Moderation Operations Lead

TikTok USDS Joint Venture; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 257,000; Full time

Job summary

TikTok USDS Joint Venture in Los Angeles seeks a Moderation Operations Lead to drive the operational success of TikTok Shop in the US. You will lead daily human-based moderation, manage in-house and vendor teams, and ensure safety, compliance, and quality in content decisions.

You will build operational frameworks, deliver data-driven insights, and collaborate with governance teams to align policies across internal and external partners.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in BPO vendor management with at least 2 years leading teams in a high-growth tech environment (Moderation/Trust & Safety/Risk Ops preferred).
• Proven track record of managing mid-to-large scale operational or technical teams.
• Strong understanding of AI concepts and applying them to daily operations.
• Leadership ability; thrives in ambiguity and matrix environments.
• Proficiency in using data to generate insights and perform root cause analysis.

Responsibilities

• Responsible for TikTok Shop human-based moderation operations, including efficiency, accuracy, and costs.
• Responsible for TikTok Shop related content, creator and listing moderation enforcements.
• Establish operational frameworks and manage remote BPO vendors to meet performance targets.
• Lead internal operations and quality teams to ensure vendors deliver exceptional results.
• Provide guidance to moderation teams to drive continuous improvement and governance policy alignment.
• Produce data-driven insights from moderation operations to identify governance improvement opportunities.
• Build AI-based solutions to train, coach, and upskill moderators.
• Ensure proper staffing and contingency plans for normal operations, seasonality, and peaks.
• Collaborate with cross-functional partners to align objectives.

Skills

BPO vendor management

Team leadership

AI concepts

Data analysis

Job description

Responsibilities

About the Team The USDS TikTok Moderation team is a specialized organization within the TikTok USDS Joint Venture. Our mission is to build a safe, trustworthy, and compliant e-commerce ecosystem specifically for the US market. We operate at the critical intersection of advanced AI/LLM technology and stringent data security protocols.

About the Role As the Moderation Operations Lead, you are responsible for the operational success of TikTok Shop in the US. This is a key leadership role to ensure the execution and quality of our content moderation decisions align with our rigorous safety standards and USDS compliance protocols. You are responsible for keeping TikTok Shop a safe, compliant, and trustworthy marketplace. The function reviews TikTok Shop related product listings, creators and content for policy compliance, works with Governance teams on policy standards, and supports relevant enforcements. In this role, you will lead daily operations for our human-based moderation team to drive continuous improvement and manage both an in-house team, as well as outside vendors to support our mission.

Responsibilities

• Responsible for TikTok Shop human-based moderation operations, including efficiency, accuracy, and costs.
• Responsible for TikTok Shop related content, creator and listing moderation enforcements.
• Strong ability to establish operational frameworks and manage remote BPO vendors effectively to meet our performance targets.
• Lead internal operations and quality teams to ensure vendors deliver consistently exceptional results.
• Provide guidance to human-based moderation teams to drive continuous improvement and alignment on governance policies between internal and external teams.
• Strong ability to produce data-driven insights from moderation operations to identify improvement opportunities for governance policies and moderator facing tools and systems.
• Build AI-based solutions to efficiently train, coach, and upskill moderators.
• Ensure proper staffing and contingency plans through normal business, seasonality, and peaks.
• Strong ability to collaborate and influence cross-functional partners.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

• 5+ years in BPO vendor management, with at least 2 years of experience leading teams in a high-growth tech environment. (Backgrounds in Moderation, Trust & Safety, or Risk Operations preferred).
• Proven track record of managing mid-to-large scale operational or technical teams.
• Strong understanding of AI concepts and how to apply them to daily operations.
• Strong leadership ability; self-motivated to thrive in ambiguity and in a matrix environment.
• Proficiency in using data to generate insights and make decisions; ability to perform root cause analysis to identify opportunities.

Preferred Qualifications

• Compliance Expertise: Experience working within a highly regulated environment (e.g., USDS, Government, Finance, or highly audited Tech sectors).
• E-commerce Domain: Deep knowledge of US e-commerce marketplace dynamics, seller fraud, and consumer protection.
• Automation Specialist: A track record of driving efficiency gains through the implementation of automated workflows or LLM agents.
• Strategic Agility: Demonstrated ability to navigate ambiguity and build operational "mechanisms" from scratch in a fast-paced environment.

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.

Job Information

【For Pay Transparency】Compensation Description (Annually)

The base salary range for this position in the selected city is $139650 - $256500 annually.

Compensation may vary outside of this range depending on a number of factors, including a candidate’s qualifications, skills, competencies and experience, and location. Base pay is one part of the Total Package that is provided to compensate and recognize employees for their work, and this role may be eligible for additional discretionary bonuses/incentives, and restricted stock units.

Benefits may vary depending on the nature of employment and the country work location. Employees have day one access to medical, dental, and vision insurance, a 401(k) savings plan with company match, paid parental leave, short-term and long-term disability coverage, life insurance, wellbeing benefits, among others. Employees also receive 10 paid holidays per year, 10 paid sick days per year and 17 days of Paid Personal Time (prorated upon hire with increasing accruals by tenure).

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

1. Interacting and occasionally having unsupervised contact with internal/external clients and/or colleagues;
2. Appropriately handling and managing confidential information including proprietary and trade secret information and access to information technology systems;
3. Exercising sound judgment.