Principal Researcher

Our team in Microsoft Azure Artificial Intelligence (AI) Platform is at the forefront of developing multimodal AI technologies that combine language, vision, and other sensory inputs to power Microsoft AI products.

We offer these advanced models as services for both internal and external applications, driving innovation across the ecosystem. We collaborate extensively with OpenAI and numerous Microsoft product teams, including Copilot and Office.

We are seeking a Principal Researcher who is passionate, creative, and analytical individual contributor with a background in large-scale multimodal modeling.

In this role, you will focus on adapting and grounding multimodal models for product-driven scenarios, integrating text, images, and potentially other data types to create powerful and adaptable AI solutions.

Your work will involve developing deep learning techniques to enhance custom copilot experiences by efficiently adapting large-scale multimodal models. This includes a range of adaptation strategies such as supervised fine-tuning, multimodal fusion, and post-training with Reinforcement Learning.

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.

In alignment with our Microsoft values, we are committed to cultivating an inclusive work environment for all employees to positively impact our culture every day.

Responsibilities

• Development of multimodal model customization and large-scale training, integrating language, vision, and other data modalities
• Data preparation, training, and evaluation of multimodal customization tasks
• Collaboration with Microsoft product groups to integrate multimodal AI solutions across applications
• Multimodal research and innovation; staying updated with the latest advancements in deep learning, multimodal fusion, and cross-modal interactions.

Other:

• Embody our Culture and Values

Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

• Doctorate in relevant field AND 3+ years related research experience
  • OR equivalent experience.

• Experience in machine learning, deep learning, or multimodal research (e.g., language-vision integration, cross-modal learning)

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:

• Extensive experience with multimodal foundation models, including vision-language integration, audio-visual modeling, and large-scale multimodal training
• Publication record in top-tier conferences focused on multimodal models, vision-language fusion, or large language models
• Proficiency in programming languages such as Python, and experience with machine learning frameworks like PyTorch and Triton
• Experience working with large, complex datasets and developing data pipelines for multimodal training
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate within interdisciplinary teams and communicate complex, multimodal research concepts effectively

Research Sciences IC5 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $139,900 - $274,800 per year. There is a different range applicable to specific work locations, within the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, and the base pay range for this role in those locations is USD $188,000 - $304,200 per year.

Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here: https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/us-corporate-pay

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances.  We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or the recruiting process, please send a request via the Accommodation request form.

Benefits/perks listed below may vary depending on the nature of your employment with Microsoft and the country where you work.

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