Research Engineer Intern

TikTok Inc.; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 68,000 - 97,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Housing allowance

10 paid holidays per year

Paid sick time

Job summary

TikTok is seeking PhD interns to work on scalable algorithms and future-proof architecture. You will explore AI/LLM techniques, contribute to AgentOps and DevOps workflows, and publish work at top conferences.

The program focuses on hands-on research, collaboration, and professional development. Interns receive benefits such as health insurance, holidays, and potential housing allowances, with a pay transparency note detailing hourly compensation.

Qualifications

• Currently pursuing a PhD in Computer Science or a related discipline.
• Multiple publications at top-tier conferences in relevant fields.
• Proficiency in AI, LLM, and machine learning algorithms; Experience in large-scale data analysis and R&D of related algorithms.
• Strong hands-on execution and communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement algorithms for large-scale software engineering in the Agent era, including but not limited to AgentOps, DevOps, AIOps, and AI for Dev.
• Implement algorithm and optimization, with the capability to support large-scale services.
• Identify the requirements and optimization opportunities from related business scenarios, and continuously improve algorithms and systems.
• Publish high-quality papers at top-tier conferences.

Skills

PhD student

Publications in top conferences

AI/ML expertise

Data analysis

Education

PhD in Computer Science

Tools

Python

ML frameworks

Job description

TikTok Generalized Architecture team focuses on building scalable, reusable, and future-proof technical foundations that support a wide range of TikTok products and business scenarios. The team is responsible for designing and evolving core architecture, improving system performance and reliability, and enabling engineering efficiency through standardized platforms and infrastructure. By abstracting common capabilities and solving cross-domain technical challenges, the team helps accelerate product innovation while ensuring long-term scalability and robustness.

We are looking for talented individuals to join us for an internship. PhD internships at Our Company provide students with the opportunity to actively contribute to our products and research, as well as to the organization's future plans and emerging technologies.

Our dynamic internship experience blends hands-on learning, enriching community-building and professional development events, and collaboration with industry experts.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement algorithms for large-scale software engineering in the Agent era, including but not limited to AgentOps, DevOps, AIOps, and AI for Dev.
• Implement algorithm and optimization, with the capability to support large-scale services.
• Identify the requirements and optimization opportunities from related business scenarios, and continuously improve algorithms and systems.
• Publish high-quality papers at top-tier conferences.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

• Currently pursuing a PhD in Computer Science or a related discipline.
• Multiple publications at top-tier conferences in relevant fields.
• Proficiency in AI, LLM, and machine learning algorithms; Experience in large-scale data analysis and R&D of related algorithms.
• Strong hands-on execution and communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience of AI for code, logs, monitoring, on-call, etc, is a plus.

Job Information

【For Pay Transparency】Compensation Description (Hourly) - Campus Intern

The hourly rate range for this position in the selected city is $60- $60.

Benefits may vary depending on the nature of employment and the country work location. Interns have day one access to health insurance, life insurance, wellbeing benefits and more. Interns also receive 10 paid holidays per year and paid sick time (56 hours if hired in first half of year, 40 if hired in second half of year). Interns who are not working 100% remote may also be eligible for housing allowance.

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; and

3. Exercising sound judgment.

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

Discover a career that energizes and excites you every day.