Senior Technical Sourcer, Microsoft AI

Overview Microsoft AI is building the next generation of artificial intelligence, bringing together researchers, engineers, and technical leaders to advance the frontier of AI capabilities. We are seeking a Senior Technical Sourcer to identify, engage, and attract the talent behind this work across frontier model research, pretraining, post-training, research engineering, AI infrastructure, and supercomputing.

This is not traditional technical sourcing. You will approach talent acquisition as a research discipline: investigate unfamiliar technical domains, uncover exceptional talent beyond familiar companies and credentials, and develop original strategies where established playbooks do not exist. You will pair technical curiosity and sound judgment with thoughtful candidate engagement and hands-on execution.

You will work in a fast-moving, research-driven environment that combines the agility of a frontier AI lab with the resources of Microsoft. Success requires trusted partnerships with researchers, engineers, recruiters, and technical leaders, as well as a willingness to experiment with AI-powered tools and improve how sourcing is done. 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.

Responsibilities Technical Sourcing & Talent Strategy

• Independently design and execute sourcing strategies for specialized AI research and engineering roles, translating complex requirements into actionable talent profiles and search plans.

• Investigate unfamiliar technical domains to identify where expertise resides; develop original sourcing approaches when conventional company, title, or keyword searches fall short.

• Analyze publications, open-source contributions, technical communities, conferences, and organizational structures to build prioritized talent maps and pipelines.

• Assess research influence, technical contributions, and transferable expertise to distinguish high-impact researchers and engineers from profiles that are impressive on paper alone.

• Develop sufficient technical fluency to understand research and engineering challenges, evaluate relevant contributions, and engage credibly with technical stakeholders.

AI-Powered Sourcing & Innovation

• Use LLMs, AI-powered research tools, automation, and emerging workflows to improve discovery, research depth, productivity, and pipeline quality.

• Experiment with new sourcing methods while validating AI-generated findings for accuracy, technical relevance, and candidate quality.

• Share effective tools and approaches that strengthen the broader sourcing team.

Stakeholder Partnership & Candidate Engagement

• Partner with research, engineering, and recruiting leaders to calibrate talent profiles, set priorities, and align sourcing strategies with hiring needs.

• Use market intelligence and funnel data to challenge assumptions constructively, recommend solutions, and adapt to evolving priorities.

• Build relationships with high-impact researchers and engineers through personalized outreach that connects their work and interests to Microsoft AI’s technical ambitions.

• Collaborate closely with recruiters on candidate engagement, pipeline management, and hiring outcomes while maintaining an exceptional candidate experience.

Market Intelligence & Execution

• Track developments in model research, training, post-training, inference, distributed systems, and AI infrastructure to identify emerging talent pools.

• Map frontier AI labs, technology companies, research institutions, and startups, translating research and organizational insights into practical sourcing opportunities.

• Balance immediate hiring priorities with long-term relationship building, delivering results with urgency, accountability, and sound judgment.

• Contribute to a collaborative sourcing culture through knowledge sharing, mentorship, and continuous improvement. Other

• Embody our culture and values

Qualifications Required / Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree AND 6+ years of experience in talent acquisition, technical sourcing, recruiting, or a related field• OR equivalent experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• 8+ years of technical sourcing or talent acquisition experience, with a track record of engaging specialized research or engineering talent.

• Experience independently developing and executing sourcing strategies for specialized technical roles.

• Experience sourcing in AI/ML research, LLM-related engineering, distributed systems, advanced infrastructure, or similarly complex technical domains.

• Experience partnering directly with technical hiring managers and recruiters to develop sourcing strategies and drive hiring outcomes.

• Experience in technically demanding environments, such as AI research, large-scale ML systems, advanced infrastructure, quantitative research, or other specialized engineering domains.

• Familiarity with research and technical ecosystems, including GitHub, arXiv, Hugging Face, publications, conferences, and talent mapping.

• Hands-on experience using LLMs, AI-powered research tools, automation, or agentic workflows, paired with a disciplined approach to validating results.

• Ability to learn new technical domains quickly, evaluate contributions beyond pedigree, and develop creative approaches to difficult talent searches.

• Ability to influence senior stakeholders with clear market insights and operate autonomously amid ambiguity and competing priorities.

• A record of continuous learning, experimentation, and improving sourcing practices or team capabilities.

Talent Acquisition IC5 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $106,400 - $203,600 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 $137,600 - $222,600 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.