Senior Researcher - Machine Learning: AI for Science in Cambridge

Microsoft Research AI for Science is seeking a talented machine learning researcher to join our mission of accelerating scientific discovery through AI. In the materials team, we are building next generation foundational AI capabilities to accelerate the design of novel materials with industrial impact. This role is an exceptional opportunity to drive our ambitious research agenda, develop efficient and expressive machine learning models for materials, and translate this research into real-world impact. You will work with a highly collaborative, interdisciplinary and diverse team of researchers, engineers and scientists to develop and implement the next generation of machine learning models for materials design.

Microsoft’s mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more, and we’re dedicated to this mission across every aspect of our company. Our culture is centered on embracing a growth mindset and encouraging teams and leaders to bring their best each day. Join us and help shape the future of materials design. This post will be open until the position is filled.

A completed or nearly completed PhD or comparable industry research experience is expected.

• Contribute to and drive an ambitious, high-impact, research agenda on machine learning for materials.
• Develop efficient and expressive machine learning models that address fundamental materials science problems.
• Work with domain experts to develop realistic machine learning metrics and benchmarks.
• Prepare technical papers and presentations.

• PhD in computer science, machine learning, computational materials science or related area, or comparable industry experience.
• Track record of publications at top-tier conferences or journals (e.g., NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, Nature/Science or relevant sub-journals).
• Strong coding ability and proficiency in collaborative code development.
• Ability to quickly iterate between ideation, implementation and evaluation of new research ideas.
• Ability to work in an interdisciplinary collaborative environment, through effective communication of technical concepts to non-experts from different technical backgrounds.

• Experience in LLMs, agentic frameworks and/or reinforcement learning.
• Experience working on (materials) science problems.
• Experience with agent-driven research and code development.

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.