We invite early-career researchers with a background in human-computer interaction, end-user programming or software engineering, or machine learning to join our two-year residency programme in the Calc Intelligence team at Microsoft Research Cambridge. 

The Calc Intelligence team at Microsoft Research is dedicated to advancing the state of the art in spreadsheet technology and experience; our research appears in top publication venues and our work’s impact on many millions of customers features in the history of research collaborations with Microsoft Excel, the Microsoft Wall of Fame, and even XKCD. 

The spreadsheet has continually evolved to remain at the forefront of productivity tools and work practices for over forty years. Research to improve the spreadsheet experience of analysis and decision-making can be extraordinarily consequential. Today’s spreadsheets embrace collaboration, serve as databases and computational notebooks, are mobile, and encompass AI-powered interaction via natural language.  

Still, the soul of the spreadsheet remains the grid, and its formulas. Indeed, spreadsheets are the world’s most widely-used programming technology – but they also embody apparently-fundamental limitations. We work on foundational ideas that will take a qualitative step forward, to extend dramatically the reach of what end users can do with spreadsheets.  

In a deep partnership with Microsoft Excel, we are transforming Excel into a modern programming language, with compound data and the LAMBDA function, making the formula language Turing complete. We research intelligent experiences enabled by machine learning, and understand human aspects of spreadsheeting through a range of user-centric methods. We built Excel’s new Typescript calculation engine, Calc.ts, which powers the client-side experience in Excel for the web. It also powers a lightweight concept spreadsheet for rapidly building prototypes for user studies of new spreadsheet experiences. These in-house technologies plus our in-depth understanding of different personas of spreadsheet users means there is no better place to do research on spreadsheet experience and technology. There is a genuine possibility that your work could have real-world impact. 

Responsibilities

The successful candidates will undertake cutting-edge research on spreadsheet technology and experience in collaboration with other team members. They will have the opportunity to collaborate closely with the Excel team and to transfer code and concepts to the product. They will share their findings with Excel and other product teams and via publications in top research venues. 

Qualifications

Candidates may have already completed or be on track to complete a PhD or have equivalent industrial experience. We are looking for candidates who are enthusiastic about working in a multi-disciplinary team, open to acquiring new skills out of their domain of expertise, and be willing to communicate and share ideas in both a technical and non-technical way. Direct research experience in spreadsheet technology or experience is preferred but not required. 

In addition to these core attributes, it is preferrable for candidates to have specialist skills in one or more of the following disciplines. 

Human computer interaction: 

Background in HCI, interpreted broadly to include human aspects of programming languages and software engineering. 

Experience with mixed methods user research (e.g., ethnographic observations, interviews, questionnaires), or empirical aspects of programming and software engineering. 

Software development skills at least to the level of building research prototypes. 

Ability to translate findings into practical insights for technical and design impact. 

Publications in top research venues. 

Machine learning or related discipline: 

Hands-on experience in one or more of: ML for code or PL, Deep Learning, NLP, Information Retrieval, Knowledge Bases 

Experience of building ML or NLP models in Python; experience with DL frameworks such as TensorFlow or PyTorch. 

Publication record at top-tier ML conferences or equivalent industry experience. 

You will join a prestigious world-leading research laboratory. Microsoft Research in Cambridge has a wealth of experience and expertise in computer vision, HCI, design, machine learning, systems and security, software engineering and programming languages, and has a strong track record of shipping ground-breaking technologies in Microsoft products including Office, Xbox, HoloLens, and Visual Studio.  

We offer a competitive salary.  

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or the recruiting process, please send a request via the Accommodation request form.