Join Microsoft Research India to revolutionize information retrieval at scale! This is a unique opportunity for a hands-on, ambitious, and technically proficient individual contributor to lead applied research for a critical project. Focus areas include large-scale machine learning for enterprise and consumer retrieval, powering everything from Copilots and search engines to personalized recommendations.

Work alongside a distinguished scientist and VP, and collaborate with a world-class team of researchers and engineers. You will be at the forefront of machine learning and systems research, setting the standard for rigor and impact. Your contributions will directly shape how retrieval research is transformed into scalable engineering systems used across Microsoft products.

This role offers the chance to define engineering standards, core interfaces, and evaluation frameworks for new retrieval methods. You will also have the privilege of presenting the team's breakthroughs to senior leadership, including the CEO and CTO, influencing strategic directions in this domain.

As a technically strong ML+DS Lead, you will own cutting-edge retrieval models. You will act as a crucial bridge between research and engineering teams, guiding them through complex real-world challenges.

Key responsibilities include co-leading the team's culture, vision, strategy, and execution, while actively seeking new avenues for impact. You will manage vital strategic partnerships and represent the project to senior Microsoft executives and external collaborators.

Furthermore, you will drive talent acquisition, attracting top-tier ML talent from academia, industry, and startups. Optimizing GPU infrastructure and advocating for necessary resources will be essential, as will overseeing the engineering of advanced ML codebases. This involves fostering collaboration between developers and ML researchers to deliver robust, scalable systems.

We are seeking candidates with a Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field. A minimum of 10 years of deep technical expertise in machine learning and/or information retrieval is required, with a proven ability to train ML models on massive datasets and apply them effectively in real-world contexts.

Demonstrated success in technical engineering leadership, with at least 3 years of experience guiding multiple teams in delivering complex ML/IR systems, is essential. You should possess a strong capability to engage with engineering teams, understand system architectures, and translate research concepts into engineering requirements.

Exceptional communication skills are a must, enabling comfortable interaction with senior executives and external partners. We value startup-like agility, independence, and a relentless drive for impact and quality. The ability to influence both peers and seniors, and guide teams not directly reporting to you, is crucial, emphasizing success as a lead individual contributor rather than a traditional manager.