Machine Learning Engineer - Ads Pangle - USDS

TikTok USDS Joint Venture; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 137,000 - 259,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision insurance

401(k) with company match

Paid parental leave

Short/long-term disability

Life insurance

Wellbeing benefits

10 holidays per year

10 paid sick days per year

17 days paid personal time

Job summary

TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC is expanding its Pangle ad platform in the United States, building scalable systems and ML models for real-time ad delivery and monetization. This role focuses on bidding strategies, CTR/CVR models, and production-grade ML pipelines within a fast-moving, global team.

The team values ownership, strong CS fundamentals, and collaboration as we push the boundaries of mobile monetization and advertising technology.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in computer science or related technical disciplines.
• 1+ years of hands-on experience with building and training complex and scalable machine learning systems.
• Strong Computer Science fundamentals (algorithms, data structures, software design) and problem-solving skills.
• Strong coding skills and a solid understanding of machine learning algorithms, particularly deep learning and ranking models.
• Experience leading or driving machine learning projects.

Responsibilities

• Develop and optimize bidding algorithms and strategies across Pangle's ad delivery systems, including targeting, retrieval, ranking, and bidding models, with a focus on improving monetization efficiency and overall ad ROI.
• Improve the performance and efficiency of large-scale, online-learning-based deep models for real-time advertising applications.
• Apply advanced modeling techniques and strategic thinking to enhance attribution accuracy, delivery quality, and long-term ecosystem sustainability. Identify and drive innovative commercialization technologies and product solutions.
• Design, build, and iterate on core ad prediction models such as CTR (Click-Through Rate) and CVR (Conversion Rate) models.

Skills

ML systems

Algorithms

Problem solving

Coding skills

Education

Bachelor's degree in computer science

Tools

TensorFlow

PyTorch

Job description

Responsibilities

About the team

Pangle is the ad network of TikTok for Business, helping mobile developers accelerate growth, deliver engaging ad experiences, and maximize revenue by accessing TikTok's global advertising demand. Operating in more than 36 countries and regions, Pangle has built a strong reputation for driving measurable results for app partners worldwide.

As Pangle expands into the U.S. market, we're building our advertising platform from the ground up - tackling exciting new challenges in large-scale systems, optimization, and machine learning. Join us to shape the future of mobile monetization and grow your career in a fast-moving, global team.

Responsibilities

• Develop and optimize bidding algorithms and strategies across Pangle's ad delivery systems, including targeting, retrieval, ranking, and bidding models, with a focus on improving monetization efficiency and overall ad ROI.
• Improve the performance and efficiency of large-scale, online-learning-based deep models for real-time advertising applications.
• Apply advanced modeling techniques and strategic thinking to enhance attribution accuracy, delivery quality, and long-term ecosystem sustainability. Identify and drive innovative commercialization technologies and product solutions.
• Design, build, and iterate on core ad prediction models such as CTR (Click-Through Rate) and CVR (Conversion Rate) models.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualification(s):

• Bachelor's degree in computer science or related technical disciplines.
• 1+ years of hands-on experience with building and training complex and scalable machine learning systems.
• Strong Computer Science fundamentals (algorithms, data structures, software design) and problem-solving skills.
• Strong coding skills and a solid understanding of machine learning algorithms, particularly deep learning and ranking models.
• Experience leading or driving machine learning projects.

Preferred Qualification(s):

• Strong theoretical background in machine learning and deep learning, with proficiency in at least one major framework (e.g., TensorFlow, PyTorch).
• Demonstrated experience optimizing large-scale advertising systems, including bidding algorithms and delivery strategies. Familiarity with OCPC, OCPM, and AEO bidding models, and understanding of ad delivery mechanisms.
• Excellent teamwork and communication skills, with a strong sense of ownership and the ability to move projects forward independently.
• Strong business and data intuition, passion for tackling complex problems, and proven ability in abstraction, project execution, and innovation.

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 $136800 - $259200 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;
3. Exercising sound judgment.