Backend Software Engineer Intern (TikTok- PGC-Digital Content Center) - 2027 Summer
TikTok
An application made for this job — a tailored resume and cover letter that speak straight to the posting.
Benefits offered by this job
Job summary
TikTok is offering a 12-week Summer 2027 internship focused on building the global copyright protection platform. You will work on backend services in Go, contribute to event-driven architectures, and collaborate with product, algorithm, and frontend teams to deliver impactful systems.
Interns gain hands-on experience with microservices, data stores, and distributed systems while receiving mentorship and potential full-time conversion opportunities.
Qualifications
- Pursuing Undergraduate/Master in software/CS/CE or related field.
- Commit to 12 weeks during Summer 2027.
- Proficient in at least one backend language such as Go, Java, or C++; Go is a plus.
- Familiar with databases such as MySQL, Redis, and MongoDB; understanding of index optimization.
- Understanding of RESTful API design; familiarity with RPC frameworks (Thrift, gRPC) is a plus; Linux and Shell scripting basics.
- Strong problem-solving and logical thinking; fast learner.
- Excellent communication and collaboration skills with a strong team mindset.
- Experience with microservices, Docker and Kubernetes is a plus.
- Interest in copyright protection, content safety, or multimedia processing.
Responsibilities
- Participate in architecture design and development of core backend services for the copyright protection platform, writing Go code across modules including intake, audit scheduling, enforcement, and appeals.
- Develop event-driven pipelines to ensure reliable delivery and eventual consistency across services.
- Design and maintain MySQL/NoSQL databases for billion-scale data volumes with data integrity.
- Build and maintain RESTful APIs and RPC interfaces for frontend, internal, and external systems.
- Work on multi-DC architecture, cross-region replication, and read-after-write consistency strategies.
- Monitor and optimize performance; resolve production issues to ensure stability.
Skills
Education
Tools
Job description
About the Team
Our team builds a global copyright protection platform that translates legal requirements, business policies, and operational workflows into reliable and scalable systems. The platform supports complaint intake, regional routing, human review, enforcement, notifications, creator appeals, rightsholder rebuttals, and proactive content identification.
You will work on complex event-driven systems and multi-region distributed architectures, addressing real-world challenges in consistency, idempotency, cross-region routing, reliability, and compliance.
Direct involvement in the design and development of TikTok's global copyright protection core systems, with business impact reaching hundreds of millions of users worldwide.
Hands-on experience with Go microservices architecture, event-driven architecture, and multi-data-center distributed systems.
Comprehensive mentorship program (1:1 Mentor) with a clear growth path — full-cycle participation from requirement analysis to production deployment.
A collaborative, cross-functional environment working with product, algorithm, and front-end teams, enabling rapid cross-domain learning.
Competitive compensation and benefits; outstanding interns/new grads will receive full-time conversion opportunities.
We are looking for talented individuals to join us for an internship. Our internship program offers students hands‑on experience, industry exposure, and opportunities to apply their knowledge to real-world challenges while building a strong foundation for personal and professional growth.
Interns will gain practical experience, explore potential career paths, and participate in social events, learning programs, and development workshops alongside industry professionals.
Candidates may apply to a maximum of two positions across Our Company and its affiliates globally. Applications will be considered in the order they are submitted.
Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, so we encourage you to apply early. Please clearly state your availability in your resume, including your start and end dates.
- Participate in the architecture design and development of core backend services for the copyright protection platform, writing high-quality Go code across modules including complaint intake, audit scheduling, enforcement execution, and appeal management.
- Contribute to the design and implementation of event-driven architecture, building high-availability event flow pipelines based on EventBus/MQ that ensure reliable delivery and eventual consistency across cross-service business workflows.
- Design, optimize, and maintain databases (MySQL/NoSQL) supporting efficient storage and querying at billion-scale data volumes, ensuring data integrity and consistency.
- Develop and maintain RESTful APIs and RPC interfaces, ensuring efficient and secure data exchange between front‑end applications, internal platforms, and external systems.
- Participate in system design and data synchronization strategies for multi‑DC (Multi‑Data Center / Multi‑VGeo) architecture, solving distributed challenges such as cross‑region replication lag and read‑after‑write consistency.
- Monitor and optimize system performance, identify and resolve potential bottlenecks, and improve system throughput and response speed.
- Quickly respond to and resolve production environment issues, ensuring system stability and business continuity.
- Collaborate closely with product managers, front‑end engineers, algorithm teams, and other stakeholders to ensure high-quality and on‑time project delivery.
Minimum Qualifications:
- Currently pursuing an Undergraduate/Master degree in Software Development, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
- Able to commit to working for 12 weeks during the Summer of 2027.
- Proficient in at least one backend programming language such as Go, Java, or C++; Go experience is a plus.
- Familiar with common database technologies such as MySQL, Redis, and MongoDB; understanding of index optimization and basic performance tuning.
- Understanding of RESTful API design and development; familiarity with RPC frameworks (e.g., Thrift, gRPC) is a plus; familiar with Linux‑based operating systems and common commands; basic Shell scripting ability.
- Strong problem‑solving and logical thinking abilities, passion for new technologies, and a quick learning ability.
- Excellent communication and collaboration skills with a strong team‑oriented mindset.
- Understanding of microservices architecture and related technologies such as Docker, Kubernetes, etc.
- Experience in developing large‑scale distributed systems; understanding of message queues (e.g., Kafka, EventBus), distributed transactions, and eventual consistency.
- Familiarity with Event‑Driven Architecture (EDA) or publish‑subscribe patterns, with relevant hands‑on experience.
- Interest in or knowledge of copyright protection, content safety, or multimedia processing (e.g., audio/video fingerprinting, content matching).
- Knowledge of Machine Learning Engineering (MLE) concepts and practices, including model training, deployment, and evaluation.
- Open‑source contributions, technical blog posts, or competitive programming awards are a plus.
As a condition of employment, all successful candidates must be able to establish authorization to work in the United States. For this position, the Company does not provide sponsorship or any immigration‑related benefits.
By submitting an application for this role, you accept and agree to our global applicant privacy policy, which may be accessed here: https://careers.tiktok.com/legal/privacy
The hourly rate range for this position in the selected city is $45- $45.
Benefits may vary depending on the nature of employment and the country work location. Interns have day one access to health insurance, life insurance, wellbeing benefits and more. Interns also receive 10 paid holidays per year and paid sick time (56 hours if hired in first half of year, 40 if hired in second half of year). Interns who are not working 100% remote may also be eligible for housing allowance.
The Company reserves the right to modify or change these benefits programs at any time, with or without notice.
- 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.
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.
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.
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 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
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