Software Engineer, AI Data Application – USDS

TikTok USDS Joint Venture; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 137,000 - 360,000; Full time

Job summary

TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC is seeking a Software Engineer to advance efficiency and self-service capabilities through AI-driven innovation. You will contribute to internal products that automate workflows, improve data accessibility, and help business and engineering teams work more efficiently.

Responsibilities include designing and maintaining backend services, developing AI-powered capabilities, and building reusable APIs and platform components to reduce manual work, with emphasis on

Qualifications

• BS/MS in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field.
• 3+ years of software development experience building backend systems or platform services in production environments.
• Proficiency in backend languages and frameworks such as Python, Go, Java, or Node.js, with experience building APIs, services, and integrations.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain backend services and internal platform components with guidance from senior engineers, focusing on reliability, maintainability, and performance.
• Develop backend capabilities for AI-powered products, including data services, workflow orchestration, model integration, and intelligent automation, while following established engineering and safety practices.
• Work with product, engineering, and data stakeholders to understand team pain points and contribute reusable APIs, backend components, and self-service tools that reduce manual work.
• Apply best practices in service architecture, API design, observability, testing, and operational excellence, and help improve team standards through day-to-day implementation.
• Collaborate closely with software/fullstack engineers, data scientists, and business stakeholders to translate requirements into practical backend solutions.

Skills

Backend development

API design

Python

Go

Java

Node.js

Education

BS/MS in Computer Science or related field

Tools

Databases

Caching systems

Cloud infrastructure

Job description

Responsibilities

About the Team
The TikTok U.S. Data Security (USDS) team is responsible for the security, integrity, and compliance of TikTok’s data within the United States. The Data Platform Team builds a scalable, reliable, cost-efficient infrastructure that ensures data integrity and empowers every business unit to win through self-service tools and scientific insights.

We are seeking a Software Engineer to help improve company-wide efficiency and self-service capabilities through AI-driven innovation. In this role, you will contribute to internal products that automate manual workflows, improve data accessibility, and help business and engineering teams work more efficiently.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain backend services and internal platform components with guidance from senior engineers, focusing on reliability, maintainability, and performance.
• Develop backend capabilities for AI-powered products, including data services, workflow orchestration, model integration, and intelligent automation, while following established engineering and safety practices.
• Work with product, engineering, and data stakeholders to understand team pain points and contribute reusable APIs, backend components, and self-service tools that reduce manual work.
• Apply best practices in service architecture, API design, observability, testing, and operational excellence, and help improve team standards through day-to-day implementation.
• Collaborate closely with software/fullstack engineers, data scientists, and business stakeholders to translate requirements into practical backend solutions.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

• Education: BS/MS in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field.
• Experience: 3+ years of software development experience, with hands-on experience building and maintaining backend systems or platform services in production environments.
• Backend Proficiency: Proficiency in backend languages and frameworks such as Python, Go, Java, or Node.js, with experience building APIs, services, and integrations.
• Data & Infrastructure Foundations: Working knowledge of databases, caching, messaging systems, and cloud-native infrastructure; comfortable contributing to systems designed for scalability, resilience, and operational efficiency.

Preferred Qualifications

• AI Systems Experience: Experience integrating LLM APIs, RAG pipelines, model-serving infrastructure, or agentic workflows into backend systems, with an interest in reliability, safety, and production readiness.
• Internal Platform Experience: Experience contributing to internal platforms, service frameworks, workflow engineers, developer tools, or data infrastructure used by engineering or business teams.
• System Design Strength: Ability to design clear, maintainable components and participate in technical design discussions, considering performance, complexity, and developer experience.

About USDS

TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC is dedicated to the safety and security of millions of Americans who create, discover, and connect with what they love on the apps we operate. The Joint Venture has been established in compliance with the Executive Order signed by President Trump on September 25, 2025. Our foundation is a comprehensive data privacy and cybersecurity program we operate under defined safeguards to protect national security and secure U.S. user data, apps and the algorithm. We safeguard the U.S. content ecosystem, holding decision-making authority for trust and safety policies and moderation. USDS Joint Venture helps ensure Americans can continue to express their creativity, discover new hobbies and interests, and build thriving communities and businesses on a global scale.

On-site presence across teams allows the company to operate with greater speed, alignment, and agility — especially in areas like real-time decision-making, team development, and integrated execution. As such, the company is shifting from a hybrid work model to a fully in-person schedule up to 5 days a week.

Why Join Us

Inspiring creativity is at the core of TikTok's mission. Our innovative product is 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 bring joy - a mission we work towards every day.
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. Every challenge is an opportunity to learn and innovate as one team. We're resilient and embrace challenges as they come. 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

TikTok 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 TikTok, our mission is to inspire creativity and bring joy. 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.

USDS Reasonable Accommodation

USDS 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/USDS-RA

Job Information

For Pay Transparency Compensation Description (Annually)
The base salary range for this position in the selected city is $136800 - $359720 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:

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.