We are looking for a Principal Applied Science Manager to build and lead a high-performing team delivering breakthrough applied machine learning and information retrieval solutions at enterprise scale. This role is a unique opportunity to apply state-of-the-art techniques—including dense retrieval, hybrid search, multilingual large language models (LLMs), RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation), and transformer-based re-ranking models—to solve complex challenges in Copilot-driven enterprise search.

As a technical and people leader, you’ll be responsible for delivering mission-critical innovations that directly improve Copilot experiences. Your team will work on:

• Adapting advanced vector search algorithms (e.g., FAISS, ANN, ScaNN) for enterprise-scale semantic retrieval
• Improving classic and neural keyword search quality through deep language understanding
• Designing and training relevance models, including LLM fine-tuning and learning-to-rank (LTR) approaches
• Building robust evaluation pipelines using offline metrics and online A/B experimentation
• Driving cross-org collaboration with platform partners, other applied science teams, and product teams across time zones

This is a highly impactful role requiring a mix of technical depth, strategic execution, and people management to shape the next generation of AI-powered search experiences.

At Microsoft, we are united by our mission to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. We foster a culture driven by growth mindset, collaboration, and inclusive innovation, rooted in our core values of respect, integrity, and accountability.

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.