Education Insights is looking for a highly motivated and experienced Principal Data Scientist  to join our team! The Education Insights team in Microsoft Education builds and operates experiences to empower and delight learners and educators for the betterment of education of millions of users worldwide. 

 
The successful candidate will have strong engineering capabilities with high Python proficiency and a deep understanding and experience in machine learning and AI. You will work closely with cross-functional teams to create cutting edge LLM-based experiences, make decisions using data and be responsible for developing innovative solutions that drive towards the future of AI in education. We are looking for enthusiastic and creative thinkers and doers to join us in meeting the challenge of shipping AI products that meet the needs of learners in a changing world.

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.

Responsibilities

• Adopt, contribute to, and improve the team’s existing technical stack and infrastructure to build differentiated features in the Education space. 

• Stay up to date with AI technology, advise on how we can adapt and embrace new technologies methodologies and ideas.  

• Provide hands-on technical work: design, analytics/modeling and fine tuning, dataset development, code reviews, development, quality assurance.   

• Build relationships with partners within Microsoft (applied) Research Teams to bring innovation to new and existing products.  

• Foster a culture of inclusivity and disciplined data and software engineering practices to deliver business value, guided by data. 

• Creating and sustaining an effective team culture is extremely important to us. We value and promote a high trust environment where we work closely and effectively with others. 

• We emphasize a culture of continuous learning and so having a growth mindset and passion for learning is important. You should expect that your teammates will be invested in helping make you successful and expect the same in return from you. We recognize and celebrate the uniqueness of each person on the team and leverage our diversity to create more inclusive products for our customers.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

• Doctorate in Data Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Econometrics, Economics, Operations Research, Computer Science, or related field AND 5+ years data-science experience (e.g., managing structured and
  • unstructured data, applying statistical techniques and reporting results)
  • OR Master's Degree in Data Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Econometrics, Economics, Operations Research, Computer Science, or related field AND 7+ years data-science experience (e.g., managing structured and unstructured data, applying statistical techniques and reporting results)
  • OR Bachelor's Degree in Data Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Econometrics, Economics, Operations Research, Computer Science, or related field AND 10+ years data science experience (e.g., managing structured and unstructured data, applying statistical techniques and reporting results).
  • OR equivalent experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• 10+ years of AI/ML experience in the industry (5+ years for PhD)  
• Technical skills in AI and machine learning  

• Track record of shipping innovative AI-based products at scale  

• Extensive and up to date knowledge and experience with LLM and other modern AI methods.  

• Coding skills and knowledge of Python AI ecosystem  

• Problem-solving skills and creative thinking ability, coupled with a capacity to swiftly and independently grasp new technologies

• Ability to communicate, written and verbal. 

• Keen interest in Education  

• Publications of AI-related research 

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or the recruiting process, please send a request via the Accommodation request form.

Benefits/perks listed below may vary depending on the nature of your employment with Microsoft and the country where you work.