Design Engineering Intern (Design System & AI Workflow - TikTok-Design) - 2027 Summer

TikTok; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 34,000 - 49,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Housing allowance

Paid holidays

Job summary

TikTok invites student designers to join an internship to work on AI-enabled design systems and tools. You will help translate design specs into multi‑platform implementations and contribute to the evolution of design tooling alongside experienced engineers.

You will gain hands-on experience with AI-powered design workflows, participate in data labeling, and collaborate across global teams to deliver high‑quality experiences in streaming and short‑form video contexts.

Qualifications

• Currently pursuing an Undergraduate, Master's degree in HCI, AI, Computer Science, Design, or a related technical discipline.
• Proficient in Vibe Coding with tools such as Cursor and Claude Code; able to deliver high-fidelity interactive prototypes end-to-end from product/design concepts.
• Data-and business-savvy with strong design taste—able to curate and refine from AI-generated content, turning ordinary outputs into high-quality results.
• Self-motivated, hands-on, and learning-oriented, with a habit of reflection and summarization.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills, optimistic, and adaptable to a fast-paced environment.
• Passionate about design engineering and technology innovation, intellectually curious, with a global perspective.

Responsibilities

• Drive AI transformation of design systems and workflows—explore how AI agents, skills, and tools integrate with design, making design systems an asset that AI can read, consume, and generate from.
• Build and iterate on internal AI design tools using Vibe Coding (Cursor, Claude Code) to develop agents, skills, and tools that accelerate team adoption.
• Explore and build automated asset generation tools; maintain them to improve design output efficiency.
• Participate in data production and aesthetic labeling, converting high-quality data into training materials that support design system and AI model evolution.
• Partner with engineering teams to translate design system specs and components into high-quality multi-platform implementations, ensuring cross-platform consistency.
• Monitor user experience across live streaming and short-video scenarios; validate and iterate designs based on business metrics (e.g., revenue, broadcast initiation rates).

Skills

Vibe Coding

Prototype delivery

Design taste

Communication skills

Collaboration

AI content curation

Education

Undergraduate or Master's in HCI/AI/CS/Design

Tools

Cursor

Claude Code

Midjourney

Jimeng

Kling

Job description

Responsibilities

TikTok Design Team is to provide first-class user experience for hundreds of millions of users around the world, thereby helping them create and express better, discover the diversity and beauty of the world, break down more barriers, and build bridges between people. We are an international design team with Product Designer, Creative Designer, Visual Designer, Content Designer and Localization Expert from all over the world working together to make every impossible possible.

Internship Program

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.

• Drive AI transformation of design systems and workflows—explore how AI agents, skills, and tools integrate with design, making design systems an asset that AI can read, consume, and generate from.
• Build and iterate on internal AI design tools using Vibe Coding (Cursor, Claude Code) to develop agents, skills, and tools that accelerate team adoption.
• Explore and build automated asset generation tools; maintain them to improve design output efficiency.
• Participate in data production and aesthetic labeling, converting high‑quality data into training materials that support design system and AI model evolution.
• Partner with engineering teams to translate design system specs and components into high‑quality multi‑platform implementations, ensuring cross‑platform consistency.
• Monitor user experience across live streaming and short‑video scenarios; validate and iterate designs based on business metrics (e.g., revenue, broadcast initiation rates).

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

• Currently pursuing an Undergraduate, Master's degree in HCI, AI, Computer Science, Design, or a related technical discipline.
• Proficient in Vibe Coding with tools such as Cursor and Claude Code; able to deliver high‑fidelity interactive prototypes end‑to‑end from product/design concepts.
• Data‑and business‑savvy with strong design taste—able to curate and refine from AI‑generated content, turning ordinary outputs into high‑quality results.
• Self‑motivated, hands‑on, and learning‑oriented, with a habit of reflection and summarization.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills, optimistic, and adaptable to a fast‑paced environment.
• Passionate about design engineering and technology innovation, intellectually curious, with a global perspective.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with agent orchestration and multi‑agent collaboration to solve complex problems.
• Hands‑on experience with generative models, proficient in platforms like Midjourney, Jimeng, and Kling.
• Experience in model training (dataset preparation, LoRA tuning).
• Shipped social, creator, or content products, or have side projects in AI‑driven/generative experiences.

Job Information

Compensation Description (Hourly) - Campus Intern

The hourly rate range for this position in the selected city is $30- $30.

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