Research Scientist Graduate (Infrastructure System Lab)- 2026 Start (PHD)

ByteDance; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 148,200 - 300,960; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

401(k) savings plan with company match

Paid parental leave

Generous paid time off policy

Job summary

ByteDance is seeking talented graduates to join our team in Seattle for exciting opportunities in AI and infrastructure system projects. Successful candidates will engage in developing new systems, conducting research, and collaborating on innovative solutions within a rapidly growing environment.

Minimum qualifications include a PhD in relevant technical disciplines, strong programming skills in languages such as C/C++, Go, Java, or Python. At ByteDance, we foster an inclusive culture where creativity thrives, and diversity is celebrated.

Qualifications

• Individuals who are completing or have recently completed a PhD degree in a relevant field.
• Understanding of distributed systems like distributed storage and database systems.
• Proficient programming skills in C/C++, Go, Java, or Python.

Responsibilities

• Conduct research surveys and design new systems and algorithms.
• Develop new systems and successfully integrate them into production.
• Debug systems and measure performance metrics.
• Collaborate with mentors and other lab members.
• Write technical reports and publish research papers.

Skills

C/C++

Go

Java

Python

Education

PhD in Software Development, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or related field

Job description

Overview

Responsibilities and team context: With the fast growth of ByteDance's business, ByteDance's system infrastructure is currently at a massive scale and requires versatile system solutions. Our lab collaborates with HQ teams on advanced R&D projects, focusing on LLM/AI + Infrastructure technologies, which includes both infrastructure for LLM/AI and LLM/AI for infrastructure. To name a few, we are building a new cloud-native vector index library. Our TextToSQL project ranks top on well known industry benchmarks. We also work on advanced AIOps technologies that are used by our Volcano cloud products. Besides achieving great business impacts, we also encourage publishing on top tier conferences. In year 2025 alone, our lab published nearly 20 papers in top tier conferences, such as SIGMOD, VLDB, FSE, ICLR, EuroSys, WWW etc. We hire students with great technical skills, willingness to learn and solve complex technical challenges and passion in making an impact on millions of users. We are looking for talented individuals to join our team in 2026. As a graduate, you will get opportunities to pursue bold ideas, tackle complex challenges, and unlock limitless growth. Launch your career where inspiration is infinite at ByteDance. Successful candidates must be able to commit to an onboarding date by end of year 2026. Please state your availability and graduation date clearly in your resume.

Responsibilities

• Do research surveys and come up with a new system and algorithm design.
• Develop new systems and successfully land them into production environments.
• Be able to debug systems and measure system performance.
• Collaborate with mentors and other lab members.
• Write technical reports and publish papers.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

• Individuals who are completing or have recently completed a PhD degree in Software Development, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• Understand how distributed systems work, such as distributed storage and database systems.
• Great programming skill in one or more of the following programming languages: C/C++, Go, Java or Python

Preferred Qualifications:

• Strong past research experience in infrastructure system areas
• Research experience with AI and LLM
• Strong publication records

Compensation and Benefits

As a condition of employment, all successful candidates must be able to establish authorization to work in the United States. For this position, the Company does not provide sponsorship or any immigration-related benefits.

Job Information

The base salary range for this position in the selected city is $148200 - $300960 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:

• Interacting and occasionally having unsupervised contact with internal/external clients and/or colleagues;
• Appropriately handling and managing confidential information including proprietary and trade secret information and access to information technology systems; and
• Exercising sound judgment.

About Us

Founded in 2012, ByteDance's mission is to inspire creativity and enrich life. With a suite of more than a dozen products, including TikTok, Lemon8, CapCut and Pico as well as platforms specific to the China market, including Toutiao, Douyin, and Xigua, ByteDance has made it easier and more fun for people to connect with, consume, and create content.

Why Join ByteDance

Inspiring creativity is at the core of ByteDance's mission. Our innovative products are 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 enrich life - a mission we work towards every day. As ByteDancers, 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. 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

ByteDance 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 ByteDance, our mission is to inspire creativity and enrich life. 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.

Reasonable Accommodation

ByteDance 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