Research Scientist (LLM) - 2026 Start (PhD)

ByteDance; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 254,000 - 480,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401(k) with company match

Parental leave

Paid time off

Job summary

ByteDance's LLM team in the United States seeks a highly qualified researcher with a recent PhD in CS/EE/ECE/Physics/Math to advance large-scale model capabilities. You will explore models, optimize systems, and contribute to data construction, instruction tuning, and model optimization.

The role requires strong coding ability in C/C++ and Python, collaboration across teams, and the ability to establish authorization to work in the United States by year-end. Competitive compensation is offered.

Qualifications

• PhD in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Physics, Mathematics or related discipline.

Responsibilities

• Explore large-scale models and optimize systems.
• Data construction, instruction tuning, preference alignment, and model optimization.
• Improve capabilities such as reasoning, code, math, etc.
• In-depth research and exploration of future use cases.

Skills

C/C++

Python

Education

PhD in CS/EE/ECE/Physics/Math

Job description

Responsibilities
About The Team:
LLM team is dedicated to advancing the next generation of LLMs and solving, fundamental challenges in LLM development. Our areas of focus include model pretraining, posttraining, inference, memory capabilities, learning, interpretability and other related directions. We dive deep into the latest technologies and create comprehensive solutions from concept to completion. In our endeavor to adopt LLMs in real-life scenarios, we explore methods to enhance applications through technological innovation.
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.
Responsibilities

• Explore large-scale models and optimize systems;
• Data construction, instruction tuning, preference alignment, and model optimization;
• Improving relevant model capabilities, such as reasoning, code, math etc;
• In-depth research and exploration of future use cases.

Qualifications
Minimum Qualifications

• Individuals who are completing or have recently completed a PhD degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Physics, Mathematics, or a related discipline.
• Excellent coding ability, data structures, and fundamental algorithm skills, proficient in C/C++ or Python, etc.

Individuals who are completing or have recently completed a PhD degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Physics, Mathematics, or a related discipline.
Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with large-scale model training, deep learning and machine learning algorithms are preferred;
• Candidates who have led influential projects or papers in the field of large-scale models are preferred;
• Excellent problem analysis and solving skills, able to deeply solve problems in large-scale model training and application;
• Good communication and collaboration skills, able to explore new technologies with the team and promote technological progress.

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
【For Pay Transparency】Compensation Description (Annually)
The base salary range for this position in the selected city is $254400 - $480000 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 Doubao (Seed)
Established in 2023, the ByteDance Seed team is dedicated to pioneering new paths toward artificial general intelligence. We aspire to advance the frontier of intelligence to drive progress for both technology and society.
With a long-term vision for the AI sector, the Seed team's research spans MLLM, GenMedia, AI for Science, and Robotics. We maintain a global presence with laboratories and career opportunities across China, Singapore, and the United States. To date, we have launched industry-leading general foundation models and cutting-edge multimodal capabilities. Our technology powers over 50 application scenarios — including Doubao, Jimeng, TRAE, Dola and Dreamnia — and serves enterprise customers through Volcano Engine and BytePlus. Third-party data shows that the Doubao App ranks first in user volume in the Chinese market, while Doubao foundation models lead the industry in average daily token consumption.

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