Overview
Join Microsoft AI in building one of the world’s most advanced foundation models. Our mission is to push the boundaries of scale, performance, and deployment, creating frontier AI systems that power transformative experiences across Microsoft.
The Multimodal team tackles some of the most challenging problems in deep learning at scale. Our work forms the backbone of initiatives across Microsoft AI, enabling breakthroughs that shape the future of AI.
What We’re Looking For
We seek exceptional individuals who:
- Bring proven expertise, demonstrated through impactful publications or technical leadership on high-scale projects.
- Possess strong analytical skills, attention to detail, and a data-driven approach to decision-making.
- Have experience with large-scale distributed systems and scalable architectures.
- Thrive in fast-paced, collaborative environments and embrace innovation.
Microsoft Superintelligence Team
Microsoft Superintelligence team’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.
This role is part of Microsoft AI's Superintelligence Team. The MAIST is a startup-like team inside Microsoft AI, created to push the boundaries of AI toward Humanist Superintelligence—ultra-capable systems that remain controllable, safety-aligned, and anchored to human values. Our mission is to create AI that amplifies human potential while ensuring humanity remains firmly in control. We aim to deliver breakthroughs that benefit society—advancing science, education, and global well-being.
We’re also fortunate to partner with incredible product teams giving our models the chance to reach billions of users and create immense positive impact. If you’re a brilliant, highly-ambitious and low ego individual, you’ll fit right in—come and join us as we work on our next generation of models!
Starting January 26, 2026, MAI employees are expected to work from a designated Microsoft office at least four days a week if they live within 50 miles (U.S.) or 25 miles (non-U.S., country-specific) of that location. This expectation is subject to local law and may vary by jurisdiction.
Responsibilities
- Develop algorithms, design model architectures, conduct experiments, champion measurement and evaluation, innovate datasets and data pipelines.
- Improve training and deployment efficiency, paying careful attention to detail, persevering, and learning from everyone’s attempts whether successful or not.
- Follow a rigorous data-driven approach grounded in meticulous ablation studies and scientific analysis.
- Innovate and iterate over ideas, prototypes, and product.
- Collaborate closely with teams on infrastructure, data engineering, pre-training, post-training, and product feedback.
- Advance the AI frontier responsibly.
- Embody our culture and values.
Qualifications
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's Degree in AI, Computer Science, Data Science, Statistics, Physics, Engineering, or related technical discipline AND 4+ years technical engineering experience with coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python
Preferred Qualifications:
Master's Degree in in AI, Computer Science, Data Science, Statistics, Physics, Engineering, or related technical discipline AND 8+ years technical engineering experience with coding in languages including, but not limited to, Python and common data libraries (Pandas, NumPy, etc.)
Experience with large-scale AI systems — design and deployment of distributed architectures, multimodal or conversational models; proficiency with ML frameworks (e.g., PyTorch, TensorFlow) and cloud/HPC environments (e.g., Azure).
Expertise in data engineering for foundation models — multimodal dataset design, curation, annotation pipelines, quality evaluation, bias detection, and understanding of privacy, compliance, and Responsible AI principles.
Background in LLM interaction and deployment — practical work in prompt engineering, safety-aligned evaluation, and integration of conversational AI into production systems.
Cross-functional collaboration and communication — ability to produce clear technical documentation, partner with engineering, product, and design teams, and contribute to knowledge sharing; demonstrated application of emerging AI technologies and best practices.
Software Engineering 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
Software Engineering IC5 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $139,900 - $274,800 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 $188,000 - $304,200 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.**