Principal Data Scientist

Microsoft AI (MAI) is building the next generation of AI-powered consumer experiences across Microsoft products. The MSN & Copilot Discover Business Analytics team serves as a horizontal analytics team supporting multiple product, engineering, marketplace, monetization, and business teams across the ecosystem.

We are seeking an experienced Principal Business Analytics Data Scientist with solid business acumen, deep analytical expertise, and experience in content platforms, digital advertising, and monetization.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a trusted analytics partner to leadership and cross-functional teams, translating data into clear business recommendations.
• Partner with Product, Engineering, MAI Marketplace, Monetization, Finance, and Business Planning teams to shape strategy and investment decisions.
• Analyze user engagement, content consumption, marketplace dynamics, and revenue performance to identify growth opportunities and business risks.
• Develop business frameworks that connect product initiatives, user behavior, content quality, and monetization outcomes.
• Build forecasting and scenario-planning models for engagement, traffic, ad requests, and revenue.
• Leverage AI and machine learning solutions to automate business insights, improve forecasting accuracy, enhance decision-making processes, and scale analytical capabilities across the organization.
• Evaluate tradeoffs between user experience, engagement, and monetization to support long-term business growth.
• Communicate insights clearly to senior stakeholders and influence decisions through data-driven storytelling.

Qualifications Required Qualifications:

• Doctorate in Data Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Econometrics, Economics, Operations Research, Computer Science, or related field AND 5+ years data-science experience
• OR Master’s Degree in Data Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Econometrics, Economics, Operations Research, Computer Science, or related field AND 7+ years data-science experience
• OR Bachelor’s Degree in Data Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Econometrics, Economics, Operations Research, Computer Science, or related field AND 10+ years data science experience
• OR equivalent experience.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in content ecosystems, news feeds, recommendation systems, search, shopping, or content discovery platforms.
• Experience partnering with advertising, monetization, or marketplace organizations.
• Familiarity with key engagement and monetization metrics.
• Experience leading analytics for large-scale consumer products with millions of users.
• Demonstrated success influencing product strategy and business outcomes through data-driven insights.
• Solid understanding of AI-powered consumer experiences and their impact on user engagement and monetization.
• Experience managing cross-functional initiatives involving Product, Engineering, Monetization, Marketplace, and Finance stakeholders.

The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $142,800 – $274,800 per year.