Moderation Strategy Operation Lead, E-Commerce - USDS

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

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision insurance

401(k) with company match

Paid parental leave

Short-term and long-term disability

Life insurance

Wellbeing benefits

10 paid holidays per year

10 paid sick days per year

17 days Paid Personal Time

Job summary

TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC is seeking a Moderation Strategy Operation Lead to drive the daily human moderation engine and ensure decisions meet safety standards and USDS compliance. You will own Quality, Efficiency, and Cost, and connect policy/product teams with external partners to maintain a high-integrity moderation ecosystem.

You will lead the model strategy ops team, advance AI-assisted workflows, and align operational health with evolving regulatory requirements while scaling across

Qualifications

• 5+ years in Moderation, Trust & Safety, or Risk Operations with team leadership experience in a high-growth tech environment.
• Proven track record managing mid-to-large scale teams through change.
• Strong understanding of AI/ML concepts and how LLMs apply to content risk.
• Proficiency in SQL and data-driven decision-making; able to perform root cause analysis on model misses.
• Excellent ability to translate AI strategies into actionable insights for non-technical stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Oversee model strategy ops team to enhance moderation efficiency and model accuracy.
• Harness LLM capabilities to improve moderation performance and risk detection.
• Implement large language models for autonomous handling of routine audit tasks.
• Streamline decision-making by leveraging different models for complex tasks.
• Foster collaboration between domain experts and language models to improve outcomes.
• Stay updated on AI/moderation tech to drive innovation in the field.
• Use data-driven insights to improve moderation strategies and health metrics.

Skills

Moderation Leadership

AI/ML concepts

SQL & data analysis

Strategic Ops

Stakeholder communication

Tools

SQL

Job description

About the Team

The USDS 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. The Moderation Strategy Operation team ensures that our operation and moderation systems are not only high-performing but also fully aligned with USDS-specific security requirements and regulatory standards.

About the Role

As the Moderation Strategy Operation Lead, you are the primary driver of our daily human moderation engine. This is a high-impact leadership role responsible for the operational excellence of our manual review workflows, ensuring that every moderation decision aligns with our rigorous safety standards and USDS compliance protocols.

You will own the "Golden Triangle" of operational health: Quality, Efficiency, and Cost. You aren't just managing a team; you are building and refining the mechanisms that allow our human oversight to scale alongside our automated systems. You will be the "connective tissue" of the organization—bridging the gap between internal policy/product teams and our external vendor partners to ensure a seamless, high-integrity moderation ecosystem.

Responsibilities

• Oversee model strategy ops team to enhance moderation efficiency and model accuracy.
• Harness the capabilities of advanced language models (LLM, business model and fusion model) to enhance overall moderation. Utilize large models to identify potential risk factors swiftly and accurately.
• Implement large language models for autonomous handling of routine audit tasks, reducing the need for manual intervention.
• Streamline decision-making processes by leveraging different models, especially for intricate tasks.
• Foster collaboration between domain experts and large language models, combining expert judgment to continually enhance model performance and accuracy.
• Drive innovation in moderation field by staying abreast of emerging AI and moderation technologies.
• Utilize data-driven insights to make informed decisions and improvements in moderation strategies.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

• 5 + years in Moderation, Trust & Safety, or Risk Operations, with at least 3 years of experience leading teams in a high-growth tech environment. (Backgrounds in Strategy Ops, Product Management, or Business Analysis are also encouraged).
• Proven track record of managing mid-to-large scale operational or technical teams through organizational change.
• Strong understanding of AI/ML concepts, specifically how Large Language Models are applied to content classification and risk detection.
• Proficiency in SQL and data-driven decision-making; ability to perform root cause analysis on model "misses."
• Exceptional ability to translate complex AI strategies into actionable insights for non-technical stakeholders and USDS leadership.

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:

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:

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.