NPU Architect Engineer, Multimedia Lab

TikTok Inc.; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 162,000 - 317,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

401(k) with company match

Paid parental leave

Disability coverage

Life insurance

Wellbeing benefits

Paid holidays

Paid sick days

Paid personal time

Job summary

TikTok is seeking a senior hardware design engineer in San Jose to architect and optimize video codec accelerators on ASIC/FPGA platforms. You will work with teams across algorithm, software, firmware, and hardware to push high-performance video processing at scale, influencing compute throughput and memory bandwidth.

Ideal candidates have deep knowledge of computer architecture, DL algorithms on chips, and experience with LLM inference.

Qualifications

• Master's degree or above in Microelectronics, Electronic Engineering, Integrated Circuits, Computer Science, or a related field.
• Familiarity with Tensor Core; relevant experience in hardware acceleration for large language models.
• Solid knowledge of computer architecture and digital integrated circuit design.
• Familiarity with deep learning algorithms in areas such as large language models and CNNs.
• Familiarity with distributed frameworks for large language model inference; understanding of how to compute the performance of AI model inference on chips.
• Strong independent problem-solving skills, good communication and teamwork abilities, a strong desire to learn, the initiative to stay current with evolving trends in AI algorithms and chip architecture, and a forward-looking technical vision.

Responsibilities

• Hardware architecture design, architectural performance analysis, and optimization of key NPU modules in next-generation chips.
• Performance modeling and analysis of emerging deep learning algorithms on chip systems; deliver inference performance for different models and assist in defining chip specifications such as compute throughput, bandwidth, and memory.
• Architecture optimization targeting real-world application scenarios, achieving hardware-software co-optimization design.
• Authoring architecture specification documents for key chip modules, and guiding the design implementation, optimization, and verification of the microarchitecture.

Skills

Tensor Core

Hardware acceleration

Computer architecture

DL algorithms

LLM inference

Problem solving

Communication

Teamwork

Education

Master's degree or above in Microelectronics/Electronic Engineering/ICs/CS

Tools

Palladium

ZeBu

JasperGold

Job description

Responsibilities

Our team is building industry-leading, highly efficient, and scalable video codec hardware solutions (FPGA and ASIC) from the ground up to better serve billions of users. We are looking for strong video codec design engineers to design hardware accelerators for advanced video encoding and processing. The successful candidate will be part of a fast-growing team that includes algorithm, architecture, software, firmware, and hardware design and verification experts with a dedication to technical excellence and a passion to build large-scale and high-performing video platforms and services.

Responsibilities

• Responsible for the hardware architecture design, architectural performance analysis, and optimization of key NPU modules in next-generation chips.
• Responsible for performance modeling and analysis of emerging deep learning algorithms on chip systems; deliver inference performance for different models and assist in defining chip specifications such as compute throughput, bandwidth, and memory.
• Responsible for architecture optimization targeting real-world application scenarios, achieving hardware-software co-optimization design.
• Responsible for authoring architecture specification documents for key chip modules, and guiding the design implementation, optimization, and verification of the microarchitecture.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualification(s):

• Master's degree or above in Microelectronics, Electronic Engineering, Integrated Circuits, Computer Science, or a related field.
• Familiarity with Tensor Core; relevant experience in hardware acceleration for large language models.
• Solid knowledge of computer architecture and digital integrated circuit design.
• Familiarity with deep learning algorithms in areas such as large language models and CNNs.
• Familiarity with distributed frameworks for large language model inference; understanding of how to compute the performance of AI model inference on chips.
• Strong independent problem-solving skills, good communication and teamwork abilities, a strong desire to learn, the initiative to stay current with evolving trends in AI algorithms and chip architecture, and a forward-looking technical vision.

Preferred Qualification(s):

• Tape-out experience is a plus.
• Familiarity with the architecture, protocols, and complex data flows of core SoC subsystems (e.g., CPU/NPU clusters, Memory subsystems, NoC).
• Hands-on experience with Hardware Emulation (Palladium, ZeBu) or FPGA prototyping platforms.
• Proficiency in Formal Verification methodologies and tools (e.g., JasperGold).
• Experience in SoC-level Performance and Power-Aware (PA) verification.

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

Job Information

【For Pay Transparency】Compensation Description (Annually)

The base salary range for this position in the selected city is $162000 - $316800 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.

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; and
3. Exercising sound judgment.