Senior Researcher - AI Systems - Microsoft Research

Conduct original research on the systems foundations of future AI infrastructure and large-scale computing platforms. Design new abstractions, architectures, runtimes, and systems that improve the performance, scalability, efficiency, reliability, and programmability of emerging AI workloads. Build research prototypes and experimental platforms that explore future directions for AI infrastructure. Evaluate ideas through rigorous analysis, large-scale experimentation, and real-world workloads. Publish high-quality research in top-tier venues. Contribute to an open, collaborative, and multidisciplinary research environment. Required PhD (or equivalent research experience) in Computer Science or a related discipline. Strong research track record in computer systems or a closely related area. Demonstrated ability to conduct independent research and communicate results through publications, prototypes, or other impactful outcomes. Research expertise in one or more of these core systems areas: distributed computing, networking, memory, programming languages, machine learning systems, computer architecture, databases, or related fields. Ability to work effectively across disciplinary boundaries and collaborate with diverse research and engineering teams. Research experience spanning multiple layers of the computing stack. Experience working at the intersection of systems and machine learning, systems and programming languages, or systems and hardware. Interest in developing future infrastructure for AI workloads, including reasoning, inference, memory, data processing, agentic systems, and large-scale distributed execution. Experience translating research ideas into deployable systems, tools, or platforms. Strong publication record in leading venues such as SOSP, OSDI, NSDI, SIGCOMM, EuroSys, ASPLOS, FAST, MLSys, PLDI, POPL, ISCA, MICRO, or related conferences. Demonstrated leadership in building collaborations and shaping research agendas.