Senior Researcher - AI Agents - Microsoft Research

Microsoft Corporation

Redmond, WA

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JOB DETAILS

SALARY

$119,800–$234,700 Per Year

SKILLS

Artificial Intelligence (AI), Artificial Intelligence (AI) Agents, Benchmarking, Communication Skills, Computer Science, Cross-Functional, Customer/Client Research, Data Analysis, Ecosystems, Engineering, GitHub, Human Interaction, Identify Issues, Integrated Circuits (ICs), Machine Tool, Microsoft Product Family, Open Source, Options Analysis, Power Amplifier, Problem Solving Skills, Product Development, Prototyping, Publications, Reinforcement Learning, Research & Development (R&D), Research Skills, Scientific Method, Scientific Research, Software Engineering, Team Player, User Interface/Experience (UI/UX), Writing Skills

LOCATION

Redmond, WA

POSTED

30+ days ago

**Overview** **Microsoft Research (MSR)** **?** **AI Frontiers** ?is inviting applications for a? **Senior?Researcher** to join our team. At MSR AI Frontiers, we pursue ambitious research to advance AI in areas such as modeling, algorithms, agents, and agentic systems. We foster a vibrant environment for multidisciplinary work with an open publication policy, close ties to leading academic institutions, and a commitment to impact beyond research. We regularly release open-source models, libraries, and tools to accelerate community progress, while also working within Microsoft's ecosystem to ship AI technologies across multiple products, ensuring our innovations create real-world value for people. We are seeking exceptional candidates to advance the state-of-the-art in agentic systems and ecosystems. Relevant projects from our lab include agentic systems (e.g., Magentic-UI (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/publication/orca-progressive-learning-from-complex-explanation-traces-of-gpt-4/) , Magentic-One (https://aka.ms/magentic-one-blog) ), ecosystems (e.g., Magentic Marketplace (https://aka.ms/magentic-marketplace-blog) ), frameworks (e.g., AutoGen (https://devblogs.microsoft.com/autogen/autogen-reimagined-launching-autogen-0-4/) ), models (e.g., Phi (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/publication/phi-4-reasoning-technical-report/) , Orca (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/publication/orca-progressive-learning-from-complex-explanation-traces-of-gpt-4/) ) and tools (e.g., AgentInstruct (https://arxiv.org/abs/2407.03502) , AutoGen Studio (https://microsoft.github.io/autogen/0.2/blog/2023/12/01/AutoGenStudio/) ). Focus areas for this position include, but are not limited to, the following: + Agentic Systems. Building state-of-the-art agentic systems, applications, and environments. + Agent Ecosystems. Building agent-native ecosystems (e.g., frontier firms, agentic markets) where agents can effectively collaborate alongside people and other agents. + Advanced Agentic Capabilities. Post-training models for advanced agentic capabilities, including reinforcement learning, fine-tuning, self-play, and synthetic data generation. + Human-Agent Interaction. Creating novel human-agent interaction techniques and experiences. + Evaluation & Tooling. Developing evaluation benchmarks, methods, and tooling for agentic capabilities. + Responsible AI. Ensuring agents operate safely and responsibly while delivering real value to people. As a **Senior Researcher** on our team, you will work hands-on on challenging and impactful projects. You will apply your strong technical skills and expertise to build practical solutions to real world problems. Additionally, you will collaborate closely with other researchers and engineers across the company to amplify your impact and grow your career in a supportive and stimulating environment. **Responsibilities** + **Outcome Driven Innovation-** The ability to strategically recognize and address unmet needs in industry or knowledge and to create novel, practical, and effective solutions to these unmet needs. This involves the ability to work backwards in research and development, focusing more heavily on the problem to lead to a solution rather than creating something highly original but lacking in application potential. + **Collaborative Innovation-** Knowledge of others' expertise and the ability to involve multiple players (within and outside the organization) in the creation or development of novel products, processes, or research streams. + **Problem Solving-** The ability to identify problems and review related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions. + **Decision Making-** The ability to make decisions in a fast-paced, rapidly changing environment. This includes the ability to define, diagnose, and determine an appropriate resolution, recommendation, or decision while considering alternatives and factors (e.g., resources, costs, tradeoffs). + **Scientific Method-** Knowledge of and the ability to use an empirical method of acquiring knowledge. This involves careful observation, applying rigorous skepticism about what is observed, formulating a question or hypothesis, testing the hypothesis through experimentation, drawing conclusions, reporting results, and evaluating the process and retesting the hypothesis. **Qualifications** Required Qualifications: + Doctorate (or currently pursuing) in Computer Science or related fields + OR equivalent experience Preferred Qualifications: + Publication record as a lead author or essential contributor at top venues such as: CHI, NeurIPS, UIST, ICML, ICLR, ACL, EMNLP, CVPR, AAAI, ICAPS. + Doctorate?in?Computer Science?or relevant field?AND?2?years related research experience? + OR equivalent experience.?? + Hands-on experience working with large foundation models (e.g., OpenAI GPT models, LLAMA etc) and state-of-the-art AI/ML frameworks and toolkits (e.g., Pytorch, Tensorflow, Langchain, AutoGen). + Demonstrated software engineering experience building and deploying prototypes, applications, or open-source technologies. Providing a link to GitHub profile (if available) and/or code samples, is highly encouraged. + Hands-on experience evaluating AI models or systems (e.g., running benchmark experiments or user studies, analyzing data). + Experience working in multi-disciplinary teams along with a team player mindset, characterized by effective communication, collaboration, and feedback skills. + Reference letters are welcomed, though they are not mandatory. Please include them if available. Research Sciences IC4 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $119,800.00 - $234,700.00 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 $160,200.00 - $261,000.00 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. (https://careers.microsoft.com/v2/global/en/accessibility.html)

About the Company

Microsoft Corporation

DO WHAT YOU LOVE
Make your mark on the world’s most used technologies. Develop the next hit mobile application. Pioneer a startup that could be the next big thing. At Microsoft, you choose your path.

Headquartered in Redmond, Washington, Microsoft is a top innovator in both the consumer and enterprise technology industry. Just a few of the many things our products do are unleash creativity, connect businesses, and make learning more fun. But our continued success is based on one thing: our employees. We hire amazing, talented people and give them the opportunities—and the tools—to succeed.

WHY MICROSOFT?
As a Microsoft employee, you’re surrounded by a diverse group of the smartest people in your field. This fosters new ideas, better business results, and creates a dynamic work environment. In the office, you’re constantly challenged and supported by your colleagues. Every day holds something new and exciting.

We also offer unparalleled depth and breadth of career opportunities. As an industry leader in multiple fields, working for Microsoft means being able to do whatever you feel passionate about—and being able to make an impact in that field. From day one, we give our employees significant responsibility. This means that you’ll know that you directly contributed to something that has a positive impact on people worldwide. Whether you choose to work in management, dive deep into the newest technology, or explore multiple professions, you’ll find everything you need at Microsoft to drive your career—and to make a difference.

WE GET IT – YOU’RE MORE THAN YOUR JOB
Everyone works differently and is motivated by different things. We also understand that there’s more to you than your job. That’s why we offer competitive pay and a wide assortment of benefits-- to help you make the most of life at work and away from it.

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COMPANY SIZE

10,000 employees or more

INDUSTRY

Other/Not Classified

FOUNDED

1975

WEBSITE

http://www.microsoft.com

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