Corporate Communications Manager

TikTok USDS Joint Venture; New York (NY); On-site; USD 117,000 - 266,000; Full time

Job summary

TikTok USDS Joint Venture is seeking a Corporate Communications Manager to shape and tell the story of our efforts safeguarding the U.S. platform and community.

You will focus on media relations, proactive storytelling, and corporate reputation management. You will build journalist relationships, pitch strategic narratives, and guide executives through high-profile interviews while coordinating with Legal, Policy and Security teams.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in corporate communications, public relations, journalism, or an agency environment.
• Proven track record building media relationships and landing meaningful earned media stories.
• Deep knowledge of the U.S. media landscape across technology, business, policy, and national security.
• Hands-on experience developing and executing end-to-end communications strategies.
• Exceptional writing and editing skills with ability to translate complex subjects.
• Strong executive presence and experience collaborating with senior leaders and cross-functional teams.
• Sound judgment, composure, and decision-making in a fast-paced environment.

Responsibilities

• Cultivate key media relationships across tech, policy, cybersecurity, AI, and national security beats.
• Drive proactive coverage, manage inbound press inquiries, and host background briefings on complex topics.
• Track media trends and expand outreach to newsletters, podcasts, creators, and new formats.
• Execute comms strategies for major company milestones, governance, and transparency initiatives.
• Translate complex technical, legal, and policy issues into clear, accessible public narratives.
• Partner with Legal, Policy, and Security teams to anticipate PR risks and manage crisis messaging.
• Draft reactive statements, Q&As, and plans for fast-moving regulatory, security, and platform issues.
• Build executive visibility through media interviews, keynotes, and thought leadership.
• Prep and counsel senior leaders for high-profile press engagements with talking points and briefing decks.
• Write press releases, blog posts, pitches, and communications plans while managing concurrent projects.
• Measure campaign impact through media coverage, sentiment tracking, and message penetration.

Skills

Media relations

Storytelling

Press outreach

Crisis communications

Writing

Executive communications

Cross-functional collaboration

Job description

About the Team

The TikTok USDS Joint Venture Communications team serves as the strategic voice of the company, articulating who we are and how we protect and empower millions of Americans on the apps we operate. Our U.S. Corporate Communications team is responsible for shaping and advancing the company's corporate narrative, strengthening its reputation, and helping the public understand our mission, governance and approach to protecting the U.S. platform.

We sit at the intersection of some of the company’s most consequential and technical issues — spanning national security, data security, privacy, algorithm integrity, AI, technology, policy and corporate reputation. We translate complex topics into clear, credible stories; build trusted relationships with journalists and other influential voices; and lead communications through major company milestones and fast-moving issues.

From proactively telling the story of the people, technology and safeguards behind the company, to engaging with reporters covering some of the most closely watched issues in technology and security, our team works to build understanding and trust in TikTok USDS Joint Venture and the work we do on behalf of the U.S. TikTok community.

About the role

We are looking for an experienced Corporate Communications Manager to help shape and tell the story of TikTok USDS Joint Venture and the work underway to safeguard the U.S. TikTok platform and its community.

This role will be a key member of the Corporate Communications team, with a particular focus on media relations, proactive storytelling and corporate reputation management. The ideal candidate is deeply plugged into the U.S. media landscape, has strong relationships with technology, business, policy and national security reporters, and can demonstrate an ability to turn complex issues into clear, compelling stories.

This person will help build and maintain relationships with journalists, identify opportunities to proactively tell our story across a variety of channels and events, help manage incoming media inquiries and fast-moving issues, and develop communications strategies around major company initiatives, security and technology issues, and corporate milestones.

We are looking for someone with excellent news judgment who is equally comfortable developing strategy, pitching a reporter, preparing an executive for an interview, writing a communications plan or jumping into a rapidly developing issue.

Responsibilities

• Cultivate key media relationships across tech, policy, cybersecurity, AI, and national security beats.
• Drive proactive coverage, manage inbound press inquiries, and host background briefings on complex topics.
• Track media trends and expand outreach to newsletters, podcasts, creators, and new formats.
• Execute comms strategies for major company milestones, governance, and transparency initiatives.
• Translate complex technical, legal, and policy issues into clear, accessible public narratives
• Partner with Legal, Policy, and Security teams to anticipate PR risks and manage crisis messaging.
• Draft reactive statements, Q&As, and plans for fast-moving regulatory, security, and platform issues.
• Build executive visibility through media interviews, keynotes, and thought leadership.
• Prep and counsel senior leaders for high-profile press engagements with talking points and briefing decks.
• Write press releases, blog posts, pitches, and communications plans while managing concurrent projects.
• Measure campaign impact through media coverage, sentiment tracking, and message penetration.

What We're Looking For

You are a media relations practitioner at heart. You read the news closely, understand what makes a story interesting and know the difference between something a company wants to announce and something a reporter will actually care about.

You enjoy building relationships with journalists and are comfortable picking up the phone, pitching an idea, arranging a background conversation or working through a difficult inbound inquiry.

You are intellectually curious and able to quickly understand complicated subjects spanning technology, national security, policy and business. You ask good questions, challenge assumptions and can find the simple story inside a highly technical or nuanced issue.

Most importantly, you combine strong judgment with a willingness to execute. You can think strategically about the company’s reputation while still rolling up your sleeves to write the pitch, make the call and get the story across the finish line.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications:

• 7+ years of experience in corporate communications, public relations, journalism, or an agency environment.
• Proven track record building media relationships and successfully pitching/landing meaningful earned media stories.
• Deep knowledge of the U.S. media landscape across technology, business, policy, and national security, including newsroom operations and news judgment.
• Hands‑on experience developing and executing end‑to‑end communications strategies for proactive campaigns and reactive issues.
• Exceptional writing and editing skills with a proven ability to translate complex subjects into compelling stories.
• Strong executive presence and experience collaborating effectively with senior leaders and cross‑functional teams.
• Sound judgment, composure, and decision‑making skills in a fast‑paced environment

Preferred Qualifications:

• In‑house or agency experience supporting technology clients or working in highly scrutinized sectors (e.g., national security, cybersecurity, privacy, trust and safety, public policy).
• Established relationships with premier technology, business, policy, national security, and cybersecurity journalists.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate complex technical, national security, or regulatory topics.
• Proven experience guiding organizations through high‑stakes reputational, regulatory, or public policy issues.
• Direct experience acting as an official spokesperson, both on‑record and for background.

About USDS

TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC is dedicated to the safety and security of millions of Americans who create, discover, and connect with what they love on the apps we operate. The Joint Venture has been established in compliance with the Executive Order signed by President Trump on September 25, 2025. Our foundation is a comprehensive data privacy and cybersecurity program we operate under defined safeguards to protect national security and secure U.S. user data, apps and the algorithm. We safeguard the U.S. content ecosystem, holding decision‑making authority for trust and safety policies and moderation. USDS Joint Venture helps ensure Americans can continue to express their creativity, discover new hobbies and interests, and build thriving communities and businesses on a global scale.

On‑site presence across teams allows the company to operate with greater speed, alignment, and agility — especially in areas like real‑time decision‑making, team development, and integrated execution. As such, the company is shifting from a hybrid work model to a fully in‑person schedule up to 5 days a week.

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.

USDS Reasonable Accommodation

USDS 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/USDS-RA

Job Information

【For Pay Transparency】Compensation Description (Annually)

The base salary range for this position in the selected city is $117334 - $266400 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.