Research Scientist: Agentic Recommender AI (RL/LLMs)

TikTok Inc.; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 162,000 - 388,000; Full time

Job summary

TikTok Inc. in California is seeking a PhD-level researcher for the Agentic Recommendation team to push the boundaries of next-generation recommender systems.

You will design reinforcement learning datasets, explore and optimize RL algorithms, and conduct research on agentic and generative recommender models, translating ideas into scalable real-world applications for billions of users. The role targets graduates who can commit to onboarding in late 2026, and emphasizes

Qualifications

• Final-year Ph.D. candidate or Ph.D. in Computer Science or related field.
• Strong knowledge and hands-on experience in reinforcement learning, agent development, or LLM post-training.
• Passion for exploring cutting-edge research topics and bridging theory with practice.

Responsibilities

• Design and construct reinforcement learning datasets tailored for recommendation scenarios.
• Explore and optimize reinforcement learning algorithms, and develop scalable training and inference frameworks.
• Conduct research on agentic recommendation systems and generative recommendation models.
• Stay up to date with the latest SoTA advancements and translate research ideas into real-world applications.

Skills

reinforcement learning

agent development

LLM post-training

Education

Final-year Ph.D. candidate or Ph.D. in Computer Science

Job description

TikTok Inc. in California is seeking a PhD-level researcher for the Agentic Recommendation team to push the boundaries of next-generation recommender systems.

You will design reinforcement learning datasets, explore and optimize RL algorithms, and conduct research on agentic and generative recommender models, translating ideas into scalable real-world applications for billions of users. The role targets graduates who can commit to onboarding in late 2026, and emphasizes