Principal Machine Learning Engineer

Within AI Platform, the GenAI Systems team in Azure AI is seeking a Principal Machine Learning Engineer to lead the development of customized LLM solutions for diverse customer needs. This role focuses on fine-tuning, distillation, synthetic data generation, and custom model development, enabling enterprises to build optimized, scalable AI systems.

Why Join Us? 

• Be part of a dynamic team shaping the future of AI and language models
• Work on high-impact projects with global reach
• Collaborate with leading experts in the field
• Enjoy a flexible and inclusive work environment

If you're passionate about AI, love tackling complex challenges, and want to contribute to the next generation of language models, we'd love to hear from you!  

Apply now and let's build the future together.  

Responsibilities

• Optimize model performance, scalability, and efficiency
• Conduct experiments to evaluate model performance, robustness, and generalization
• Implement customization techniques for various NN based architectures
• Explore novel techniques and approaches to enhance model capabilities
• Stay up-to-date with the latest advancements in NLP, deep learning, and AI research
• Work with large-scale datasets, preprocess them, and create appropriate data representations
• Select relevant features and ensure data quality for training and evaluation
• Develop and deploy customized LLM solutions for customer scenarios
• Optimize models using fine-tuning, distillation, and synthetic data generation
• Mentor and guide team members to foster innovation and technical excellence

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in machine learning, with a strong focus on GenAI and LLMs
• Depth in Data Science, Generative AI and Engineering
• Ph.D. or Master’s in CS, AI, or a related field
• Hands-on experience with LLM fine-tuning, model compression, and synthetic data generation preferred
• A strong background in machine learning, deep learning, and natural language processing
• Proficiency in Python and relevant ML libraries (e.g., TensorFlow, PyTorch)
• Experience with transformer-based models (e.g., BERT, GPT, T5, Llama)
• Familiarity with cloud platforms (e.g., Azure, AWS) and distributed computing
• Solid understanding of statistics, linear algebra, and probability theory is preferred
• Excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to work independently and collaboratively
• Proven ability to build, optimize, and scale AI models in production

#IDCAIPlatformHiring

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. 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.

Ability to meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security screening requirements are required for this role. These requirements include but are not limited to the following specialized security screenings: Microsoft Cloud Background Check: This position will be required to pass the Microsoft Cloud background check upon hire/transfer and every two years thereafter.