Research Engineer, Data Lake Infra & Analytics — PhD

ByteDance; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 154,000 - 301,000; Full time

Job summary

ByteDance in Seattle is seeking a Research Engineer for Data Lake Infrastructure and Data Analytics (AML-Ark-US) from 2027 start. You will build and maintain the data lake powering model and agent development, optimize storage and query performance, and develop large-scale batch and streaming pipelines.

You will own data quality and governance and partner with algorithm teams to support the data flywheel behind continuously improving systems.

Qualifications

• Must have or be completing a PhD in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Data Science, or related field.
• Solid fundamentals in data structures, algorithms, and distributed systems.
• Strong programming skills in at least one mainstream language, plus proficiency in SQL.
• Hands-on experience with a big data engine or lakehouse storage system.
• Demonstrated ability through substantial projects, internships, research, or open-source work.
• Understanding of query engine and lakehouse internals, including columnar storage and query optimization.
• Experience with streaming pipelines or OLAP systems.
• Experience analyzing LLM or agent logs and traces.
• Experience with cloud-native infrastructure and performance tuning at scale.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain the data lake that powers model and agent development, including storage design, query performance, and cost efficiency.
• Develop large-scale batch and streaming pipelines that turn raw model and agent logs into analysis-ready datasets.
• Build analytics and metrics platforms that let algorithm and product teams find actionable insights quickly.
• Own data quality and governance, and partner with algorithm teams to support the data flywheel behind continuously improving systems.

Skills

Data structures

Distributed systems

Programming skills

SQL

Big data engine

Lakehouse

Projects/Internships/Open-source

Education

PhD in CS/SE/DS

Job description

ByteDance in Seattle is seeking a Research Engineer for Data Lake Infrastructure and Data Analytics (AML-Ark-US) from 2027 start. You will build and maintain the data lake powering model and agent development, optimize storage and query performance, and develop large-scale batch and streaming pipelines.

You will own data quality and governance and partner with algorithm teams to support the data flywheel behind continuously improving systems.