Senior Software Engineer - AI Search

Overview

The Azure AI Knowledge team is leading the way to deliver the next chapter in retrieval augmented generation by combining knowledge with Agents at scale. We are expanding Azure AI Search , to meet the demands of complex queries that require refinement, reasoning and reflection to deliver high quality results for both people and LLMs. Our customers span different industries, corpus sizes and have many key scenarios. Our work includes:

• Designing, building, and maintaining backend services with external and internal language model dependencies.

• Partnering with Applied Science to support and drive product evolution at scale.

• Working directly with GPUs to support production ML workloads at scale.

• Evaluation of production integrations to ensure end-to-end AI quality of Applied Science deliverables.

You can follow our progression from better search, to Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), to agentic retrieval:

• Azure AI Search: Outperforming vector search with hybrid retrieval and ranking capabilities - Microsoft Community Hub

• Raising the bar for RAG excellence: introducing generative query rewriting and new ranking model

• Up to 40% better relevance for complex queries with new agentic retrieval engine

As a team, we leverage the diverse backgrounds and experiences of passionate engineers, scientists, and program managers to help us realize our mission to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. We believe great products are built by inclusive teams of customer-obsessed individuals who trust each other and work closely together. We collaborate regularly across the company with teams like Bing and Microsoft Research.

A major aspect of this role is to push our development of knowledge retrieval to the frontier. This requires a capable individual who is well versed in services, ML model GPU hosting integrations and LLM context engineering. Someone who can work closely with an Applied Sciences team to solve the hardest customer challenges. Someone who understand where the latest reasoning models are best suited and can support the integration of low latency options in places where speed is critical.

If you are passionate about working on the latest and hottest areas in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning , all the while making search better for customers across the world and being part of one of the biggest cloud providers, then this is the team you're looking for! Expect a fast-moving environment where balancing speed, quality, and teamwork is essential.

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

• Design, build, and maintain Azure backend services and associated APIs.
• Partner with Applied Science to bring high quality prompts, ML models and pre and post processing components into production in a secure, reliable, and scalable way.
• Work directly with GPUs to support production ML workloads at scale. Requires a knowledge of Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) and Triton GPU containers.
• Providing evaluation tooling and support of production integrations to ensure end-to-end AI quality of Applied Science deliverables.
• Contribute to team plans, documents, and communication in a clear and efficient way.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field AND 4+ years technical engineering experience with coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python
  • OR equivalent experience.
• 2+ years of experience in development of Azure Services with an understanding of service release and live-site responsibilities.
• 6+ months of experience developing large language models (LLMs).
• 2+ years of experience developing GPU based models and model hosting.

Other Requirements

• 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.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field AND 6+ years technical engineering experience with coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python
  • OR Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field AND 8+ years technical engineering experience with coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python
  • OR equivalent experience.
• Coding in C# AND Python in a production system.
• Coding in C++ or Java in a production system.

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Software Engineering IC4 - 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:


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, read more about requesting accommodations.