Principal Researcher – AI for Drug Discovery

Responsibilities Lead the design and development of foundation models for scientific domains, including molecules, proteins, and biological systems. Drive research in generative AI, predictive synthesis, and molecular property modeling to support end-to-end drug discovery workflows. Collaborate with interdisciplinary teams to integrate AI models with experimental pipelines, clinical data, and real-world biomedical challenges. Contribute to the architecture of modular, scalable AI systems supporting tasks such as target identification, ADMET prediction, and compound optimization. Publish research in top-tier venues and contribute to open-source tools that advance AI for science. Qualifications and Skills PhD in machine learning, computational chemistry, structural biology, or a related field. Proven track record of leadership in AI research with publications in venues such as NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, Nature, JACS, or Science. Deep understanding of foundation models and generative AI for scientific data. Knowledge of molecular representation learning (e.g., SMILES, 3D structures, graph-based models). Experience with predictive synthesis and AI-guided retrosynthesis. Expertise in protein-ligand interaction modeling and structure-based drug design. Familiarity with integrating multi-modal biological data (e.g., omics, imaging, perturbation screens). Experience with large-scale model training and deployment using ML frameworks like PyTorch or JAX. Ability to lead cross-functional teams and collaborate across domains. Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration 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 law. If you need assistance or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or recruiting process, please send a request via the Accommodation request form. Benefits and perks listed may vary depending on employment nature and country. #J-18808-Ljbffr