Software Engineer Graduate (Cloud Native Infrastructure) - 2026 Start (PhD)

ByteDance; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 122,574 - 316,800; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

401(k) savings plan with company match

Paid parental leave

Paid holidays and personal time off

Job summary

ByteDance is seeking software engineers to enhance AI infrastructure in San Jose, California. You'll work closely with leading engineers on Kubernetes, optimizing cloud resources and building next-generation cloud-native technology. This fast-paced role provides unparalleled opportunities for growth, making a significant impact on AI workloads.

We are looking for candidates with a PhD or those completing their degree, proficient in programming and eager to work on complex distributed systems. Join us at ByteDance to help shape the future of computing infrastructure.

Qualifications

• PhD candidates or recent graduates in Software Development, Computer Science or Computer Engineering.
• Proficiency in at least one major programming language.
• Strong knowledge of Unix/Linux environments and distributed systems.

Responsibilities

• Analyze enhancements to Hyper-Scale AI Infrastructure platforms.
• Contribute to performance optimization for Kubernetes infrastructures.
• Engage actively in team discussions regarding AI infrastructure.

Skills

Python

Go

C++

Rust

Java

Education

PhD in Software Development, Computer Science, or related discipline

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

Job description

Responsibilities

Team Introduction
The Compute Infrastructure team uses Kubernetes and Serverless technologies to build a large, reliable, and efficient compute infrastructure. This infrastructure powers hundreds of large-scale clusters globally, with over millions of online containers and offline jobs daily, including AI and LLM workloads. The team is dedicated to building cutting-edge, industry-leading infrastructure that empowers AI innovation, ensuring high performance, scalability, and reliability to support the most demanding AI/LLM workloads. The team is also dedicated to open-sourcing key infrastructure technologies, including projects in the K8s portfolio such as kubewharf (KubeBrain, Katalyst, Godel, etc).

At ByteDance, as we expand and innovate, powering global platforms like TikTok and various AI/ML & LLM initiatives, we face the challenge of enhancing resource cost efficiency on a massive scale within our rapidly growing compute infrastructure. We are seeking talented software engineers excited to optimize our infrastructure for AI & LLM models. Your expertise can drive solutions to better utilize computing resources (including CPU, GPU, power, etc.), directly impacting the performance of all our AI services and helping us build the future of computing infrastructure. Also, with the goal of growing compute infrastructure in overseas regions, including North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific, you will have the opportunities of working closely with leaders from ByteDance’s global business units to ensure that we continue to scale and optimize our infrastructure globally.

We are looking for talented individuals to join our team in 2026. As a graduate, you will get unparalleled opportunities for you to kickstart your career, pursue bold ideas and explore limitless growth opportunities. Co-create a future driven by your inspiration with ByteDance.

Successful candidates must be able to commit to an onboarding date by end of year 2026.

Please state your availability and graduation date clearly in your resume.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis - we encourage you to apply early.

Joining this team, you will,

• Experience and support the super-fast growing ByteDance business and its ever-expanding fleet of machines across multi-clouds globally hosting hundreds of millions of containers and applications.
• Have direct opportunity to work with world-class engineers, CNCF & SIG experts, distributed system experts, etc, and grow your career with most popular cloud and open source technologies - Container, Kubernetes, etcd, Service Mesh, Serverless, etc.
• Have the chance to architect the next-generation of Cloud-Native Infrastructure for hosting highly complex workloads: AI/LLM, Microservices, big data, etc.
• Challenge yourself to solve unique, highly complex technical problems for Kubernetes cluster management and scheduling in a super-large distributed system.

Responsibilities

• Assist in analyzing and supporting enhancements to Hyper-Scale AI Infrastructure platforms, focusing on improving performance, scalability, and resilience for both traditional workloads and large language model (LLM) applications.
• Contribute to performance optimization efforts for Kubernetes-based infrastructure, including monitoring pod lifecycle, tracking resource utilization, and analyzing system behavior under varying load conditions—working closely with senior engineers to identify improvement opportunities.
• Lead small-scale development tasks related to resource management and scheduling in Kubernetes clusters, such as testing configuration updates, automating routine resource allocation workflows, or contributing to tooling for efficiency tracking.
• Engage actively in team discussions on AI infrastructure design and optimization strategies, leveraging academic knowledge and personal projects to propose fresh insights and potential solutions.
• Develop and maintain clear technical documentation, including runbooks, architecture diagrams, and process guides, to strengthen knowledge sharing and operational efficiency across the team.

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 at least one major programming language such as Python, Go, C++, Rust, and Java.
• Solid understanding of at least one of the following fields: Unix/Linux environments, distributed and parallel systems, high-performance networking systems, developing large scale software systems

Preferred Qualifications

• Hands-on project experience with container and orchestration technologies such as Docker and Kubernetes through internships, coursework, or personal projects.
• Experience in developing or contributing to cloud-native open-source projects.

Job Information

For Pay Transparency Compensation Description (Annually)

The base salary range for this position in the selected city is $122574 - $316800 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 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