Machine Learning Scientist Intern (Global E-Commerce Content Recommendation) - 2026 Summer (PhD)

TikTok; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 64,781 - 92,264; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Life insurance

Paid holidays

Sick time

Housing allowance

Job summary

A leading social media platform is looking for passionate PhD interns to join their Global E-Commerce Content Recommendation team in Seattle. The role involves building leading recommendation systems, exploring innovative generative techniques, and delivering machine learning solutions to enhance user experience on the platform. Candidates should be pursuing a PhD with strong knowledge in machine learning frameworks like PyTorch and TensorFlow. This internship offers a competitive hourly rate and access to various benefits including health insurance and paid holidays.

Qualifications

• Currently pursuing a PhD with a relevant background.
• Good knowledge of theoretical and empirical research.
• Solid knowledge and experience with deep learning frameworks.

Responsibilities

• Build industry-leading recommendation systems.
• Explore generative recommendation techniques.
• Deliver end-to-end machine learning solutions.

Skills

Deep Learning Frameworks

C/C++ Programming

Python

Data Structures and Algorithms

Education

PhD in Computer Science or related field

Tools

PyTorch

TensorFlow

Job description

Responsibilities

Team Introduction

Global E-Commerce Content Recommendation team plays a central role in the company, driving critical product decisions and platform growth. The team is made up of machine learning researchers and engineers, who support and innovate on production recommendation models and drive product impact. The team is fast-pacing, collaborative and impact-driven.

We are looking for talented individuals to join us for an internship in 2026. PhD Internships at TikTok aim to provide students with the opportunity to actively contribute to our products and research, and to the organization’s future plans and emerging technologies.

PhD internships at TikTok provide students with the opportunity to actively contribute to our products and research, and to the organization’s future plans and emerging technologies. Our dynamic internship experience blends hands‑on learning, enriching community‑building and development events, and collaboration with industry experts.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis – we encourage you to apply early. Please state your availability clearly in your resume (Start date, End date).

Summer Start Dates

• May 11th, 2026
• May 18th, 2026
• May 26th, 2026
• June 8th, 2026
• June 22nd, 2026

In This Role, You’ll Have The Opportunity To

• Build industry‑leading recommendation system, improving user experience, content ecosystem and platform security;
• Explore generative recommendation techniques, including Diffusion Models, prompt learning, and multimodal content generation, to unlock new capabilities in content discovery.
• Build multi‑model and cross‑scenario systems enabling unified recommendation across livestreams, short videos, and search.
• Deliver end‑to‑end machine learning solution to address critical product challenges;
• Own the full stack machine learning system and optimize algorithms and infrastructure to improve recommendation performance.
• Work with cross functional teams to design product strategies and build solutions to grow TikTok in important markets.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

• Currently pursuing a PhD with a background in computer science, machine learning, or similar fields;
• Good knowledge of theoretical and empirical research in addressing research problems;
• Solid knowledge and experience with at least one popular deep learning framework (e.g., PyTorch,TensorFlow) and familiarity with deep neural network architectures.

Preferred Qualifications

• Research experience in one or more of the following fields: applied machine learning, machine learning infrastructure, large‑scale recommendation system, market‑facing machine learning product;
• Strong first‑author publications record in top AI conferences or journals(e.g., NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, ACL, EMNLP, NAACL etc.);
• Proficient in C/C++, Python, and shell programming languages, and have a deep understanding of data structure and algorithm design;
• Internship experience in an AI research organization.

Privacy Statement

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

Job Information

【For Pay Transparency】Compensation Description (Hourly) - Campus Intern

The hourly rate range for this position in the selected city is $57- $57.

Benefits may vary depending on the nature of employment and the country work location. 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

• 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