Machine Learning Engineer Intern (Lead Ads) - 2027 Summer

TikTok; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 52,000 - 72,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Wellbeing benefits

Paid holidays

Housing allowance (where eligible)

Job summary

TikTok is seeking a motivated intern for the Lead Ads team to help deliver large-scale ads systems and optimize relevance and ranking models.

You will work on NLP, ML-based advertising algorithms, and CTR/CVR estimation, collaborating with product teams to shape feature strategy. This paid internship offers hands-on experience, social learning events, and health benefits starting day one.

Qualifications

• Pursuing a Bachelor's or higher degree in a technical field (CS/CE or related).
• Strong programming skills in Go, C/C++, Python; Linux familiarity.
• Solid knowledge of statistics and data analysis.
• Good grounding in ML/DL concepts (CNN/RNN/LSTM).
• Familiarity with at least one ML framework (TensorFlow/PyTorch/MXNet).
• Availability for a 12-week full-time internship in Summer 2027.

Responsibilities

• Participate in building a large-scale Ads system for lead ads.
• Improve relevance models and optimization strategies (e.g., semantic matching, active learning, multi-modal ranking).
• Contribute to Ads algorithms using Machine Learning.
• Advance NLP capabilities: query understanding, classification, seq2seq, NER, knowledge graphs, bidword optimization.
• Support CTR/CVR model estimation, data analysis, and feature engineering.
• Research and develop Ads pacing algorithms and traffic control.
• Collaborate with product managers to define product strategy and features.

Skills

Go

C/C++

Python

Linux

Statistics

Machine Learning

TensorFlow

PyTorch

MXNet

Education

Bachelor's degree or higher in CS/CE or related

Tools

TensorFlow

PyTorch

MXNet

Job description

Responsibilities

The Lead Ads team empowers TikTok's global monetization (billion-dollar business) via efficiently delivering lead ads on TikTok. Our mission is to push the boundaries of large-scale ads delivery systems and lead the innovations of TikTok's personalized online advertising.

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.

• Participate in the development of a large-scale Ads system
• Responsible for relevance model and strategy optimization, such as semantic matching models, active learning, text/photo/video multi-model, ranking strategy, etc
• Participate in the development and iteration of Ads algorithms by using Machine Learning.
• Work on NLP (Natural Language Processing) capability improvement and query understanding, such as query classification, seq2seq, NER (Named Entity Recognition), knowledge graph, bidword optimization, etc
• Work on CTR/CVR model estimation accuracy, data analysis, modeling, feature engineering
• Research and develop Ads pacing algorithms, ads traffic control, etc
• Partner with product managers and product strategy & operation team to define product strategy and features

Minimum Qualifications

• Currently pursuing a Bachelor's or above degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• Solid programming skills, including but not limited to: Go, C/C++, Python. Familiar with basic data structure and algorithms. Familiar with Linux development environment.
• Good analytical thinking capability. Have essential knowledge and skills in statistics.
• Good theoretical grounding in the machine and deep learning concepts and techniques (CNN/RNN/LSTM, etc.).
• Familiar with the architecture and implementation of at least one mainstream machine learning programming framework (TensorFlow/PyTorch/MXNet), familiar with its architecture and implementation mechanism.
• Must be able to commit to a 12-week full-time work period during Summer 2027.

Preferred Qualifications

• Ads system, recommendation, searching, ranking, etc.

Job Information

• Compensation Description: Hourly rate range for this position in the selected city is $45- $45.
• Interns have day one access to health insurance, life insurance, wellbeing benefits and more.
• Interns also receive 10 paid holidays per year and paid sick time (56 hours if hired in first half of year, 40 if hired in second half of year).
• Interns who are not working 100% remote may also be eligible for housing allowance.
• 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.

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