ML Engineer, E‑Commerce Recommendations & AI

TikTok; San Jose, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 162,000 - 388,000; Full time

Job summary

TikTok is seeking a Machine Learning Engineer Graduate (E-Commerce Recommendation/Search Alliance) with a PhD to design and deploy large-scale ML and ranking models for our commerce ecosystem. You will research, prototype, and productionize AI tooling, collaborating with cross-functional teams to deliver value for merchants and users.

Location is San Jose, CA. Regular employment with opportunities to publish and advance AI capabilities within a fast-growing tech company.

Qualifications

• PhD in CS/Engineering/Operations Research or related field.
• Strong data structures and algorithms knowledge.
• Deep ML, statistics, distributed computing, and big data skills.
• Software engineering experience via internships or projects.
• Experience in e-commerce, recommendation, or search is a plus.
• Publications at major conferences are desirable.
• Curiosity and entrepreneurship mindset; high creativity.

Responsibilities

• Design and build cutting-edge ML, recommendation, and ranking algorithms for large-scale e-commerce systems.
• Develop AI-powered merchant operation systems and AI agents to optimize affiliate strategies.
• Apply LLMs, NLP, and multimodal ML to discover new business opportunities.
• Collaborate with product managers and engineers to productionize AI solutions.
• Stay at the forefront of AI advances and rapidly prototype new technologies.
• Build ML-agents to automate algorithm development workflows and accelerate experimentation.

Skills

Data structures

Algorithms

ML basics

Software engineering

E-commerce

Publications

Curiosity

Creativity

Education

PhD in CS/Engineering/OR

Job description

TikTok is seeking a Machine Learning Engineer Graduate (E-Commerce Recommendation/Search Alliance) with a PhD to design and deploy large-scale ML and ranking models for our commerce ecosystem. You will research, prototype, and productionize AI tooling, collaborating with cross-functional teams to deliver value for merchants and users.

Location is San Jose, CA. Regular employment with opportunities to publish and advance AI capabilities within a fast-growing tech company.