AI Vision Research Engineer Graduate- Pico 2026 Start (PHD)

Bytedance; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 128,000 - 317,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

401(k) with match

Paid parental leave

Disability coverage

Paid holidays

Job summary

ByteDance's Pico unit seeks a PhD-qualified researcher to advance a vision system for VR/AR hardware. You will develop ML-driven perception pipelines, train data generation workflows, and optimize mapping to FPGA/accelerator hardware while collaborating with cross-functional teams on cloud-edge workloads.

The role emphasizes research in ML/algorithm design, strong C/C++, Python skills, and a passion for innovative AR technology. Los Angeles area work is expected with a competitive package.

Qualifications

• PhD in Computer Science, Software Development, or related technical field.
• Experience in ML algorithms or AI accelerator design.
• Proficiency with C/C++, MATLAB, Python.

Responsibilities

• Develop power-efficient, low-latency vision system for VR/AR product.
• Build training and data pipeline for scene understanding and user behavior.
• Map ML algorithm to HW accelerator; optimize HW/SW co-design.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to partition cloud-edge workloads.
• Conduct quantitative evaluations using system modeling and FPGA prototyping.

Skills

C/C++

Python

ML/AI research

Education

PhD

Tools

MATLAB

FPGA tooling

Job description

Responsibilities

About Team

PICO is a leading VR/AR platform with independent innovation and R&D capabilities, focusing on VR all-in-one technology. PICO is committed to offering immersive and interactive VR experiences to our customers, including providing tailor-made solutions for our enterprise clients in the fields of education and healthcare.

We are looking for talented individuals to join us for this future position in 2026. As a graduate, you will get unparalleled opportunities for you to kickstart your career, pursue bold ideas and explore limitless growth opportunities. Co-create a future driven by your inspiration with ByteDance.

Successful candidates must be able to commit between January 5,2026 to December 14, 2026.

Responsibilities

• Innovate and develop a power-efficient, low-latency, highly-intelligent machine perception vision system in a VR/AR product.
• Develop necessary training, data collection/generation pipeline along with state of art ML algorithm/framework for understanding of the scene and user behaviors.
• Map the ML algorithm to the HW accelerator, identify performance bottleneck, optimize performance and efficiency, propose more efficient HW/SW co-design for AI accelerator.
• Collaborate with the x-functions team and translate system requirements into a proper cloud-edge workload partition and edge ML accelerator HW/SW requirement.
• Perform quantitative evaluations through the use of system modeling, FPGA prototyping for validating ideas and architecture options.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

• Individuals who are completing or have recently completed a PhD degree in Software Development, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• Experience in research experience in the fields of ML algorithm or AI accelerator design
• Experience with programming tools and languages such as C/C++, MATLAB, Python.

Preferred Qualifications

• Familiar with appropriate ML frameworks.
• Good communication skills, open minded and enthusiastic about new technologies

Job Information

【For Pay Transparency】Compensation Description (Annually)

The base salary range for this position in the selected city is $128000 - $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:

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

About Pico

Founded in April 2015, Pico is a VR company committed to developing immersive and interactive VR experiences for people around the world. Pico also provides tailor-made solutions for our enterprise clients in the fields of education and healthcare.

Why Join ByteDance

Inspiring creativity is at the core of ByteDance's mission. Our innovative products are 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 enrich life - a mission we work towards every day.

As ByteDancers, 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. 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

ByteDance 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 ByteDance, our mission is to inspire creativity and enrich life. 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.

Reasonable Accommodation

ByteDance 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