Job Description:
The AI for Good Lab is hiring a Principal Applied Data Scientist to join our team in Redmond to design, build, and deliver AI-driven solutions to address complex, interconnected societal challenges. Our Lab spans a broad and evolving portfolio, from understanding how AI is diffusing across the world and its economic opportunities, to powering disaster response and resilience, as well as advancing sustainability and cybersecurity. These challenges are inherently ambiguous and interdisciplinary, demanding creativity, strong research instincts, and the ability to move decisively from uncertainty to insight and action. We are an agile, fast-moving applied research team that uses modern AI as a force multiplier, accelerating discovery, sharpening insight, and driving decisions that matter. We continuously pivot toward where our work can create the greatest impact now. In this role, you will use AI and data science to research and build solutions that inform and drive real-world decisions, working in close partnership with other data scientists, researchers, and research organizations, as well as policymakers and practitioners. You will provide senior technical leadership for applied AI and data science initiatives, defining technical direction for advanced AI systems across humanitarian response, biodiversity, sustainability, public policy, and global development with deep application of data science, cloud platforms, and economics. As a trusted advisor, you will partner with leaders across Microsoft, academia, nonprofits, and government to guide responsible, evidence-based AI solutions to turn insights into impact. You bring a strong appetite for learning new domains and technologies, paired with agile decision-making, flexibility in how you work, and a growth mindset. You contribute to a positive, inclusive team culture through clear documentation, ethical research practices, and active knowledge sharing as you navigate complex, evolving challenges.