Backend Software Engineer Intern (TikTok-Social-Foundation) - 2027 Summer

TikTok; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 51,000 - 73,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Housing allowance

10 paid holidays per year

Job summary

TikTok's Social Foundation internship offers hands-on experience in building large-scale graph infrastructure powering social features at global scale. You will contribute to real-time graph queries, mining, and integration with core systems like recommendations and risk control.

Join a team shaping real-time relationships insights and product strategies, while gaining exposure to industry professionals and development workshops during the 12-week summer program.

Qualifications

• Pursuing undergraduate or graduate degree in software development or related field.
• Available to work 12 weeks in Summer 2027.
• Proficient in Go, Java, C++, or Python.
• Strong understanding of architectures, data structures, and algorithms.
• Excellent communication and teamwork skills.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement high-performance data storage and management systems for trillion-scale social graph data, ensuring seamless integration and rapid iteration for mission-critical applications.
• Develop distributed graph database engines capable of handling billions of vertices and trillions of edges, enabling millisecond-level multi-hop queries and real-time graph reasoning.
• Build a real-time graph mining platform to extract social relationships, patterns, clusters, and communities, fueling product strategies and personalized recommendations.
• Lead the integration of the Social Graph with core systems (e.g., recommendation, search, risk control) to support social interactions, live-streaming, and various TikTok business use cases.

Skills

Go

Java

C++

Python

Data structures

Algorithms

Teamwork

Communication

Education

Undergraduate/Graduate in Software Development, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or related technical discipline

Job description

Responsibilities

The Social Foundation team at TikTok is at the forefront of innovation in large-scale graph computing. We design and build the core graph infrastructure that powers TikTok's social ecosystem - processing trillions of edges and billions of vertices to deliver real-time relationship insights to billions of users worldwide. Our high-performance engine enables millisecond-level multi-hop queries, dynamic cluster and community detection, and real-time graph mining—directly powering key features such as friend recommendations, live streaming, risk control, and messaging.

Here, every line of code you write will directly impact the social experience of users worldwide. Together, we will redefine how people connect globally.

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.

• Design and implement high-performance data storage and management systems for trillion-scale social graph data, ensuring seamless integration and rapid iteration for mission‑critical applications.
• Develop distributed graph database engines capable of handling billions of vertices and trillions of edges, enabling millisecond-level multi‑hop queries and real‑time graph reasoning.
• Build a real‑time graph mining platform to extract social relationships, patterns, clusters, and communities, fueling product strategies and personalized recommendations.
• Lead the integration of the Social Graph with core systems (e.g., recommendation, search, risk control) to support social interactions, live‑streaming, and various TikTok business use cases.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications:

• Currently pursuing an Undergraduate/Graduate 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 of the following languages: Go, Java, C++, Python.
• Deep understanding of computer architectures, data structures, and algorithms.
• Strong communication and teamwork skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Passion about techniques and solving challenging problems.
• Experienced in building backend services for large-scale consumer-facing applications.

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

Job Information

【For Pay Transparency】Compensation Description (Hourly) - Campus Intern

The hourly rate range for this position in the selected city is $45- $45.

Benefits

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.

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 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