Principal Research Software Development Engineer

Microsoft•Redmond, WA

53d

About The Position

Microsoft Research tackles research challenges critical to the success of the company and our customers. Powered by our collaborative, multidisciplinary culture of researchers, engineers, designers, and PMs, we seek to drive the agenda for technological innovation. We sit at the intersection of research and product and seek candidates who understand and are comfortable with both. As a mission-driven organization we pivot frequently to respond to new opportunities or challenges. We maintain close links to both top academic institutions and Microsoft’s product groups. This Research Software Development Engineer (RSDE) position is a unique opportunity to lead and drive as we tackle some of the hardest and most rewarding challenges in the AI era. You will help develop novel ideas in bleeding edge technology and collaborate with the rest of the team as we advance the state of the art applying AI to real-world challenges, with the potential to turn research into product that reaches over one billion Microsoft customers. Our ongoing AI research encompasses but is not limited to: Agentic Memory Efficiency The physical world Security Frontier model architectures Mathematics and logic applied to LLMs If your skills and interests intersect any of these areas, please apply today and join us on this amazing journey! 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. In alignment with our Microsoft values, we are committed to cultivating an inclusive work environment for all employees to positively impact our culture every day.

Requirements

Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field AND 6+ years technical engineering experience with coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python OR equivalent experience.

Nice To Haves

A builder with a bias to solve problems rather than just admire them.
Ability to competently operate across an entire modern AI-centric software stack. Adaptability to dive into a new domain quickly. Polyglot technology curiosity. Be a voracious learner of new languages, paradigms, tools, and techniques, consuming publications.
Keep us at the forefront of technology and best practices innovation as we press toward the future.
Shipping industrial strength proprietary or high-quality open-source code at cloud scale.
Working with Agents and AIs in a collaborative process while interacting with complex systems.
Building agentic systems that operate at cloud scale using common agent protocols and coding frameworks.
Systematic use of benchmarking and other data-driven techniques to guide design and development.
Ability to thrive in the face of ambiguity, able to prototype starting with a research concept or paper rather than a spec. Be a thought partner and operate as part of a multidisciplinary team as we build prototypes quickly, fail fast, pivot, and adapt.
Experience with data science, machine learning (ML), Large Language Models (LLMs), Natural Language Processing (NLP), computer vision, multimodal input and processing, software security.

Responsibilities

As a Research Software Development Engineer in Microsoft Research, you will design, develop, execute, and implement technology research projects in collaboration with other team members, research partners, and product groups.
Work with the team to identify, evaluate, and deploy new AI tools and technologies to accelerate our progress.
As a member of a world class research organization, you will be a part of research breakthroughs and play a crucial role in driving innovation from the lab to product.
Embody our culture and values.

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