Software Engineer Intern, Camera UX & Performance

TikTok; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 51,000 - 73,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Housing allowance

Paid holidays

Paid sick time

Job summary

TikTok is seeking a Software Engineer Intern for the Shoot Experience Optimization team in San Jose for Summer 2027. You will work on the camera creation entry point, refining responsiveness and performance across devices.

You will collaborate with product, design, and camera pipeline teams to build measurable tooling, such as Perfetto traces, and help reduce cold starts, jank, and memory pressure. The internship offers hands-on experience and growth opportunities.

Qualifications

• Currently pursuing an Undergraduate/Graduate in Software Development, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or related technical discipline.
• Able to commit to working for 12 weeks during Summer 2027.
• Strong knowledge of data structures and algorithms, proficient in at least one coding language including Java, Kotlin, Swift, Objective-C.
• Curiosity towards mobile client performance and UX optimization, and ability to analyze and solve problems.
• Good grasp of software engineering and building scalable systems.

Responsibilities

• Participate in user experience and performance optimization of TikTok Camera, used by hundreds of millions daily.
• Contribute to optimization of camera interaction experience—capture flows, gesture transitions—to feel faster and smoother.
• Assist design and implementation of automated performance monitoring pipelines (Perfetto trace capture, bottleneck analysis).
• Use client-side optimization techniques to improve responsiveness and stability across many devices.

Skills

Data structures

Algorithms

Java / Kotlin / Swift / Obj-C

Mobile performance

Education

Bachelors or Masters in CS/EE/SE

Tools

Perfetto

Instruments

Systrace

Android Studio Profiler

Job description

TikTok is seeking a Software Engineer Intern for the Shoot Experience Optimization team in San Jose for Summer 2027. You will work on the camera creation entry point, refining responsiveness and performance across devices.

You will collaborate with product, design, and camera pipeline teams to build measurable tooling, such as Perfetto traces, and help reduce cold starts, jank, and memory pressure. The internship offers hands-on experience and growth opportunities.