Senior Machine Learning Applied Scientist - Languages & Intelligence

Overview

You’ll sit inside Microsoft’s most advanced AI and search organization, a collective of creators, engineers, and product teams building the next generation of human‑centered AI. The Microsoft AI org is built on quality, simplicity, and trust and consists of global products like Copilot, Bing, Edge, Clarity, SwiftKey and MSN.

You’ll join the team that powers how hundreds of millions of people communicate every day - directly shaping the intelligence behind SwiftKey’s language understanding and AI-driven input experiences.

As a Senior Applied Scientist in SwiftKey’s Languages & Intelligence team, you will be responsible for how we design, experiment with, and productionize advanced language and input-intelligence models that power seamless typing, prediction, multilingual expression, and AI-assisted user experiences across hundreds of millions of devices. You will operate under real‑world constraints such as personalization at scale, global linguistic diversity, privacy‑preserving learning, and the unique challenges different surfaces present, particularly on mobile. You’ll partner with engineering teams across Microsoft and external OEMs, applying cutting-edge research techniques to deliver measurable product impact in a place where your ideas quickly turn into global impact. In this role, you become the bridge between research and shipped product, using your expertise to turn novel ideas into durable, user-facing capabilities.

This opportunity will allow you to accelerate your technical depth in largescale applied ML, develop cross-domain product thinking, and hone your ability to translate research insights into high-quality engineering outcomes.

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.

Starting January 26, 2026, MAI employees are expected to work from a designated Microsoft office at least four days a week if they live within 50 miles (U.S.) or 25 miles (non-U.S., country-specific) of that location. This expectation is subject to local law and may vary by jurisdiction.

Responsibilities

Utilise your deep understanding of one or more sub‑areas of applied ML, developing deep expertise in advanced research techniques while building broad understanding of related services, platforms, and domains. Identify emerging product needs by continuously tracking industry trends and applied technologies.

Translate business requirements into research‑driven solutions, shaping the strategic direction for data usage and applying deep subject‑matter knowledge to deliver measurable product and business impact.

Be responsible for the technical excellence across the team by onboarding and mentoring junior scientists, supporting their growth into multidisciplinary contributors, and helping develop future talent through collaboration with academic partners.

Design, run, and document experiments end‑to‑end, clearly communicating insights, trade‑offs, and results to promote innovation, influence design choices, and accelerate research‑to‑product delivery.

Commit to responsible AI practices, applying strong understanding of fairness, bias, and privacy‑preserving techniques to influence data collection, model development, and research processes.

Collaborate closely with engineering, product, and cross‑org partners to operationalize research work, align on requirements, and ensure models and techniques are production‑ready at global scale.

Continuously refine scientific and engineering rigor, contributing to frameworks, tooling, and best practices that improve reproducibility, efficiency, and quality across research workflows.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

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

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

OR equivalent experience.

Proven experience owning the full lifecycle of production ML systems, from research through deployment. Strong Python and/or C++ skills and experience with PyTorch or TensorFlow. Production inference technologies (e.g., ONNX) are a plus.

Experience conducting applied research that operates under real‑world constraints, including personalization, global linguistic diversity, privacy‑preserving learning, and mobile‑oriented research contexts (e.g., on‑device modeling, resource‑constrained inference).

Strong English written and verbal communication skills.

Additional or Preferred Qualifications

Master's Degree in Statistics, Econometrics, Computer Science, Electrical

OR Computer Engineering,

OR related field AND related experience (e.g., statistics, predictive analytics, research)

OR Doctorate in Statistics, Econometrics, Computer Science, Electrical

OR Computer Engineering,

OR related field AND related experience (e.g., statistics, predictive analytics, research)

OR equivalent experience.

Experience creating publications (e.g., patents, libraries, peer-reviewed academic papers).

Experience presenting at conferences or other events in the outside research/industry community as an invited speaker.

Experience conducting research as part of a research program (in academic or industry settings).

#MicrosoftAI

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.