Research Scientist - Model Capability Boundary Exploration and AI Data Flywheel System Development - Global Frontier Tech Recruitment Program - 2027 Start (PhD)

ByteDance; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 207,000 - 368,000; Full time

Job summary

ByteDance's Applied Machine Learning Ark team in the United States develops model-as-a-service platforms that support hundreds of LLM-based applications, spanning training, inference, data analytics, and feedback loops. The US team designs and operates MaaS solutions across the US and international markets outside mainland China.

We seek graduates or PhD researchers with deep expertise in large language models, AI agent systems, and data-centric AI.

Qualifications

• PhD in Computer Science, ML, AI, Data Science or related field.
• Research in LLM post-training and alignment, model evaluation, or data curation and optimization.
• Demonstrated research ability via publications, projects or internships.
• Ability to work independently on open-ended research problems.

Responsibilities

• Build a next-generation big model as a service platform for numerous LLM-based apps.
• Develop and maintain the platform including offline training, online inference, model management, and resource orchestration.
• Manage a large number of GPU resources to provide efficient computing power.

Skills

LLM post-training & alignment

Model evaluation

Test-time scaling

Data curation

Independent research

Education

PhD in Computer Science / ML / AI / Data Science

Job description

Responsibilities

We are looking for talented individuals to join our team in 2027. 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 our Company.

We are looking for talented individuals to join our team in 2027. 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 our Company.

Successful candidates must be able to commit to an onboarding date by end of year 2027. Please state your availability and graduation date clearly in your resume.

Team Introduction

The Applied Machine Learning Ark team combines system engineering and machine learning to develop and operate Large Language Model (LLM) service platforms that offer businesses Model-as-a-Service (MaaS) solutions, serving both large model providers and downstream users. The US team drives the design, development, and operation of MaaS solutions across the US and international markets outside mainland China. We are building full-stack, end-to-end solutions spanning text and multimodal LLM algorithms, LLM training/fine-tuning/inference frameworks, prompt engineering, model alignment, and intelligent agent systems. Beyond model serving, we operate large-scale log analytics pipelines that process massive volumes of invocation logs from text models, multimodal models, and agent systems — extracting usage patterns, quality signals, and actionable insights to inform model improvement, system optimization, and product decisions through continuous, data-driven feedback loops. We are actively seeking talented engineers and researchers specializing in Large Language Models and AI Agent systems to join our dynamic team.

Topic Content

With foundation models gradually being applied in real ToB scenarios, AI system optimization now extends beyond the foundation model itself to include a complex business system composed of the model, prompt, memory, tools, skills, workflow, and the external environment. Compared to offline benchmarks, real-world cases offer greater potential for optimization but also present challenges such as larger data volumes, higher noise levels, more diverse scenarios, greater structural heterogeneity, and limited user feedback, making them difficult to be directly utilized.

Relying on the real-world data accumulated on the Volcano Ark case platform, this project aims to unify logs, cases, feedback, and environmental information into structured objects that are understandable, and attributable, and optimizable. By integrating AI-assisted tools to guide users in providing efficient feedback, it aims to build an AI data flywheel system tailored to real scenarios. This system will both support foundation model iteration and address issues related to environment, memory, tools, and workflows within the business system, focusing on developing agent optimization capabilities that enhance SA/FDE’s efficiency in supporting customers.

Responsibilities

• Building a next-generation big model as a service platform to serve hundreds of LLMs based applications;
• To develop and maintain the big model as a service platform, including offline training/finetuning, online inference, model management, and resource orchestration, etc.;
• To manage a huge number of GPU resources and provide computing power efficiently.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications:

• Currently pursuing or recently completed a Ph.D. in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, or a related technical field.
• Research experience in one or more of the following areas: LLM post-training and alignment, model evaluation, test-time scaling, agent systems, or large-scale data curation and optimization.
• Demonstrated research ability through publications, substantial research projects, or internships.
• Ability to work independently on open-ended research problems, from problem formulation to experimental execution.

Preferred Qualifications

• Strong interest in foundation models and data-centric AI, particularly in how large models can improve over time through better data, feedback, and system design. Relevant directions include data flywheels, continual learning, data curation and valuation, and the co-design of algorithms and infrastructure.
• A strong publication record with multiple first-author papers at top-tier venues in AI, machine learning, NLP, data mining, or related fields.
• Internship or research experience at an accredited research labs or within a technology companies, ideally with experience with scalable ML systems, especially those involving real-world deployment, feedback loops, or human-in-the-loop pipelines.
• Strong motivation to connect research with practice, and to build end-to-end AI systems spanning modeling, data, evaluation, and infrastructure.

Job Information

【For Pay Transparency】Compensation Description (Annually)

The base salary range for this position in the selected city is $207480 - $368220 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;
• 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