Principal Applied Scientist, CoreAI

Microsoft

Confirmed live yesterday High trust

Quick summary

Work type: On-site
Location: —
Salary: $142,800–$274,800 / yr
Posted: 165 days ago
Freshness: Confirmed live yesterday
Closes: Sep 26, 2026

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Salary context

Competitive pay

How this pay compares to similar roles

Similar $215k

This role $209k

$127k most similar roles pay here $291k

This role pays more than 56% of similar roles. Most pay $174,600–$254,812 — the shaded band above. At the midpoint, this role pays about $209k versus about $215k for comparable roles.

Based on 240 similar postings.

Employer

About Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology leader producing software, hardware, and cloud services including Windows, Office 365, Azure cloud platform, Xbox gaming, and Surface devices. Industry: Software & Cloud Computing

Microsoft currently has 598 open roles on FindRole.

Listed pay typically runs $119,800–$234,700 across 586 roles with salary data.

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At a glance

TL;DR · Principal Applied Scientist, CoreAI

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Principal Applied Scientist - CoreAI joins the CoreAI team to develop machine learning techniques that push the boundaries of safety, alignment, and trustworthy AI. Working at the intersection of cutting-edge research and production systems, the individual will collaborate across product, research, and engineering teams to design, build, and maintain responsible AI systems from early development through production monitoring. The role focuses on solving problems related to safe and secure AI infrastructure for large workloads. Key technical requirements include experience with large language models, deep learning, and transformer-based models. Candidates should possess a solid foundation in distributed systems, algorithms, and software engineering principles. Specific expertise is required in methods for training and fine-tuning LLMs, including distillation, supervised fine-tuning, and policy optimization, to ensure the delivery of reliable AI services across various flagship products.

What does a Applied Scientist earn?

Median $208800 from 47 postings across 10 companies.

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Skills

Machine Learning Large Language Models (LLMs) Deep Learning Azure AI Safety Supervised Fine-Tuning Distillation Policy Optimization Distributed Systems Algorithms Software Engineering Predictive Analytics Statistics Data Science

What you'll do

Develop machine learning techniques to improve AI safety, alignment, and trustworthiness.
Design and build responsible AI systems that operate at a global scale.
Manage the full lifecycle of AI products from early experimentation to production monitoring.
Implement methods for training and fine-tuning large language models (LLMs).
Apply supervised fine-tuning, distillation, and policy optimization techniques to model development.
Execute research and engineering tasks involving deep learning and transformer-based models.
Solve complex problems related to distributed systems and software engineering principles.

What we're looking for

Bachelor's degree with 6+ years of experience, Master's with 4+ years, or Doctorate with 3+ years in CS, Computational Linguistics, or related fields.
Equivalent professional experience to the specified educational and experience requirements is acceptable.
Ability to pass a Microsoft Cloud background check every two years.
Experience and familiarity with large language models (LLMs).
Solid foundation in large distributed systems, algorithms, and software engineering principles.
5+ years of experience in research, ML engineering, or an applied research scientist position, ideally focused on AI safety.
Hands-on experience with deep learning and transformer-based models.
Knowledge of LLM training and fine-tuning methods, including distillation, supervised fine-tuning, and policy optimization.

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