Scale up impact while nurturing globally diverse talent and growing research leaders<\/em><\/h4>\n <\/p>\n
I am a product of a typical graduate school education that focuses on individual excellence, and it took me the first half of my research career to realize that we are in an era where big scientific discoveries are unlikely to come from a lone genius working in isolation. Today\u2019s disruptive science is a process of layering, combining ideas, and collaboration involving big teams\u2014of individuals that bring different skills to the table, focus, and trust each other to work together. However, such structures are hard to create due to talent shortage and funding limitations as I have experienced over the second half of my career.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\nIt has been 5 years since we formed the PROSE team to advance the state-of-the-art in Program Synthesis and incorporate those innovations inside Microsoft products. The result has been delightful experiences for a huge customer base (with a million+ invocations\/week of the Flash Fill feature in Excel, a million+ accepted suggestions\/month of the Intellicode Suggestions feature in VS, and a million+ invocations\/month of the data connectors in PQ) and a multitude of papers in top-tier conferences across various research areas (several winning best paper awards and test-of-time most-influential paper awards).<\/em><\/p>\n– Sumit Gulwani, upon founding the PROSE Research Fellowship program in late 2020<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nThe key to the PROSE team\u2019s success has come through a 4-step process which determines our culture:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n- The most important part of solving a problem is the <\/span>definition<\/span><\/b>, so we focus on:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\n
\n- Customer connection<\/span><\/i><\/b> \u2013 We are very savvy in our choice of problems, ensuring they are derived from real customer scenarios.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- Impact, not cleverness<\/span><\/i><\/b> \u2013 Rather than finding the hardest problem, we choose the problem with the most impact.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
- The second step is the <\/span>solution<\/span><\/b>.\u00a0 To drive solutions, we use:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\n
\n- Cross-disciplinary innovation <\/span><\/i><\/b>\u2013 We thrive on leveraging the diverse expertise of our researchers across software engineering, programming languages, formal methods, HCI, ML.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- Foundational framework-based approach <\/span><\/i><\/b>\u2013 We build generalized frameworks (both in our research approach and our engineering deliverables) instead of creating point solutions, which allows us to have broad impact with a lean team.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
- We <\/span>deliver<\/span><\/b> our solutions through:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\n
\n- Blended research & engineering <\/span><\/i><\/b>\u2013 We create shipping-quality implementations of our algorithms that do not need rework to be used in Microsoft products.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- Trusted relationships <\/span><\/i><\/b>\u2013<\/span> We partner with product teams to integrate our APIs inside product code bases through deep, trusted relationships built on a track-record of mutual success.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
- Finally, we relentlessly engage in <\/span>continuous improvement<\/span><\/b> of both:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\n
\n- What we build<\/span><\/i><\/b> \u2013 We capitalize on our trusted partner relationships to improve our understanding of customer pain points and then cycle back to the first step and start the process again.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- How we build it<\/span><\/i><\/b> \u2013 We always look for ways to increase our effectiveness. This Research Fellowship program is a key example; it fundamentally alters the playing field.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
<\/p>\n
The Research Fellowship Program has three goals that feed into each other, and are related to our culture and process:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n– We are <\/span>growing a new class of junior researchers<\/span><\/b> with a value system that is built around our culture and process. These serve in contrast to the typical graduate education focus on individualistic values and solving novel abstract problems. We believe our process can equip these researchers to increase their impact on academia, industry, and our customers.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n– At the same time, we are <\/span>increasing the impact of our research team<\/span><\/b> by creating opportunities for researchers to manage junior level but high-quality talent and to serve as ambassadors for our culture and process.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n– Through these efforts we <\/span>increase the available talent pool<\/span><\/b> of both young researchers who may not have access to good graduate education and of experienced, post-PhD researchers who might otherwise choose academia over industry to have a team of young talent help them pursue their research.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
What?<\/span><\/h2>\nA global <\/span>Research Fellowship<\/span><\/b> program inspired by other research fellowship and residency programs around the company but continuously evolving based on what we learn as we go.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n- We <\/span>hire and train top undergraduates or master\u2019s students from top Universities globally<\/span><\/b> to work from their local region for 1-2 years of temporary appointment with a path to full-time employment and the opportunity of a career as a researcher.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- Research Fellows start with a <\/span>1-year appointment renewable to 2-years<\/span><\/b> including both training and work as part of existing blended research and engineering projects.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\n- Research fellows who demonstrate sufficient research and engineering skills (typically after 1-2 years) become eligible either for an <\/span>offer of full-time employment<\/span><\/b> or for our support of their application to a top PhD program<\/span><\/b> (in the form of strong recommendation letters).