Backend Software Engineer Intern (TikTok- PGC-Digital Content Center) - 2027 Summer San Jose Te[...]

TikTok; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 25,000 - 39,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Mentorship program

Hands-on Go projects

Social events

Job summary

TikTok in San Jose is offering an internship on our global copyright protection platform. You will participate in architecture design and backend development using Go, contributing to modules like complaint intake, enforcement, and appeal management.

You'll collaborate with product, algorithm, and frontend teams, gain hands-on experience with event-driven architectures, multi-DC systems, and databases, and receive a structured mentorship program with potential full-time conversion.

Qualifications

• Pursuing an Undergraduate/Master degree in Software Development, CS, CE, or related field.

Responsibilities

• 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 event-driven architecture, building high-availability event flow pipelines based on EventBus/MQ ensuring reliable delivery and eventual consistency across cross-service workflows.
• Design, optimize, and maintain databases (MySQL/NoSQL) supporting 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 apps, internal platforms, and external systems.
• Participate in system design and data synchronization strategies for multi-DC architecture, solving cross-region replication lag and read-after-write consistency.
• Monitor and optimize system performance, resolve production issues, and ensure stability and business continuity.
• Collaborate with product, frontend, algorithm teams and stakeholders to ensure on-time delivery.

Skills

Go

Java

C++

REST APIs

Linux

Shell scripting

Databases

Problem solving

Teamwork

Communication

Education

CS/Engineering degree

Undergraduate/Master

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

MySQL

MongoDB

Redis

EventBus

Job description

Discover a career that energizes and excites you every day.

@2026 TikTok

Location:

San Jose

Employment Type:

Intern

Job Code:

A250889

Responsibilities

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.

What We Offer

• 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.

• Responsibilities- 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.

Preferred Qualifications

• 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.