Microsoft
Principal Data Scientist - FDE

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Overview
In the Microsoft Frontier Company, you won’t just build software; you’ll deliver real outcomes for some of the world’s most complex organizations.
We are a global team of world-class engineers who have been working in a Forward Deployed Engineering (FDE) model for more than a decade, embedding directly within customer teams to solve their toughest challenges, side-by-side, and shipping production-ready solutions in days, not months.
As a Principal Data Scientist, you will help transform how organizations use data, developing models, running experiments, and driving evidence-based decisions that have measurable business impact. You’ll work in small, multidisciplinary crews alongside engineers, product managers, and domain experts, owning the full lifecycle from data discovery through to deployed solutions.
Our work is powered by AI, applying the mindset and tooling across the entire development lifecycle to move from idea to production in days while maintaining the highest standards of security, quality, and trust.
This role offers the opportunity to:
- Work with messy, real-world datasets and turn them into scalable, production-ready solutions
- Run experiments that directly influence business strategy and customer outcomes
- Collaborate with leading global organizations across industries
- Apply the latest advancements in AI and data science to solve problems at scale
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
You will oversee acquisition of the data sets necessary for your project delivery and ensure data is properly formatted and described. You will address any gaps in current data sets, and drive ethics and privacy discussions around data collection and preparation.
You will evaluate your team’s models using metrics tied to genuine business outcomes and recommend improvements as necessary, drive best practices for models, and develop operational models that run at scale. You’ll also conduct thorough reviews of data analysis and modeling techniques and identify and invent new evaluation methods.
Reasons to use Rodeo
I’m in my final year doing Economics and I don’t know whether to apply for grad schemes now or do a masters first. What do you think?
Honest answer — it depends on where you want to end up. A lot of top grad schemes (Big 4, civil service, banking) don’t need a masters. Let’s look at the ones you’d be competitive for now, and we can decide if a masters actually adds anything.
Also worth knowing: most autumn 2026 applications are open now. Timing matters more than you think.
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Graduate Consultant — 2026 Scheme
Why you're a good match
StrongYour economics background and your summer at a regional bank line up with what PwC looks for on the consulting scheme. Applications close in four weeks.
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Every day your agent scans the market matching roles against what actually matters to you, not just keywords on a CV.
Why you're a good match
You’ve got the grades and the economics background, and your bank internship is exactly the experience this scheme looks for. Apply soon — deadlines close within the month.
Experience fit
Your summer at the bank plus your econometrics coursework map directly to the day-one responsibilities on this scheme — client modelling, market briefings, and deal support.
Only hits
No noise. No "maybe this fits." Just roles with a clear explanation of why they're right — and where to focus when applying.
You will research and maintain a deep knowledge of the industry, including trends and technologies, so that you can identify strategy opportunities and contribute to thought leadership in best practices. You’ll also write extensible code that spans multiple features and develops expertise in proper debugging techniques.
You will define business, customer, and solution strategy goals, and partner with other teams to identify and explore new opportunities. You’ll also commit to a customer-oriented focus by acknowledging their needs and offering customer pragmatic solutions that align with their data capabilities.
As the expert data scientist, you will also coach engineers and cross-disciplinary partners in data science best practices and scale knowledge within the cross discipline team.
Qualifications
Required/Minimum Qualifications (RQs/MQs)
- Doctorate in Data Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Econometrics, Economics, Operations Research, Computer Science, or related field AND data-science experience (e.g., managing structured and unstructured data, applying statistical techniques and reporting results)
- OR Master's Degree in Data Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Econometrics, Economics, Operations Research, Computer Science, or related field AND data-science experience (e.g., managing structured and unstructured data, applying statistical techniques and reporting results)
- OR Bachelor's Degree in Data Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Econometrics, Economics, Operations Research, Computer Science, or related field AND data science experience (e.g., managing structured and unstructured data, applying statistical techniques and reporting results)
- OR equivalent experience.
- Experience partnering directly with customers or internal stakeholders to deliver solutions end-to-end.
Additional or Preferred Qualifications (PQs)
- Doctorate in Data Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Econometrics, Economics, Operations Research, Computer Science, or related field AND data-science experience (e.g., managing structured and unstructured data, applying statistical techniques and reporting results)
- OR Master's Degree in Data Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Econometrics, Economics, Operations Research, Computer Science, or related field AND data-science experience (e.g., managing structured and unstructured data, applying statistical techniques and reporting results)
- OR Bachelor's Degree in Data Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Econometrics, Economics, Operations Research, Computer Science, or related field AND data-science experience (e.g., managing structured and unstructured data, applying statistical techniques and reporting results)
- OR equivalent experience.
- Customer-facing, project-delivery experience, professional services, and/or consulting experience.
- Comfortable with travel up to 25% (role dependent)


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- The typical base pay range for this role across United Kingdom is £ 93,500.00 - £ 161,800.00 per year. Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation.
- Find additional benefits and pay information here: https://careers.microsoft.com/v2/global/en/corporate-pay/united-kingdom-corporate-pay.html
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.
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