Machine Learning Engineer, E-commerce Recommendation Foundation - USDS Seattle Regular R&D Job ID: A178577

TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC is seeking a Machine Learning Engineer to build and optimize cross-scenario Foundation Models for unified modeling and efficient inference in the E-commerce Recommendation Foundation.

The role focuses on event-sequence driven generative recommendations, multimodal understanding, and applying LLMs across retrieval, ranking, and re-ranking stages. Candidates should have a research mindset and experience with Python and PyTorch.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's in CS, ML, or related field.
• 1+ years of ML/DL/IR experience.
• Proficiency in Python and PyTorch.
• Strong passion for intelligent recommender systems and self-driven research mindset.

Responsibilities

• Build and optimize cross-scenario Foundation Models.
• Advance event-sequence-driven generative recommendation paradigm.
• Apply LLM technologies across retrieval, ranking, and re-ranking; contribute to training, inference optimization, and system co-design.
• Explore integration of LLMs/VLMs with recommender systems for adaptive intelligent systems.
• Research end-to-end generative recommendation and system optimization for efficiency and user experience.

Skills

ML/IR experience

Python proficiency

Research mindset

LLM/generative interest

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/ML/related field

Master's degree in CS/ML/related field

PhD in CS/ML/related field

Tools

PyTorch

Job description

Machine Learning Engineer, E-commerce Recommendation Foundation - USDS

Seattle Regular R&D Job ID: A178577

Responsibilities

• Build and optimize cross-scenario shared Foundation Models to enable unified modeling and efficient inference.
• Advance the event-sequence-driven generative recommendation paradigm, integrating multimodal understanding and generative capabilities.
• Apply LLM technologies across retrieval, ranking, and re-ranking stages; participate in model training, inference optimization, and system co-design.
• Explore the integration of LLMs / VLMs with recommendation systems to develop adaptive and evolving intelligent recommenders.
• Research end-to-end generative recommendation and system optimization methods that balance efficiency and user experience.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Machine Learning, or a related field.
• 1+ years of experience in machine learning, deep learning, or information retrieval.
• Proficiency in Python and familiarity with mainstream deep learning frameworks (e.g., PyTorch).
• Strong passion for intelligent recommendation systems and a self-driven research mindset.

Preferred Qualifications

• PhD degree in Computer Science, Machine Learning, or a related field.
• Experience in large-scale recommendation system development or large-model training, with notable technical achievements in a sub-area.
• Research experience or publications in LLMs, multimodal learning, reinforcement learning, or generative recommendation.
• Familiarity with pre-training and post-training processes for large language models (LLMs) or Foundation Models.

Job Information

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