ML Research Engineer Jobs at Microsoft with Visa Sponsorship
Microsoft hires ML Research Engineers across its core AI and research divisions, working on large-scale model development, applied machine learning, and foundational research. The company has a well-established sponsorship infrastructure that supports international candidates through multiple nonimmigrant and immigrant visa pathways.
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The AI Frontiers lab at Microsoft Research is charted with ambitious research goals for advancing Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities in several key areas including modeling, algorithms, reasoning and agentic AI. Our lab offers a vibrant environment for cutting-edge multidisciplinary research, including an open publication policy and close links to top academic institutions around the world.
This Research Engineer position is a unique opportunity to contribute towards tackling some of the hardest and most rewarding challenges in AI. You will help develop novel ideas in bleeding edge reinforcement learning research as well as help evolve our pre-training, mid-training, and post-training codebases that gave birth to famous models such as Phi establishing many new records. You will collaborate with researchers and engineers across many disciplines to help advance the state of the art in reasoning and agentic AI.
Our lab provides opportunities for experimentation and access to diverse array of real-world problems and data along with potential to ship your research to over billion Microsoft customers. At AI Frontiers we strive to expand the pareto frontier of AI capabilities, efficiency, and safety through innovations in foundation models and learning agent platforms. Our projects include Phi, Orca, AutoGen, Eureka, OmniParser, Magentic-One, Magentic-UI, Dion, Belief State Transformers among many others.
Our ongoing research areas encompass but are not limited to:
- Pre-training: language models, action models and multimodal models
- Mid-training: long context extension
- Post-training: e.g., Instruction tuning and reinforcement learning from feedback
- Reasoning: Enabling LLMs to scale inference time compute via reinforcement learning
- Action Models: Trailing models capable of taking action in the digital world (e.g. computer use and web agents)
- Orchestration and multi-agent systems: automated orchestration between multiple agents incorporating collaboration, human feedback and oversight
If your skills and interests intersects any of these areas, please apply today and join us in this amazing journey!
Microsoft’s mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. As employees we come together with a growth mindset, innovate to empower others, and collaborate to realize our shared goals. Each day we build on our values of respect, integrity, and accountability to create a culture of inclusion where everyone can thrive at work and beyond.
In alignment with our Microsoft values, we are committed to cultivating an inclusive work environment for all employees to positively impact our culture every day.
Responsibilities
- As a Research Engineer in AI Frontiers, you will design, develop, execute, and implement technology research projects in collaboration with other researchers, engineers, and product groups.
- As a member of a world-class research organization, you will be a part of research breakthroughs in the field and play a crucial role in developing, improving, and exploring the capabilities of Large Language Models (LLMs), reasoning and agentic AI.
- Embody our culture and values.
Qualifications
Required Qualifications
- Bachelors in Computer Science or relevant field AND 2+ years related experience
- OR Master's Degree in Computer Science or related field AND 1+ year(s) related experience
- OR Doctorate in Computer Science or related field
- OR equivalent experience
- 1+ year(s) experience developing with Python and Pytorch/JAX.
Preferred Qualifications
- Familiarity with architecture and optimizations for large language models.
- Hands-on work in debugging and profiling Pytorch distributed code.
- Basic understanding of working of CUDA kernels.
- Familiarity with pre-training, mid-training and/or post-training pipelines for language and/or multimodal models.
- Foundational understanding of reinforcement learning and key challenges in the field.
- Experience with verl, Ray, Megatron and/or vLLM is a significant plus.
- Any experience in building scalable services can be highly complementary.
Compensation
- The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $100,600 - $199,000 per year. There is a different range applicable to specific work locations, within the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, and the base pay range for this role in those locations is USD $131,400 - $215,400 per year.
Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here:
https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/us-corporate-pay
- The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $119,800 - $234,700 per year. There is a different range applicable to specific work locations, within the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, and the base pay range for this role in those locations is USD $158,400 - $258,000 per year.
Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here:
https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/us-corporate-pay
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.
Overview
The AI Frontiers lab at Microsoft Research is charted with ambitious research goals for advancing Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities in several key areas including modeling, algorithms, reasoning and agentic AI. Our lab offers a vibrant environment for cutting-edge multidisciplinary research, including an open publication policy and close links to top academic institutions around the world.
This Research Engineer position is a unique opportunity to contribute towards tackling some of the hardest and most rewarding challenges in AI. You will help develop novel ideas in bleeding edge reinforcement learning research as well as help evolve our pre-training, mid-training, and post-training codebases that gave birth to famous models such as Phi establishing many new records. You will collaborate with researchers and engineers across many disciplines to help advance the state of the art in reasoning and agentic AI.
Our lab provides opportunities for experimentation and access to diverse array of real-world problems and data along with potential to ship your research to over billion Microsoft customers. At AI Frontiers we strive to expand the pareto frontier of AI capabilities, efficiency, and safety through innovations in foundation models and learning agent platforms. Our projects include Phi, Orca, AutoGen, Eureka, OmniParser, Magentic-One, Magentic-UI, Dion, Belief State Transformers among many others.
Our ongoing research areas encompass but are not limited to:
- Pre-training: language models, action models and multimodal models
- Mid-training: long context extension
- Post-training: e.g., Instruction tuning and reinforcement learning from feedback
- Reasoning: Enabling LLMs to scale inference time compute via reinforcement learning
- Action Models: Trailing models capable of taking action in the digital world (e.g. computer use and web agents)
- Orchestration and multi-agent systems: automated orchestration between multiple agents incorporating collaboration, human feedback and oversight
If your skills and interests intersects any of these areas, please apply today and join us in this amazing journey!
