for consumers, businesses and government agencies, from small organizations to global enterprises. Microsoft 365 combines Word and Excel with Teams communication and Copilot AI features, while Windows runs PCs and Surface supplies the company's own computers. Azure rents computing capacity, storage and databases to build and run web applications. Microsoft also sells Xbox consoles and games, collecting revenue through software licenses, subscriptions, usage charges and product sales. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft is headquartered in Redmond, Washington.

Company size: 10,001+
Company stage: IPO
Headquarters: Redmond, WA
Founded: 1975

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