Machine Learning Engineer, Data Mining (Ads Core)

TikTok; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 156,000 - 317,000; Full time

Job summary

TikTok monetization data team is expanding to build next-generation ad targeting and measurement platforms in the San Jose area. You will own large-scale pipelines for targeting data, enabling high-availability, high-fidelity data that powers ads across feeds, live, and branding ecosystems.

Collaboration with ML, product, and compliance teams will drive stable production rollouts, improved performance, and cost efficiency as the ads platform grows globally.

Qualifications

• BS+ in CS/SE/Data Engineering or related fields.
• 3+ years (adjustable) in data engineering/platform roles; able to own critical pipelines end-to-end
• Strong SQL and data modeling; hands-on with big data stack (Spark/Hive/Kafka/Flink/Airflow, etc.)
• Proficient in Java/Scala/Python; solid engineering and performance tuning skills
• Strong ownership of data governance, definitions, quality and stability
• Effective cross-functional communication and execution

Responsibilities

• Own foundational targeting data and platform capabilities with high availability, accuracy, freshness, and scalability
• Base targeting dimensions: gender, age, geo, device, language, network, etc.
• Audience & tagging system: definitions, hierarchy, refresh strategy, backfills, cross-device unification
• Design and implement large-scale batch/stream pipelines: ingestion, ETL, aggregation, profile generation, tag updates, external serving
• Build a reliable data quality framework: validation, lineage, monitoring/alerting, SLAs, automated backfill and repair
• Provide standardized capabilities for ads delivery/strategy systems: Audience package generation/management, tag query services, foundational targeting rule engine, access control & auditing
• Collaborate with ML/product/compliance to ensure stable production rollout and iterative improvements (performance/reach/cost/UX)

Skills

SQL

Data modeling

Big data stack

Spark

Hive

Kafka

Flink

Airflow

Java/Scala/Python

Data governance

Education

BS in CS/SE/Data Engineering or related field

Tools

Spark

Hive

Kafka

Flink

Airflow

Job description

Responsibilities

Monetization Technology teams are building the next-generation monetization platforms to help millions of customers grow their businesses, utilizing our products like TikTok. Our team develops a wide variety of advertisements for numerous uses including feeds, live streaming, branding, measurement, targeting, search, vertical solutions, creative solutions, and business integrity.

• Own foundational targeting data and platform capabilities with high availability, accuracy, freshness, and scalability:
• Base targeting dimensions: gender, age, geo, device, language, network, etc.
• Audience & tagging system: definitions, hierarchy, refresh strategy, backfills, cross-device unification
• Design and implement large-scale batch/stream pipelines: ingestion, ETL, aggregation, profile generation, tag updates, external serving
• Build a reliable data quality framework: validation, lineage, monitoring/alerting, SLAs, automated backfill and repair
• Provide standardized capabilities for ads delivery/strategy systems: Audience package generation/management, tag query services, foundational targeting rule engine, access control & auditing
• Collaborate with ML/product/compliance to ensure stable production rollout and iterative improvements (performance/reach/cost/UX)

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

• BS+ in CS/SE/Data Engineering or related fields
• 3+ years (adjustable) in data engineering/platform roles; able to own critical pipelines end-to-end
• Strong SQL and data modeling; hands-on with big data stack (Spark/Hive/Kafka/Flink/Airflow, etc.)
• Proficient in Java/Scala/Python; solid engineering and performance tuning skills
• Strong ownership of data governance, definitions, quality and stability
• Effective cross-functional communication and execution

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in ads/recommender data platforms: user profiles, tagging, audience segmentation, DMP/CDP
• Real-time profile or low-latency serving at scale (high QPS, caching/consistency)
• Privacy/compliance implementation experience (minimization, anonymization, access control, auditing)

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.

TikTok Accommodation

TikTok is committed to providing reasonable accommodations in our recruitment processes for candidates with disabilities, pregnancy, sincerely held religious beliefs or other reasons protected by applicable laws. If you need assistance or a reasonable accommodation, please reach out to us at https://tinyurl.com/RA-request

Job Information

【For Pay Transparency】Compensation Description (Annually)

The base salary range for this position in the selected city is $156000 - $316800 annually.

Compensation may vary outside of this range depending on a number of factors, including a candidate’s qualifications, skills, competencies and experience, and location. Base pay is one part of the Total Package that is provided to compensate and recognize employees for their work, and this role may be eligible for additional discretionary bonuses/incentives, and restricted stock units.

Benefits may vary depending on the nature of employment and the country work location. Employees have day one access to medical, dental, and vision insurance, a 401(k) savings plan with company match, paid parental leave, short-term and long-term disability coverage, life insurance, wellbeing benefits, among others. Employees also receive 10 paid holidays per year, 10 paid sick days per year and 17 days of Paid Personal Time (prorated upon hire with increasing accruals by tenure).

The Company reserves the right to modify or change these benefits programs at any time, with or without notice.

For Los Angeles County (unincorporated) Candidates

Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with all federal, state, and local laws including the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act. Our company believes that criminal history may have a direct, adverse and negative relationship on the following job duties, potentially resulting in the withdrawal of the conditional offer of employment:

1. Interacting and occasionally having unsupervised contact with internal/external clients and/or colleagues;
2. Appropriately handling and managing confidential information including proprietary and trade secret information and access to information technology systems; and
3. Exercising sound judgment.