Microsoft’s mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. As employees we come together with a growth mindset, innovate to empower others, and collaborate to realize our shared goals. Each day we build on our values of respect, integrity, and accountability to create a culture of inclusion where everyone can thrive at work and beyond.
In alignment with our Microsoft values, we are committed to cultivating an inclusive work environment for all employees to positively impact our culture every day.
Responsibilities
- As a Research Engineer in AI Frontiers, you will design, develop, execute, and implement technology research projects in collaboration with other researchers, engineers, and product groups.
- As a member of a world-class research organization, you will be a part of research breakthroughs in the field and play a crucial role in developing, improving, and exploring the capabilities of Large Language Models (LLMs), reasoning and agentic AI.
- Embody our culture and values.
Qualifications
Required Qualifications
- Bachelors in Computer Science or relevant field AND 2+ years related experience
- OR Master's Degree in Computer Science or related field AND 1+ year(s) related experience
- OR Doctorate in Computer Science or related field
- OR equivalent experience
- 1+ year(s) experience developing with Python and Pytorch/JAX.
Preferred Qualifications
- Familiarity with architecture and optimizations for large language models.
- Hands-on work in debugging and profiling Pytorch distributed code.
- Basic understanding of working of CUDA kernels.
- Familiarity with pre-training, mid-training and/or post-training pipelines for language and/or multimodal models.
- Foundational understanding of reinforcement learning and key challenges in the field.
- Experience with verl, Ray, Megatron and/or vLLM is a significant plus.
- Any experience in building scalable services can be highly complementary.
Compensation
- The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $100,600 - $199,000 per year. There is a different range applicable to specific work locations, within the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, and the base pay range for this role in those locations is USD $131,400 - $215,400 per year.
Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here:
https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/us-corporate-pay
- The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $119,800 - $234,700 per year. There is a different range applicable to specific work locations, within the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, and the base pay range for this role in those locations is USD $158,400 - $258,000 per year.
Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here:
https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/us-corporate-pay
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.
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Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding ML Research Engineer Jobs at Microsoft Jobs
Align Your Research Portfolio to Microsoft's Focus Areas
Microsoft Research and its AI divisions actively hire in areas like large language models, reinforcement learning, and responsible AI. Tailor your publications, GitHub projects, or research contributions to reflect these specific domains before applying.
Target Microsoft's University Recruiting Pipeline Early
Microsoft recruits ML Research Engineers heavily through PhD internship programs. Converting a research internship into a full-time offer significantly improves your sponsorship timeline, since the employer relationship and role scoping are already established before your OPT clock runs down.
Prepare Your Specialty Occupation Evidence in Advance
USCIS scrutinizes ML roles carefully when assessing specialty occupation status. Gather documentation showing your role requires at minimum a bachelor's degree in a specific technical field, such as computer science or statistics, and that your day-to-day work reflects that academic requirement.
Use Migrate Mate to Find Open Roles Filtered by Sponsorship
Search for ML Research Engineer positions at Microsoft on Migrate Mate to see currently open roles filtered by visa type. This saves time confirming sponsorship availability instead of cross-referencing job postings and company career pages manually.
Time Your H-1B Cap Filing Around Your Offer Date
H-1B cap registration opens in March each year for an October 1 start. If Microsoft extends your offer after April, your start date shifts to the following fiscal year. Factor this into salary negotiations and OPT or grace period planning with your hiring manager.
ML Research Engineer at Microsoft jobs are hiring across the US. Find yours.
Find ML Research Engineer at Microsoft JobsFrequently Asked Questions
Does Microsoft sponsor H-1B visas for ML Research Engineers?
Yes, Microsoft sponsors H-1B visas for ML Research Engineers. The company has a dedicated immigration team that manages the process from Labor Condition Application filing with the DOL through the USCIS petition. If you're selected in the H-1B lottery, Microsoft typically handles the full petition on your behalf once you have an offer in hand.
Which visa types does Microsoft commonly use for ML Research Engineer roles?
Microsoft sponsors H-1B, H-1B1, and E-3 visas for ML Research Engineers, depending on your nationality. Australian citizens are eligible for the E-3, and Chilean or Singaporean nationals may qualify for the H-1B1, both of which avoid the H-1B cap lottery. For permanent residency, Microsoft typically supports EB-2 or EB-3 Green Card sponsorship after an initial period in role.
What qualifications does Microsoft expect for ML Research Engineer roles?
Most ML Research Engineer positions at Microsoft require a master's or PhD in computer science, machine learning, statistics, or a closely related field. Hands-on experience with large-scale model training, familiarity with frameworks like PyTorch or JAX, and a track record of research output, such as published papers or significant open-source contributions, are standard expectations across these postings.
How do I apply for ML Research Engineer jobs at Microsoft?
You can find and filter ML Research Engineer roles at Microsoft on Migrate Mate, which surfaces positions by visa type so you can confirm sponsorship before applying. Once you identify a role, applications go through Microsoft's careers portal. The interview process typically involves multiple rounds covering system design, coding, and a research presentation or deep-dive on prior work.
How do I plan my timeline if I need H-1B sponsorship for a Microsoft role?
H-1B cap registration runs each March, with a lottery selection shortly after and an October 1 start date. If you're finishing a degree on OPT, confirm your OPT expiration date against this timeline. STEM OPT extensions give you up to 36 months of work authorization, which can bridge a full cap cycle if needed. Discuss timing constraints with your Microsoft recruiter early so the team can plan around your status.
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