Viva Insights leads organizations through their AI transformation journey by measuring how people and organizations work with state-of-the-art AI technologies and realizing the impact of AI integration into their work processes. The Viva Insights Product Analytics, Data and Applied Science team leverages advanced analytics, ML/AI techniques, organization science and behavioral research to find new ways to measure human behavior, drive impactful improvements to the Viva Insights product, and conduct research to discover new interventions to help our customers reach their business goals.

We are seeking a Principal Applied Scientist to join our team of Applied Scientists and Data Scientists. If you are interested in being part of a team that bridges the gap between research and product to help our customers thrive in the age of AI, come join us!

In this role you will conduct and source research needed to back Viva Insights product directions with science and uncover innovative ideas for product growth. This role is ideal for someone who thrives at the intersection of research and product, and who is passionate about using organization science, computational social science, behavioral analytics, and AI to shape the future of work. You will lead initiatives that drive product innovation, customer impact, and scientific credibility in the organizational productivity space.

This role is located on-site at the Redmond campus, and supports up to 50% work from home and minimum 50% work in the office.

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

Product Strategy & Scientific Grounding: Shape product direction by integrating rigorous scientific methods into the product lifecycle. Use applied science and data analysis to identify opportunities for innovation and guide investment decisions.

AI Transformation & Agentic Systems: Lead initiatives that leverage AI and agentic technologies to empower employees and organizations. Apply advanced behavioral analytics, ML/AI techniques and experimentation to understand and solve strategic business problems. Develop and evaluate prototypes with target users and integrate into product.
Customer-Centric Innovation: Engage directly with customers to understand their needs and translate them into actionable insights that inform product development and strategy. Ensure that AI research and development align with customer expectations and business goals.
Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with product managers, UX researchers, and engineers to embed scientific thinking into every stage of product development. Mentor scientists and contribute to a culture of scientific excellence and innovation.
Thought Leadership: Represent Microsoft internally and externally through scholarly publications, talks, and collaborations that showcase our leadership in AI-driven organizational transformation.

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.

Experienced developing and deploying working prototypes to gather early feedback. Ability to integrate prototype code into production code.
Experienced building consumer and/or enterprise grade AI solutions (ex: M365 Copilot).
Experienced in Foundational models (fine tuning LLMs/SLMs), Agentic Systems, NLP, Causal Inference, Behavioral analytics and experimentation, Organizational Network Analysis.
Experienced in incubation and experimentation, with a focus on leveraging behavioral collaboration data to solve strategic business problems.
A record of publication in top-tier scientific venues (ongoing or in the recent past) (e.g., NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, ACL, NAACL, EMNLP, KDD, WWW, CHI, PNAS, Nature).
Experience applying research with leveraging large-scale application of new ideas over theory and prototypes.

Preferred Qualifications:

Experience with working with customers directly to understand their problems and exploring solutions within the context of the product.
Self-driven and show the ability to deliver on ambiguous projects with incomplete data.
Problem-solving skills and ability to join qualitative and quantitative thinking with an obsession for improving our customer experience.
Communications & interpersonal skills. Ability to communicate complex analysis & insights to senior leaders and business decision makers, as well as practitioners and academic researchers.

Applied 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 will accept applications for the role until August 21, 2025.

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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