Reinforcement Learning for Frontier AI Models

Overview

At Microsoft AI, we are on a mission to develop the most cutting-edge algorithms for post-training large language models (LLMs) and ship those models to millions of users every day.

The RL team at Microsoft AI is responsible for large-scale reinforcement learning and improving our pre-trained models to advance their capabilities in reasoning, instruction following, agentic coding, and agentic knowledge work.

As a Member of Technical Staff – Large Scale Reinforcement Learning, you will contribute across all stages of the RL process: driving the curation of high-quality RL environments and training data, building evaluations that measure both core model capabilities and real-world performance, and applying advanced RL techniques to develop and improve our RL recipe. We work at the bleeding edge, leveraging the most powerful pre-trained models, algorithms, and sources of feedback available to us. We are an interdisciplinary team of engineers and scientists, learning from each other and collaborating closely to build the best possible models.

We are looking for outstanding individuals excited about contributing to the next generation of models that will transform the field. We are looking for candidates who:

• Are passionate about advancing the state of the art in reinforcement learning;

• Have experience with RL algorithms, RL environment creation, or using real-world data and feedback to improve models;

• Will thrive in a highly collaborative, fast-paced environment;

• Have a high degree of craftsmanship and pay close attention to detail, consistently striving for engineering excellence;

• Are willing to contribute meaningfully as individuals and take end-to-end ownership of projects.

Microsoft AI

Our mission is to build AI that amplifies human potential and empowers people around the world. We strive to deliver breakthroughs that advance science, education, productivity, and global well-being.

We’re also fortunate to partner with incredible product teams giving our models the chance to reach billions of users and create immense positive impact. If you’re a brilliant, highly-ambitious and low ego individual, you’ll fit right in—come and join us as we work on our next generation of models!

MAI employees are expected to work from a designated Microsoft office at least four days a week if they live within 50 miles (U.S.) or 25 miles (non-U.S., country-specific) of that location. This expectation is subject to local law and may vary by jurisdiction.

Responsibilities

• Work on our data collection, evaluation, and reinforcement learning methods for models.

• Design hypotheses and experiment plans for rapidly iterating on model performance.

• Embody our Culture and Values.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Mathematics, or a related technical field, or equivalent experience.

• 4+ years of software engineering experience.

• Experience with reinforcement learning and LLMs.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience building and scaling large AI systems.

• Experience applying reinforcement learning to AI models and agents.

• Strong collaboration and communication skills

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 $160,200 - $261,000 per year.

Software Engineering IC5 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $142,800 - $274,800 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 $188,000 - $304,200 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, read more about requesting accommodations.