Senior Data & Applied Scientist
Microsoft
The Windows and Devices mission is to build innovative, trusted, and open products and platforms that are centered on people, showcase the best of Microsoft, and empower every person and organization on the planet to achieve more. To achieve this mission, Microsoft Devices designs and manufactures 1st party premium hardware products including Surface, Xbox Gaming, HoloLens and Accessories. From product creation through product delivery, we innovate technology and processes across our supply and manufacturing base. Within the Windows and Devices (W+D) organization, we are the Microsoft Devices Operations (MDO) organization.
Our mission to enrich work, life, and play by bringing iconic Microsoft products to life, and we accomplish this by managing a highly leveraged, fully digitized supply base that meets our product and business goals. As part of our scope, we manage New Product Introduction, Product Engineering, Strategic Sourcing, Global Manufacturing Operations, Manufacturing Test & Infrastructure (MTI), Supply Chain, and Device Services.
The AI Engineering team within MDO develops and deploys leading AI experiences that directly impact how Microsoft designs, plans, sources, manufactures, and delivers devices at global scale. Our multidisciplinary team - spanning data science, software engineering, and data engineering - delivers production solutions using Generative AI, ML/Deep Learning, mathematical optimization, and simulation, applied to real operational decisions with measurable impact.
You will be a Senior Data & Applied Scientist and are a senior AI/ML practitioner who has shipped production systems in complex operational environments - ideally in supply chain, manufacturing, or sourcing. You combine deep technical expertise with business judgment to know which problems are worth solving and the engineering discipline to deliver solutions that last.
You navigate ambiguity comfortably, influence technical direction across teams, and hold yourself and others to high standards of rigor and impact.
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
As a Senior Data & Applied Scientist within the AI Engineering team, you will:
Strategic Problem Framing & Partnership
Partner with business stakeholders, Solution Managers, TPMs, and engineering teams to deeply understand business context, identify high-value AI opportunities, and design intelligent solutions that deliver measurable business outcomes.
Frame complex operational problems into well-defined analytical and technical approaches, bridging business needs with production-ready AI capabilities.
Technical Execution & Architecture
• Architect and build production-grade AI systems (ML/DL, GenAI, optimization) using Azure AI, open-source, and custom models with full ownership from prototype to deployment.
• Drive engineering excellence: establish standards for code quality, MLOps, observability, testing, and secure deployment across the team.
Influence & Thought Leadership
• Evaluate emerging AI tools/frameworks; advise on adoption decisions.
• Represent MDO as a technical SME in cross-Microsoft AI initiatives.
Mentor and coach team members, raising the technical bar and fostering rigorous, inclusive innovation.
Qualifications
Required Qualifications:
- Bachelor'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 Master's Degree in Statistics, Econometrics, Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering, or related field AND 3+ years related experience (e.g., statistics, predictive analytics, research) OR Doctorate in Statistics, Econometrics, Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering, or related field AND 1+ year(s) related experience (e.g., statistics, predictive analytics, research) OR equivalent experience.
Preferred qualification:
- 6+ years of professional experience delivering production AI/ML systems, including end-to-end model development, deployment, and monitoring.
- Hands-on experience with Azure-native platforms: Fabric, Kusto, Databricks, Synapse, Azure ML Studio.
- Background in supply chain, manufacturing, or hardware operations - understanding of demand planning, yield optimization, or logistics is a strong plus.
- Experience building and maintaining MLOps infrastructure: CI/CD for models, automated retraining, drift detection, and rollout strategies.
- Strong systems thinking — able to make pragmatic trade-offs between model performance, engineering cost, and operational simplicity.
- Experience with optimization methods (linear/mixed-integer programming, simulation) applied to operational problems.
- Strong proficiency in Python and SQL; hands-on experience with cloud ML platforms (Azure ML, Databricks, or equivalent).
- Experience with GenAI/LLM systems in production: RAG pipelines, prompt engineering, fine-tuning, or LLMOps (model versioning, evaluation, monitoring).
- Demonstrated ability to work across engineering, product, and business teams to deliver outcomes not just models.
- Track record of communicating complex technical work to non-technical stakeholders in a clear, decision-ready manner.
#W+DJOBS
Applied Sciences IC4 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $119,800 - $234,700 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 $158,400 - $258,000 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
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.