Machine Learning Engineer Intern (Global E-Commerce, Search) - 2027 Start (PhD)

TikTok; Singapore; On-site; SGD 28,000 - 42,000; Full time

Job summary

TikTok is seeking PhD interns to contribute to our search algorithm for the global e-commerce platform. You will work with state-of-the-art ML, NLP, CV and multi-modal tech to build a world-class search experience for billions of users.

As part of a dynamic internship, you will gain hands-on experience, strong community collaboration, and professional development events, while contributing to cutting-edge research and product initiatives that shape the future of e-commerce search.

Qualifications

• Pursuing PhD in a technical field such as CS, CE or software development.
• Strong coding skills and solid knowledge of data structures and algorithms.
• Experience in machine learning with a focus on user experience and product impact.

Responsibilities

• Improve search quality and user experience through query analysis and relevance matching.
• Understand e-commerce video content and implement multi-modal matching.
• Design and implement end-to-end ranking systems to improve GMV and user conversions.
• Explore personalized AI search, including post-training optimization and automated evaluation.
• Collaborate in a team with statistics, scripting and programming languages.
• Work with deployment platforms where models run.

Skills

Coding skills

DS & Algorithms

Analytical thinking

ML experience

Product sense

Education

PhD candidate

Job description

Discover a career that energizes and excites you every day.

@2026 TikTok

Technology

Intern

A196375

Responsibilities

About the TeamOur team is responsible for the search algorithm for our rapidly growing global e-commerce business. We use state-of-the-art large-scale machine learning technology, the cutting-edge NLP, CV and multi-modal technology to build the industry's top-class search engine to provide the best e-commerce search experience, for more than 1 billion monthly users around the world. Our mission is to build a world where "there is no hard-to-sell good-priced product in the world".We are looking for talented individuals to join us for an internship. PhD internships at Our Company provide students with the opportunity to actively contribute to our products and research, as well as to the organization's future plans and emerging technologies.Our dynamic internship experience blends hands-on learning, enriching community-building and professional development events, and collaboration with industry experts.Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, so we encourage you to apply early. Please clearly state your availability in your resume (Start date, End date).

1. Improve the basic search quality and user experience: Optimize query analysis and text relevance matching. Understand e-commerce video content and implement multi-modal matching. Improve users' perception of product authority, and deeply participate in the design and implementation of core search products. Comprehensively improve the end-to-end shopping experience from browsing to after-sales.


2. Design and implement the end-to-end ranking system (recall, first stage ranking, final stage ranking and mixed row): Improve users' personalized shopping interests model. Improve the shopping conversion efficiency for merchandise, video and live stream to promote GMV growth.


3. Promote the development of the ecosystem: From the perspective of the industry and businesses, solve challenging problems such as supply and demand matching, business cold start, and sustainable business growth, etc. Think, analyze and adjust the evolution of the system to achieve long-term and sustainable growth of GMV.


4. Participate in the exploration and development of personalized AI search, with a focus on harness engineering, post-training optimization, and rubric-based automated evaluation, to build next-generation search experiences that better understand users, reason over intent, and make intelligent decisions.


5. Work in a team setting and apply knowledge in statistics, scripting and programming languages required by the firm.


6. Work with the relevant software platforms in which the models are deployed.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

1. Currently Pursuing a PhD in Software Development, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related technical discipline.


2. Excellent coding skills. Solid knowledge of data structure and algorithms.


3. Excellent in analysis, modeling and problem-solving, and can see the essence of problems from complex data.


4. Industry work experience in machine learning. Good product sense with a focus on user experience.

Preferred Qualifications

1. Self-driven, able to deeply understand the business, adapt to rapid business changes, have good personal expression and communication skills, and be able to promote project implementation.


2. Publication records in top journals or conferences will be a plus.


3. Experience winning ACM-ICPC medals will be a 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.