Research Scientist - Intern (Video and Edge, Multimedia Lab) - 2027 Start

ByteDance; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 65,000 - 92,000; Part time

Job summary

ByteDance’s Multimedia Lab in San Diego invites interns to join a team building efficient video codec hardware (FPGA/ASIC) and exploring multimodal models for coding decisions. You will bridge research and production, moving ideas from concept to silicon and deployment.

The internship offers hands-on experience across algorithms, architectures, software, firmware, and hardware verification, with exposure to data compression, model training, and prototyping.

Qualifications

• Currently pursuing a Master’s degree in CS/EE/math/statistics/data science or related fields
• Strong CS fundamentals and problem-solving skills
• Familiar with token/image/video coding or large multimodal models
• Familiar with Python, PyTorch
• Familiar with C/C++
• Collaborative mindset and clear communication

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and optimize algorithms for data compression and multimodal model applications.
• Stay up-to-date with state-of-the-art techniques via standardization efforts or publications.
• Build prototypes, demonstrations, and contribute to technical reports and patent filings.

Skills

CS fundamentals

Python

PyTorch

C/C++

Collaboration

Education

Master's degree in CS/EE/Math/Stats/Data Science

Tools

CUDA

Job description

Responsibilities

The Multimedia Lab builds highly efficient, scalable video codec hardware solutions (FPGA and ASIC) from the ground up, serving billions of users. We bring together algorithm, architecture, software, firmware, and hardware design and verification expertise, designing high-performance video silicon IP across ASIC and SoC digital design, verification, and next-generation video codec hardware. Alongside the silicon work, we advance research in video understanding, perceptual quality assessment, image and video enhancement, and intelligent coding, including using multimodal models to improve coding decisions.

Responsibilities

Quality, efficiency, and speed rarely improve together. Sharper images and better perceived quality usually cost bitrate, compute, or latency, and a technique that works in research does not always survive production at global scale.

You will take ideas from research through to silicon and production systems, where research decisions show up in the cost and quality of video across ByteDance's products.

We are looking for talented individuals to join us for an internship. Our internship program offers students hands-on experience, industry exposure, and opportunities to apply their knowledge to real-world challenges while building a strong foundation for personal and professional growth.

Interns will gain practical experience, explore potential career paths, and participate in social events, learning programs, and development workshops alongside industry professionals.

Candidates may apply to a maximum of two positions across Our Company and its affiliates globally. Applications will be considered in the order they are submitted.

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, so we encourage you to apply early. Please clearly state your availability in your resume, including your start and end dates.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and optimize innovative algorithms for data compression, processing, and large multimodal model applications, including but not limited to 2D video, multiview video, point clouds, Gaussian splatting–based or NN-based coding, token compression, and KV cache optimization.
• Stay up to date with state-of-the-art techniques through standardization activities or leading conference/journal publications.
• Build prototypes and demonstrations, and contribute to technical reports, publications, and patent filings.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

• Currently pursuing a Master's degree in computer science/electrical engineering/mathematics/statistics/data science and related disciplines
• Strong Computer Science fundamentals (algorithms, data structures, software design) and problem-solving skills
• Familiar with token/image/video coding and processing or large multimodal models
• Familiar with Python, PyTorch
• Familiar with C/C++
• Collaborative mindset, with solid written and verbal communication skill

Preferred Qualifications

• Good understanding of state-of-art compression algorithms
• Rich experience and interest in video/image coding standards (e.g., H.263/264/265/266, MPEG-2/4, JPEG, JPEG 2000, AV1, AV2, AVS1/2/3, etc.)
• Proficient in deep learning frameworks such as PyTorch, TensorFlow, and YOLO.
• Hands‑on experience with large language models (LLMs) and vision‑language models (VLMs), including LoRA, diffusion models, and VQA tasks.
• Experience with model training, fine‑tuning, and evaluation pipelines.
• Familiar with GPU acceleration and CUDA environment configuration.

Job Information

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

The hourly rate range for this position in the selected city is $57- $57.

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:

• 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