Research Scientist Intern (Distributed NoSQL Database Systems) - 2027 Start (PhD)

ByteDance; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 68,000 - 97,000; Full time

Job summary

ByteDance is seeking a PhD intern for its database R&D team in California. You will help build AI-native database systems powering TikTok, CapCut, and future applications.

This internship offers hands-on research, collaboration with industry experts, and opportunities to contribute to cutting-edge systems. You will work on kernel development, distributed storage, and backend services, with mentors guiding your contributions during the internship.

Qualifications

• Currently pursuing a PhD in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or related discipline.
• Knowledge of database kernel, distributed systems, query processing and optimization, and multi-threaded programming.
• Experience coding in C/C++, Golang, Java, Python.

Responsibilities

• Develop kernel modules or features for AI-native database systems.
• Address large-scale cloud infrastructure challenges.
• Collaborate with PMs and engineers on backend support for AI-native services.
• Participate in technical discussions related to team's product and engineering work

Skills

Database kernel

Distributed systems

Query processing

Multithreading

C/C++

Golang

Java

Python

Education

PhD in CS / related

Tools

Faiss

Milvus

DuckDB

ClickHouse

TiKV

RocksDB

Job description

Responsibilities

About the Team

Join ByteDance’s database R&D team, where you’ll build and own cutting‑edge database products supporting ByteDance’s global infrastructure. Our diverse portfolio includes relational databases, distributed caches, key‑value stores, document databases, graph databases, wide‑column stores, search engines, and multi‑model databases.

About The Role

We are building the next-generation AI‑native database systems—intelligent, multimodal, and designed for the era of large models. Our systems are not just data stores; they’re reasoning engines, retrieval platforms, and real‑time memory for AI agents. As a Software Engineer or Researcher, you will be at the forefront of rethinking how databases work when built from the ground up for AI workloads. You’ll help create infrastructure that powers intelligent systems across TikTok, CapCut, and future applications that haven’t been imagined yet.

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

• Develop kernel modules or features for AI‑native database systems.
• Solve unique, large‑scale, highly complex cloud infrastructure problems
• Partner with PMs and engineers from different teams on building backend support for AI‑native database service products
• Participate in technical discussions related to team's product and engineering work

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

• Currently pursuing a PhD in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or other related discipline.
• Knowledge of database kernel, distributed system, query processing and optimization, multi‑threaded programming
• Experience coding in C/C++, Golang, Java, Python

Preferred Qualifications

• Demonstrated software engineering experience from previous internship, work experience, coding competitions, or publications.
• Curiosity towards new technologies and entrepreneurship.
• High levels of creativity and quick problem‑solving capabilities.
• Experience with open‑source systems such as Faiss, Milvus, DuckDB, ClickHouse, TiKV, RocksDB.
• Publications at conferences (e.g., SIGMOD, VLDB, NeurIPS, MLSys, ICDE).
• Familiarity with GCP, AWS, or Azure’s database and AI integration strategies.
• Prior contributions to RAG, memory‑augmented models, or self‑tuning database components.

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:

• 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