Machine Learning Engineer Graduate (Global E-Commerce, User Growth) - 2027 Start (PhD)

TikTok; Singapore; On-site; SGD 120,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

TikTok is seeking a PhD-level researcher for the Promotion Algorithm Team in Singapore. You will develop global budget optimization and intelligent pricing models to maximize GMV and ROI, spanning billions of users and products.

Work includes integrating real-time subsidies into recommendation pipelines across videos, live streams, and marketplace, and advancing causal inference, uplift modeling, and AI techniques to boost conversions and repeat purchases.

Qualifications

• PhD in CS/Math/OR with strong algorithms and data structures.
• Strong ML/DL expertise for recommender/ads/search/marketing.
• Experience in causal inference or uplift modeling; OR optimization; budget allocation.

Responsibilities

• Develop precision subsidies and intelligent pricing models for global budgets.
• Design global budget optimization algorithms using elasticity and OR.
• Integrate voucher capabilities into recommendation pipelines across channels.
• Research causal inference and AI tech to improve conversions and repeat purchases.

Skills

Machine Learning

Deep Learning

Causal Inference / Uplift Modeling

Operations Research Optimization

Search/Recommendation & Advertising

Frontier AI Technologies

Budget Allocation / Pricing Algorithms

Education

PhD in Computer Science / related field

Tools

Python

PyTorch

Optimization Libraries

Job description

Responsibilities

About the Team

We are the User Growth Algorithm Team for Global E-Commerce — the core engine driving the explosive growth of TikTok's global e-commerce business. Here, we go beyond solving conventional recommendation and user reach problems; we are committed to reshaping the shopping experience of global consumers through cutting-edge promotion algorithms.

As the Promotion Algorithm Team, we command massive budgets and enormous traffic flows. Through state-of-the-art algorithmic modeling and operations research optimization, we strive to achieve globally optimal ROI in budget allocation—directly driving scaled growth in overall MAC (Monthly Active Customers) and GMV.

Here, every line of code you create will influence the purchasing decisions of tens of millions of users worldwide, and every model iteration will unlock tremendous business value. By joining us, you will have the opportunity to build on the unique ecosystem that fuses content with e-commerce to solve rare industry challenges in the joint optimization of "content recommendation + real-time subsidies".

We are looking for talented individuals to join our team. As a graduate, you will get opportunities to pursue bold ideas, tackle complex challenges, and unlock limitless growth.

Successful candidates must be able to commit to an onboarding date by the end of the year. Please state your availability and graduation date clearly in your resume.

• Precision Subsidies & Intelligent Pricing: Model user demand elasticity across products and coupon values, combined with operations research optimization to solve for optimal budget allocation under strict constraints — maximizing GMV and conversion rate.
• Intelligent Global Budget Optimization (Operations Research & Game Theory): Design globally optimal allocation and pricing algorithms based on elasticity modeling, enabling large-scale budgets to flow precisely across billions of users, massive product catalogs, and diverse scenarios for optimal budget efficiency.
• Deep Synergy Between Traffic and Marketing (Vouchers × Traffic): Integrate real-time item-wise voucher capabilities into recommendation pipelines across short videos, live streaming, and marketplace. Break down barriers between marketing and recommendation to enable joint "traffic + subsidy" decision-making and global optimization.
• Next-Gen Marketing Tech: Go beyond traditional discriminative uplift prediction. Research and productionize cutting-edge causal inference and AI technologies — including Uplift Modeling, E2E Modeling, RL, LLMs, and AI Agents — to directly address user conversion and repeat purchase behavior.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

• Individuals who are completing or have recently completed a PhD degree in Computer Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Operations Research, or a related field, with a solid foundation in algorithms and data structures.
• Strong expertise in machine learning and deep learning, with familiarity in commonly used models for recommendation, advertising, search, or marketing.
• Hands-on experience and deep understanding in at least one of the following areas:
• Causal Inference / Uplift Modeling: Familiarity with various uplift modeling approaches; candidates with industrial deployment experience are preferred.
• Operations Research Optimization: Familiarity with linear programming, integer programming, dynamic programming, MCKP, etc.; experience in budget allocation or pricing algorithms is preferred.
• Search, Recommendation & Advertising Algorithms: Experience with large-scale CTR/CVR estimation, multi-objective optimization, or real-world reinforcement learning applications is preferred.
• Frontier AI Technologies: Experience applying LLMs, AI Agents, or Generative Recommendation in business scenarios is preferred.
• Excellent business acumen and logical thinking, with the ability to translate complex business problems into mathematical or algorithmic models and drive them into production.

Preferred Qualification

• Publications in top-tier venues such as KDD, NeurIPS, ICML, IJCAI, or AAAI, or outstanding results in data mining competitions such as Kaggle, will be a strong plus.

Job Information

About TikTok

TikTok is the leading destination for short-form mobile video. At TikTok, our mission is to inspire creativity and bring joy. TikTok's global headquarters are in Los Angeles and Singapore, and we also have offices in New York City, London, Dublin, Paris, Berlin, Dubai, Jakarta, Seoul, and Tokyo.

Why Join Us

Inspiring creativity is at the core of TikTok's mission. Our innovative product is built to help people authentically express themselves, discover and connect – and our global, diverse teams make that possible. Together, we create value for our communities, inspire creativity and bring joy - a mission we work towards every day.

We strive to do great things with great people. We lead with curiosity, humility, and a desire to make impact in a rapidly growing tech company. Every challenge is an opportunity to learn and innovate as one team. We're resilient and embrace challenges as they come. By constantly iterating and fostering an "Always Day 1" mindset, we achieve meaningful breakthroughs for ourselves, our company, and our users. When we create and grow together, the possibilities are limitless. Join us.

Diversity & Inclusion

TikTok is committed to creating an inclusive space where employees are valued for their skills, experiences, and unique perspectives. Our platform connects people from across the globe and so does our workplace. At TikTok, our mission is to inspire creativity and bring joy. To achieve that goal, we are committed to celebrating our diverse voices and to creating an environment that reflects the many communities we reach. We are passionate about this and hope you are too.