Principal Applied Science Manager - The Media Intelligence Team, IC3 Media Steaming M365 Core

The Media Intelligence team within IC3 Media Streaming, M365 Core , is building the next generation of AI-powered media experiences that power Microsoft Teams, Microsoft 365 Copilot, and future agent-based communication and collaboration systems. We are seeking a Principal Applied Science Manager to lead a team of applied scientists and engineers working at the intersection of computer vision, machine learning, multimodal AI, real-time media systems, and large-scale cloud services. As a leader, you will drive the strategy, execution, and innovation roadmap for AI-powered media intelligence capabilities spanning video enhancement, scene understanding, visual perception, media quality evaluation, intelligent meeting experiences, and emerging multimodal agent scenarios. This role requires a blend of scientific leadership, technical depth, people management, product partnership, and strategic thinking. The ideal candidate is passionate about translating cutting-edge research into production experiences used by hundreds of millions of customers worldwide. 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.

Technical and Scientific Leadership Define and drive the long-term vision and strategy for Media Intelligence across Teams, Microsoft 365 Copilot, and future AI-powered communication experiences. Lead research, incubation, and productization of computer vision, multimodal AI, machine learning, and media intelligence technologies. Establish technical direction for model architecture, training methodologies, evaluation frameworks, and deployment strategies. People Leadership Lead, coach, and grow a high-performing team of Applied Scientists and Engineers. Foster a culture of innovation, scientific rigor, experimentation, customer obsession, and operational excellence. Attract, recruit, develop, and retain world-class talent across machine learning, computer vision, and AI. Create growth opportunities and technical mentorship pathways for team members. Product and Business Impact Partner closely with engineering, product management, research, and executive stakeholders to identify high-impact opportunities. Translate ambiguous business and customer needs into actionable scientific investments and measurable outcomes. Influence product roadmaps and strategic investments across Teams, Copilot, IC3, and M365 Core. Balance short-term delivery commitments with long-term innovation bets. Cross-Organization Leadership Build strong partnerships with Microsoft Research, Teams, Copilot, Windows, Azure AI, and other platform teams. Drive alignment across distributed organizations working on AI-powered media experiences. Represent Media Intelligence in leadership reviews, architecture forums, investment discussions, and strategic planning processes. Act as a visible thought leader for applied AI and media intelligence across Microsoft. Operational Excellence Establish metrics, experimentation frameworks, and evaluation methodologies for scientific investments. Drive responsible AI practices, model quality, privacy, compliance, and production readiness standards. Ensure scalable engineering and model development processes that enable rapid innovation while maintaining service quality and reliability. Lead planning, prioritization, and execution of a balanced portfolio of innovation and product commitments. Creates clarity in ambiguous problem spaces and identifies breakthrough opportunities.   Raises the scientific and technical bar for the organization. Builds trust across disciplines and organizations. Balances innovation with execution and customer impact. Develops future leaders and fosters