Machine Learning Engineer Intern (Brand Ads) - 2027 Summer

TikTok Inc.; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 28,000 - 44,000; Part time

Job summary

TikTok Inc. invites interns to join the Brand Innovation Team to work on ad products like reservation and auction ads, delivering end-to-end ad tech across bidding, ranking and forecasting.

Interns gain practical, hands-on experience with cross-functional partners, attending development workshops and social events while exploring potential career paths at our global affiliates.

Qualifications

• Currently pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Software Development, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• Proficiency in Go, C/C++, Java, Python, or similar languages.
• Ability to solve ambiguous problems and make clear engineering trade-offs.
• Strong cross-functional communication and collaboration skills.
• Experience with large-scale backend, recommendation, or advertising systems.
• Hands-on ads delivery experience in pacing, bidding, auction, ranking, forecasting, or marketplace optimization is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Build and optimize the delivery stack across pacing, allocation, traffic strategy, and delivery controls.
• Drive products from concept to launch with Product, Strategy, and cross-functional partners.
• Turn business goals into scalable delivery strategies and system designs.
• Own technical design, implementation, experimentation, launch, and iteration.
• Use data and experiments to diagnose problems and drive fast iteration.

Skills

Strong coding & debugging

System design fundamentals

Cross-functional collaboration

Ambiguity solving

Ads delivery experience

Go

C/C++

Java

Python

Experience with large-scale backend

Education

Bachelor's degree in Software Development/Computer Science/Computer Engineering

Tools

Go

C/C++

Java

Python

Job description

Responsibilities

The Brand Innovation Team builds technologies that unlock business growth potential. This team owns several ad products: reservation ads, auction ads, and innovative content ads that enable advertisers and users to foster more awareness of their brand to attain their business goals. We work on the end-to-end ad delivery tech stack, including ad bidding, ranking, and forecasting.

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.

Candidates may apply to a maximum of two positions across Our Company and its affiliates globally. Applications will be considered in the order they are submitted.

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, so we encourage you to apply early. Please clearly state your availability in your resume, including your start and end dates.

Responsibilities:

• Build and optimize the delivery stack across pacing, allocation, traffic strategy, and delivery controls.
• Drive products from concept to launch with Product, Strategy, and cross-functional partners.
• Turn business goals into scalable delivery strategies and system designs.
• Own technical design, implementation, experimentation, launch, and iteration.
• Use data and experiments to diagnose problems and drive fast iteration.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications:

• Currently pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Software Development, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• Strong coding, debugging, and system design fundamentals.
• Proficiency in Go, C/C++, Java, Python, or similar languages.
• Ability to solve ambiguous problems and make clear engineering trade-offs.
• Strong cross-functional communication and collaboration skills.
• Experience with large-scale backend, recommendation, or advertising systems.
• Hands-on ads delivery experience in pacing, bidding, auction, ranking, forecasting, or marketplace optimization is preferred.

By submitting an application for this role, you accept and agree to our global applicant privacy policy, which may be accessed here: https://careers.tiktok.com/legal/privacy