Research Scientist Graduate (Multimedia Standards) - Global Frontier Tech Recruitment Program - 2027 Start (PhD)

Bytedance; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 207,000 - 456,000; Full time

Job summary

ByteDance’s Multimedia Lab in California seeks PhD-qualified researchers to push the frontier of multimedia compression and intelligent video processing. You will design impactful algorithms, advance standardization efforts, and contribute to material that accelerates real-world products used by millions of users.

You will work with experts on scalable research, publish in top venues, and help translate breakthroughs into practical solutions while collaborating across teams and platforms.

Qualifications

• Individuals who are completing or recently completed a PhD in Software Development, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• Strong Computer Science fundamentals (algorithms, data structures, software design) and problem-solving skills
• Have published papers in academic conferences or journals in the subject
• Rich experience and interest in multimedia standards (e.g., for image/video compression, file format, system, transport)
• Familiar with C/C++
• Have good team spirit and communication skills

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, implement, and optimize creative algorithms for image/video (including but not limited to 2D video, Multiview video, 360-degree video, point cloud, light filed, etc. al) compression
• Design, develop and implement novel algorithms for file formats, system, transport protocols
• Research and develop image/video processing and objective matrix for subjective quality evaluations
• Actively participate in the related work of standardization forums: MPEG, DASH, 3GPP, JVET, AVS
• Follow up on the state-of-art developed algorithms in standardization work and conference/journal papers
• Draft standard contributions, patent applications and academic papers

Skills

C/C++

Multimedia standards

Teamwork & communication

Education

PhD in Software Development, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or related technical discipline

Tools

Python

PyTorch

JVET reference software

AVS reference software

Job description

Responsibilities

We are looking for talented individuals to join our team. As a graduate, you will get opportunities to pursue bold ideas, tackle complex challenges, and unlock limitless growth.

Responsibilities

We are looking for talented individuals to join our team. As a graduate, you will get opportunities to pursue bold ideas, tackle complex challenges, and unlock limitless growth.

Successful candidates must be able to commit to an onboarding date by the end of the year. Please state your availability and graduation date clearly in your resume.

About The Team

At Multimedia Lab, we push the boundaries of what’s possible in multimedia technology. Our mission is to pioneer cutting-edge research across image and video understanding, generation, processing, compression, and transmission—and transform these innovations into real-world products that delight hundreds of millions of users globally.

The ideal candidate combines deep technical expertise with a strong record of innovation, thrives on solving challenging problems at scale, and is passionate about shaping the future of multimedia experiences. This is an opportunity to work alongside top talent, drive frontier research, and turn breakthrough ideas into impactful technologies used around the world.

Topic Content

Multimodal Foundation Models for Intelligent Multimedia Processing

Explore next-generation multimedia technologies powered by multimodal foundation models, including perceptual quality modeling, generative enhancement, temporal video understanding, user-centric evaluation, and intelligent visual representation/compression, to advance video quality, efficiency, and user experience in future multimedia systems.

Challenges For Smart Video Coding And Representation

• Achieving much higher compression efficiency than current encoders


• Keeping complexity and power use within acceptable limits


• Ensuring encoding and decoding work smoothly across different platforms


• Efficiently compressing new types of smart data like tokens


• Effectively representing semantic information

Research Value Of Smart Video Coding And Representation

• Traditional video coding is reaching its limit. Smart video coding can go beyond these limits and achieve much better video compression.


• New types of smart data, like tokens, will use more bandwidth in future applications. Compressing these data will greatly improve how videos are transmitted and stored.


• If smart video coding and representation become a standard, they will quickly gain market share and have big potential for valuable patents.


• Efficient smart video coding and representation can save a lot of bandwidth and storage, directly creating financial gains.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, implement, and optimize creative algorithms for image/video (including but not limited to 2D video, Multiview video, 360-degree video, point cloud, light filed, etc. al) compression


• Design, develop and implement novel algorithms for file formats, system, transport protocols


• Research and develop image/video processing and objective matrix for subjective quality evaluations


• Actively participate in the related work of standardization forums: MPEG, DASH, 3GPP, JVET, AVS


• Follow up on the state-of-art developed algorithms in standardization work and conference/journal papers


• Draft standard contributions, patent applications and academic papers

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

• Individuals who are completing or recently completed a PhD in Software Development, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related technical discipline.


• Strong Computer Science fundamentals (algorithms, data structures, software design) and problem-solving skills


• Have published papers in academic conferences or journals in the subject


• Rich experience and interest in multimedia standards (e.g., for image/video compression, file format, system, transport)


• Familiar with C/C++


• Have good team spirit and communication skills

Preferred Qualifications

• Good understanding of the state-of-art compression/transmission algorithms


• Experiences on JVET reference software or AVS reference software


• Experience in th e development of video coding standards


• Experience in patents applications


• Familiar with Neural Network-based image/video coding and processing


• Familiar with Python, PyTorch

Job Information

【For Pay Transparency】Compensation Description (Annually)

The base salary range for this position in the selected city is $207480 - $456000 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

• 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.