Interdisciplinary Researcher

ByteDance; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 159,000 - 288,000; Full time

Job summary

ByteDance is seeking a senior macro research professional to lead independent analyses of geopolitics, policy, and economics. You will produce strategic intelligence, synthesize diverse sources, and present findings to senior leaders.

You will build academic and policy partnerships and translate long-term trends into corporate strategy. You will collaborate with internal teams to provide context for regulatory work and respond to ad hoc inquiries, shaping long-range thinking for ByteDance's

Qualifications

• 5+ years of demonstrated depth in historical analysis, strategic research, geopolitical analysis, or policy research.
• Ability to navigate complex policy environments across multiple jurisdictions and interpret long-term trends.
• Pre-existing relationships with scholars, researchers, think tanks, universities, and policy institutions.
• Ability to synthesize interdisciplinary information for a non-specialist executive audience.
• Experience delivering oral briefings and written assessments to senior leaders.
• Proven track record of owning end-to-end research projects with minimal supervision.
• Comfort operating in ambiguity and iterating based on feedback.

Responsibilities

• Lead independent, end-to-end research and complex policy analyses spanning domestic and foreign policy, global geopolitics, tech governance, and comparative political economy, and synthesize findings for senior business leaders
• Produce high-quality written intelligence products and deliver presentations to senior management on strategic topics
• Build relationships with scholars, researchers, think tanks, and policy experts to gather expert insights
• Collaborate with internal teams to provide longer-term strategic context for regulatory and policy work
• Interpret long-term trends across jurisdictions and connect them to ByteDance's business strategy
• Respond to ad hoc research inquiries and contribute to recurring team products like newsletters and regional assessments

Skills

Geopolitical analysis

Policy research

Historical analysis

Strategic research

Executive briefing

Independent research

Ambiguity tolerance

Education

Advanced degree (Master's/PhD) in Political Science or related field

Job description

Responsibilities

About the Team
The Macro Research team operates as ByteDance's internal knowledge and advisory function, conducting rigorous research on economic and philosophical studies, geopolitics, technology governance, international affairs and history. The team tracks macro trends, produces long-horizon strategic assessments, and provides deep, contextualized insights to senior leadership on the global environment in which the company operates. Our work informs executive decision-making on market expansion, regulatory preparedness, and strategic positioning.

• Lead independent, end-to-end research and complex policy analyses spanning domestic and foreign policy, global geopolitics, tech governance, and comparative political economy, and synthesize findings for senior business leaders


• Produce high-quality written intelligence products (strategic assessments, country briefings, trend analyses, issue-specific deep dives) and deliver presentations to senior management on topics of strategic interest


• Build and maintain trusted, substantive relationships with leading scholars, researchers, policy experts, think tanks, and academic institutions to collect expert insights and perspectives


• Work with relevant internal teams across the business to provide longer-term strategic context that complements their near-term regulatory and policy work


• Interpret long-term trends across multiple jurisdictions and connect them to the company's business strategy


• Respond to ad hoc research inquiries from leadership and business units; contribute to recurring team products (ie: tech landscape newsletters, regional assessments)

Qualifications

• Minimum Qualifications:
  - 5+ years of demonstrated depth in historical analysis, strategic research, geopolitical analysis, or policy research (gained in settings such as think tanks, intelligence analysis, academic research institutions, or in-house corporate research/strategy teams), with the proven ability to set research priorities and lead complex analyses independently


• - Ability to navigate complex or ambiguous policy environments across multiple jurisdictions, adapting analysis to local political, legal, and cultural context, and to interpret long-term political and regulatory trends and their implications for business strategy


• - Pre-existing relationships with scholars, researchers from public and private sector, think tanks, universities, and policy institutions


• - Ability to synthesize complex, interdisciplinary information from diverse sources and produce clear, concise, and actionable written outputs for a non-specialist executive audience


• - Comfortable delivering oral briefings and written assessments to senior business leaders; able to turn deep research into clear and concise briefings


• - Proven track record of owning end-to-end research projects with minimal supervision, from question definition through analysis to final product delivery


• - Comfortable operating in ambiguity, trying new approaches, and iterating based on feedback

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree (Master's or PhD) in Political Science, International Relations, Public Policy, Economics, History, or a related social science/humanities discipline or equivalent depth gained through professional experience


• - Deep expertise in the political and economic history of North America and at least one of the following: cross-border geopolitics and major-power relations, tech governance/policy, international political economy


• - Experience producing research products for C-suite, senior executive or senior policy audiences


• - Prior experience at a major research institution, think tank (e.g., RAND, Brookings, CSIS, CFR, Chatham House), tier one University, strategic consultancy, or in-house strategic corporate intelligence function


• - Professional network spanning North American domestic policy circles and international affairs communities

About Us

Founded in 2012, ByteDance's mission is to inspire creativity and enrich life. With a suite of more than a dozen products, including TikTok, Lemon8, CapCut and Pico as well as platforms specific to the China market, including Toutiao, Douyin, and Xigua, ByteDance has made it easier and more fun for people to connect with, consume, and create content.

Why Join ByteDance

Inspiring creativity is at the core of ByteDance's mission. Our innovative products are 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 enrich life - a mission we work towards every day.

As ByteDancers, 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. 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

ByteDance 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 ByteDance, our mission is to inspire creativity and enrich life. 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.

Reasonable Accommodation

ByteDance 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

Job Information

【For Pay Transparency】Compensation Description (Annually)

The base salary range for this position in the selected city is $159000 - $288000 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. Apropriately handling and managing confidential information including proprietary and trade secret information and access to information technology systems; and


3. Exercising sound judgment.