Research Scientist, Multimodal Generative AI (Intelligent Creation)- Global Frontier Tech Recruitment Program -2027 Start (PhD)

TikTok Inc.; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 254,000 - 588,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental, Vision

401(k) matching

Paid parental leave

Long-term disability

Job summary

TikTok Inc. is seeking a PhD-level researcher to advance generative AI and multimodal foundation models for the TikTok platform.

You will drive end-to-end creative AI workflows, from research to production, focusing on image/video generation, efficient model design, and agentic systems. Role emphasizes large-scale training, post-training techniques (SFT/RL), and reinforcement learning improvements to scale capabilities for real-world creation scenarios.

Qualifications

• PhD in software development, computer science, computer engineering, or related technical discipline.
• Proficiency in training generative AI or large models using frameworks such as PyTorch or JAX.
• Strong programming skills and solid fundamentals in machine learning.
• Strong problem-solving ability and motivation to tackle real-world challenges.
• Good communication and collaboration skills in fast-paced environments.

Responsibilities

• Conduct research and development in generative AI and multimodal models (e.g., image, video).
• Develop large-scale foundation models (LLMs/VLMs), through post-training techniques.
• Design and build models for creative applications on the TikTok platform, driving end-to-end impact from research to production through cross-functional collaboration.
• Explore new AI-driven product opportunities and contribute to next-generation creative experiences.

Skills

GenAI training

PyTorch/JAX

Programming fundamentals

Machine learning

Collaboration

Education

PhD in CS/Software Eng or related

Tools

PyTorch

JAX

Job description

Responsibilities

We are looking for talented individuals to join our team in 2027. As a graduate, you will have the opportunity to pursue bold ideas, tackle complex challenges, and unlock your full potential. Launch your career where inspiration is infinite at our Company. Successful candidates must be able to onboard by the end of 2027. Please clearly state your availability and expected graduation date in your resume.

About the Team The Intelligent Creation - Global GenAI team focuses on applied research in Generative AI, delivering intelligent creation solutions for the TikTok platform. Our mission is to empower users to create and share high-quality content with ease. The team works on cutting-edge areas including multimodal foundation models, image and video generation and editing, efficient model design, and world models.

About the Role With rapid advances in AGI and foundation models, multimodal content creation across text, image, and video is undergoing a fundamental transformation. This role focuses on building next-generation multimodal and agentic foundation models that enable intelligent, efficient, and end-to-end creative workflows.

You will work on full-modal understanding, AIGC-based image and video generation, and agentic systems, optimizing models through large-scale training and post-training (e.g., SFT, RL). The role also involves designing efficient model architectures and advancing reinforcement learning techniques to improve model capability, scalability, and real-world performance in creation scenarios.

• Conduct research and development in generative AI and multimodal models (e.g., image, video).
• Develop large-scale foundation models (LLMs/VLMs), through post-training techniques.
• Design and build models for creative applications on the TikTok platform, driving end-to-end impact from research to production through cross-functional collaboration.
• Explore new AI-driven product opportunities and contribute to next-generation creative experiences.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications:

• Individuals who are completing or have recently completed a PhD degree in Software Development, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related technical discipline
• Proficiency in training generative AI or large models using frameworks such as PyTorch or JAX.
• Strong programming skills and solid fundamentals in machine learning.
• Strong problem-solving ability and motivation to tackle real-world challenges.
• Good communication and collaboration skills in fast-paced environments.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Ph.D. in Generative AI, Machine Learning Systems, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• Strong research background in one or more areas: generative AI, LLMs/VLMs, or ML systems.
• Hands-on experience in at least one of the following areas: Image/video generation and editing; VLM/LLM fine-tuning; Efficient model design and optimization; Reinforcement learning methods (e.g., RLHF, DPO, GRPO)
• Track record of research publications in conferences such as CVPR, ECCV, ICCV, NeurIPS, ICLR, SIGGRAPH, or SIGGRAPH Asia.

Job Information

[For Pay Transparency] Compensation Description (annually)

The base salary range for this position in the selected city is $254400 - $588000 annually.

Compensation may vary outside of this range depending on 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:

1. Interacting and occasionally having unsupervised contact with internal/external clients and/or colleagues;
2. Appropriately handling and managing confidential information including proprietary and trade secret information and access to information technology systems; and
3. Exercising sound judgment.