Software Engineer Graduate (Video-on-Demand Algorithm) - 2027 Start

TikTok; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 128,000 - 317,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

401(k) with company match

Paid parental leave

Disability coverage

Job summary

TikTok is seeking a Software Engineer Graduate for the Video-on-Demand Algorithm team in San Jose. This 2027 start role focuses on designing and implementing media streaming algorithms to enhance the TikTok viewing experience, with opportunities to work on ABR, preloading, and network estimation while collaborating across teams.

Candidates should be recent graduates with a CS-related degree and strong data analysis skills.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computing Engineering or a related discipline.
• Experience in multimedia or network domain is preferred.
• Proven ability to develop new algorithms and identify problems in existing solutions.
• Fluent in statistics and data analysis.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement media streaming-related algorithms to improve user experience (e.g., ABR, preloading, bandwidth estimation).
• Contribute to end-to-end media ecosystem design for multimedia systems.
• Run controlled experiments on millions of streaming sessions to validate improvements.

Skills

Algorithm development

Statistics & data analysis

Shipping software at scale

Learning-based model development

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science

Job description

Discover a career that energizes and excites you every day.

@2026 TikTok

Technology

Software Engineer Graduate (Video-on-Demand Algorithm) - 2027 Start

Location:

San Jose

Employment Type:

Regular

Job Code:

A241969A

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Responsibilities

About the teamThe Video-on-Demand (VoD) Algorithm team is responsible for optimizing the app experience related to performance for TikTok users. This team collaborates with all teams within and beyond the VoD team, to provide algorithmic support for end-to-end optimization solutions, including video shooting, uploading, processing, delivery, and playback, etc.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.Candidates can apply to a maximum of two positions and will be considered for jobs in the order you apply. The application limit is applicable to our Company and its affiliates' jobs globally. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

• Design and implement media streaming-related algorithms to improve TikTok user experience. Examples include video preloading, adaptive bitrate streaming (ABR), network bandwidth estimation, CDN traffic allocation, and transport-layer algorithms, to name a few.
• Contribute to end-to-end media ecosystem design to improve the algorithmization of the multimedia system.
• Run controlled experiments on millions of streaming sessions to validate improvements.

Qualifications

• Individuals who are completing or have recently completed a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computing Engineering or a related discipline.
• Industry or academic experience in the multimedia or network domain.
• Proven ability to develop new algorithms and identify problems in existing solutions.
• Fluent in statistics and data analysis.

• Experience with shipping software on behalf of a major brand at scale is a big plus.
• Experience with learning-based model development is a big plus.

By submitting an application for this role, you accept and agree to our global applicant privacy policy, which may be accessed here: https://careers.tiktok.com/legal/privacy

Job Information

The base salary range for this position in the selected city is $128000 - $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:

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;
3. Exercising sound judgment.

About TikTok

TikTok is the leading destination for short-form mobile video. At TikTok, our mission is to inspire creativity and bring joy. TikTok's global headquarters are in Los Angeles and Singapore, and we also have offices in New York City, London, Dublin, Paris, Berlin, Dubai, Jakarta, Seoul, and Tokyo.

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.

TikTok Accommodation

TikTok 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