<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- When there is <\/span>the combination of demonstrated skills, mutual\u202finterest, and funding availability,\u202fwe\u202fmake offers for research fellows <\/span>to join as an \u201cassociate researcher\u201d at L59 or L60<\/span><\/b>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- Associate researchers who perform well are eventually <\/span>promoted to \u201cassociate researcher\u202f2\u201d at L61<\/span><\/b>\u202fand then to level L62.\u00a0 This process from initially joining Microsoft full-time to becoming ready for L62 typically takes about 4 years.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- When they are ready for L62,\u202fan <\/span>independent\u202fcommittee decides\u202fwhether we put them on a \u201cresearcher\u201d career path<\/span><\/b> (without a\u202fPhD but\u202fbased on\u202ftheir research track record) or\u202fonto an engineering career path.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- This process is a <\/span>give-and-take relationship.<\/span><\/b> Researchers gain the ability to delegate tasks and expand the pool of effort dedicated to solving the problems they identify. As research fellows demonstrate success, they command more research-intensive work items. Over a journey of around 6 years, we invest in junior talent and grow a cadre of research leaders who are well-positioned to have high impact anywhere at Microsoft.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Why this approach?<\/span><\/h2>\n\n- While the opportunities for <\/span>good K-16 education are spread throughout the globe<\/span><\/b>, the opportunities for <\/span>good graduate education are concentrated in small parts of the globe<\/span><\/b>.\u00a0 This leads to massive under-utilization of talent that could be in the business of science.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- The <\/span>top-tier talent<\/span><\/b> in India and other places where good graduate education is unavailable locally <\/span>generally goes to top PhD Universities in the US and Europe or opts to pursue non-research paths<\/span><\/b> such as entrepreneurship.\u00a0 We attract part of this talent to build their careers, stay at Microsoft in their home countries, and build up their local research communities.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- We frequently have discussions with interested students, often with strong software engineering skills, who <\/span>desire to be more involved in research and innovation but are unable to pursue a full-time PhD<\/span><\/b>. They may not be able to relocate for an extended period. Or they want to keep both engineering and research career paths open and are not interested in the large commitment of a PhD. This offering is uniquely appealing to these candidates.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- In addition to <\/span>expanding the opportunities for students<\/span><\/b> and to <\/span>increasing Microsoft\u2019s pool of early in career researchers<\/span><\/b>, this also <\/span>increases the appeal to post-PhD researchers who may otherwise have considered careers in Academia<\/span><\/b> because of the opportunity for expanded impact that comes from leading a team of students.\u00a0 In industry, individual researchers often have less opportunity to work on larger problems because of limitations in the number of individuals they can direct in their research.\u00a0 Allowing them to manage research fellows increases their impact and addresses this concern when they compare career options.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
How?<\/span><\/h2>\n\n- Researchers provide direction to Research Fellows<\/span><\/b> thus reducing ambiguity in problem definition and strategy while creating space for exploration, experimentation, prototyping and participating in paper writing.\u00a0 All of this is done in the context of real-world, customer-centric projects and blended research and engineering.\u00a0 Thus, <\/span>Research Fellows get a unique opportunity to learn while amplifying the output of researchers on the team<\/span><\/b>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- The team is fully invested in the growth of this junior level talent. <\/span>Research Fellows budget 20% of their time for training<\/span><\/b>, around half of which uses curated external resources and around half is internal material created by the PROSE team (including research background, engineering skills, and storytelling). We call this training the PROSE Academy.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- Associate researchers continue to participate in the PROSE Academy<\/span><\/b> but progressively have more independent research responsibilities and a greater role in product delivery and paper writing.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- The program is intentionally cooperative<\/span><\/b>.\u00a0 Research fellows and associate researchers support one another and those with more experience mentor newer members of the program.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\n- We <\/span>create visibility in the academic community<\/span><\/b> to identify and recruit good candidates by giving keynotes at computer science conferences, giving guest lectures at universities, and collaborating with professors.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Supporting Work Across Time Zones<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\nWe are keenly aware that global partnerships require addressing time-zone challenges, especially with more junior talent. We apply learnings from our successful MSRI collaborations, our experience with team members in other countries, and best practices in the field. For example:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n- We adopt a remote-first approach<\/span><\/b> to meetings including always using Teams, recording meetings, sharing video stories and demos, increasing investment in documentation and other best practices in asynchronous communication. The importance of these practices is cemented by the fact that multiple members of team leadership work remotely either primarily or entirely.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\n- Managers of research fellows are sensitized to the importance of being available to and regularly connecting<\/span><\/b>