The Core Recommendation Ranking team at Microsoft AI Copilot Discover Engineering Org seeks a Principal Applied Scientist Architect to lead the integration of GenAI and agentic systems into their recommendation stack, enhancing content ranking for news feeds, interest feeds, video feeds, and AIGC. This senior technical leader will design and implement advanced ranking models using deep learning and large language models, architect scalable ML pipelines, and drive innovation in model architectures like LLM-enhanced ranking and reinforcement learning. They will collaborate with engineering, product, and applied science teams to ensure seamless delivery of intelligent recommendation systems for millions of users. The ideal candidate has extensive experience in building production-scale ML systems, expertise in recommendation systems, proficiency in PyTorch or TensorFlow, and a track record of leading cross-functional initiatives and publishing in top-tier AI conferences.
Skills
PyTorch
TensorFlow
LLM-based ranking
agentic AI
generative AI
recommendation systems
deep learning
modern ML frameworks
cloud-scale infrastructure
distributed pipelines
high-throughput online services
data processing systems
multi-tiered distributed services
large-scale data analytics
Spark
asynchronous programming
multi-objective optimization
CI/CD
What you'll do
Design and implement ranking models using deep learning and LLMs for large-scale content recommendation.
Architect next-generation ranking systems integrating generative recommendations and agentic feeds at scale.
Lead the development of efficient ML pipelines, including feature engineering and model governance standards.
Drive innovation in advanced model architectures like LLM-enhanced ranking and reinforcement learning.
Mentor junior team members to foster a culture of technical excellence and knowledge sharing.
What we're looking for
Extensive experience (8+ years) in applied science, deep learning, or related fields.
Expertise in recommendation systems, ranking models, search relevance, and personalization.
Proficiency in modern ML frameworks like PyTorch and TensorFlow.
Experience with large language model techniques and agentic AI for recommendations.
Solid architectural skills for designing large-scale ML systems and distributed pipelines.
Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional initiatives and influence technical direction.
Publications in top-tier ML/AI conferences such as NeurIPS, ICML, KDD.
Market check
Salary context
This
$139,900–$274,800
range sits above
67%
of similar postings on FindRole.
Peer median band
$139,900–$264,000
Median floor and ceiling across peers.
Typical midpoint (25–75%)
$166,200–$214,500
Middle half of comparable postings.
Based on 240 comparable postings.*
* 240 is the maximum number of comparable postings sampled.
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
451 open roles
on FindRole.
Listed pay typically runs
$119,800–$234,700
across 417 roles with salary data.
Python
Large Language Models (LLMs)
Data Science
Machine Learning
Evaluation Frameworks
Metric Development
Data Collection Pipelines
Content Classification
Code Optimization
Cross-Functional Collaboration
CI/CD