At Microsoft Research (MSR), our researchers and engineers pursue innovation in a range of scientific and technical disciplines to help solve complex challenges in diverse fields, including computing, healthcare, economics, and the environment. 

Researchers in the Language, Learning, and Privacy group are focused on advancing the state-of-the-art in learning algorithms under the constraints of privacy and security, including the development of novel attacks and deployment of mitigations such as differential privacy, federated learning, and related decentralized approaches to learning. We advance the state-of-the-art in defending against threats to AI pipelines while maximizing the benefits of next-generation AI technologies.

Examples of current directions include exploring the effectiveness of novel attacks against ML pipelines, such as poisoning attacks, reconstruction attacks and membership inference. In addition, we are on the forefront of the development of privacy mitigations such as large-scale differentially private ML, secure multi-party data collaboration, federated and decentralized learning, and the development of novel machine learning solutions. Our group has also proposed novel federated optimization, heterogeneous model training, and other learning algorithms. Our researchers develop solutions for real-world, large-scale problems and publish the results in top-tier venues in machine learning, privacy and security, natural language processing, information retrieval, and beyond. 

MSR offers a vibrant environment for cutting-edge, multidisciplinary, research, including access to diverse, real-world problems and data, opportunities for experimentation and real-world impact, an open publication policy, and close links to top academic institutions around the world. 

This role is not to exceed two years.

#Research

Responsibilities

As a post doc researcher in MSR, you will collaborate with scientists, engineers, and product group stakeholders to define your research agenda and conduct basic research. As a member of a world-class research organization, you are expected to aim for research breakthroughs in the field and will be given an opportunity to realize your ideas in products and services used worldwide. 

Qualifications

Required Qualifications  

• PhD (completed or close to completion) in artificial intelligence, machine learning, privacy, security, natural language processing, information retrieval, or closely related areas. 
• Research ability demonstrated by an established research track record of top-tier publications, open-source software, or other scientific leadership activities.  

Preferred Qualifications  

• Demonstrable ability to define an ambitious, original research agenda. 
• Ability to collaborate, communicate effectively, and work as part of a multi-disciplinary team. 
• Passion about real-world applications and impact. 
• Strong communication skills. 

Candidates who may not have all the preferred qualifications are encouraged to apply. 

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. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. 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.