Lead Researcher, Large Language Models/LLM, TikTok

TikTok; San Jose (CA); Sur place; USD 308 000 - 588 000; Plein temps

Avantages offerts par ce poste

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

401(k) with company match

Paid parental leave

Disability coverage

Résumé du poste

TikTok is seeking researchers in LLM, VLM and Omni Model domains to advance pretraining, evaluation, data processing and RL-based alignment for scalable industry applications. You will lead incubation of high-capacity LLM solutions and collaborate with cross-functional teams.

You will design data recipes, explore new architectures, and translate research into product impact, working across content moderation, search and recommendations domains.

Qualifications

• Ph.D in Computer Science, Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, or a related field.
• Proficiency in programming languages such as Python, Rust, or C++ and a track record of working with deep learning frameworks (e.g., pytorch, deepspeed, megatron, vllm, etc.).

Responsabilités

• Lead the incubation of next-generation, high-capacity LLM solutions for TikTok business, identify and define both short and medium term objectives;
• Design methods, tools, data recipes and experiments to push forward state-of-art in large language models;
• Explore new model architecture and inference-efficient model design for LLM applications to scale impact on business
• Work closely with cross-functional teams to plan and implement projects harnessing LLMs for diverse purposes and vertical domains
• Extend the insights and impact from industry to academia

Connaissances

Python

Rust

C++

Formation

PhD in Computer Science / AI or related field

Outils

PyTorch

DeepSpeed

Megatron

VLLM

Description du poste

Responsibilities

Our Foundations and Intelligence Service R&D team is fast growing and responsible for building state-of-the-art foundation models, such as LLM, VLM and Omni Models. Our mission is to build a bridge for collaboration between foundation models and downstream business scenarios, and use foundation model powered world knowledge to enhance better user experiences across TikTok, including content moderation, search and recommendations, client AI, etc.

We are looking for researchers in LLM, VLM and Omni Model domain who are experienced in single/multi-modality LLM pretraining and applications, including evaluations, data processing and recipes for pre-training and post-training, reinforcement learning based alignment, efficient training and inference. There are no doubt a lot of unsolved problems in the LLM domain which could have a huge impact on industry and academia. In TikTok, we have real applications, resources and patience for technology incubation.

Your main responsibilities will be

• Lead the incubation of next-generation, high-capacity LLM solutions for TikTok business, identify and define both short and medium term objectives;
• Design methods, tools, data recipes and experiments to push forward state-of-art in large language models;
• Explore new model architecture and inference-efficient model design for LLM applications to scale impact on business
• Work closely with cross-functional teams to plan and implement projects harnessing LLMs for diverse purposes and vertical domains
• Extend the insights and impact from industry to academia

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

• Ph.D in Computer Science, Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, or a related field
• Proficiency in programming languages such as Python, Rust, or C++ and a track record of working with deep learning frameworks (e.g., pytorch, deepspeed, megatron, vllm, etc.).

Preferred Qualifications

• Excellent problem-solving skills and a creative mindset to address complex AI challenges. Demonstrated ability to drive research projects from idea to implementation, producing tangible outcomes.
• Published research papers or contributions to the LLM community would be a significant plus.
• Experience with inference tuning and Inference acceleration. Have a deep understanding of GPU and/or other AI accelerators, experience with large scale AI networks, pytorch 2.0 and similar technologies.
• Experience with evaluation of AI systems, LLM application & agent development is desirable.
• Strong understanding of cutting-edge LLM research (e.g., long context, multi modality, alignment research, agent ecosystem, etc.) and possess practical expertise in effectively implementing these advanced systems as a plus
• Strong understanding of distributed computing framework & performance tuning and verification for training/finetuning/inference; Being familiar with PEFT, RL, MoE, CoT or Langchain is a plus.

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

Job Information

【For Pay Transparency】Compensation Description (Annually)

The base salary range for this position in the selected city is $308000 - $588000 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:

• 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.