Software Engineer Intern (TikTok Search Architecture) - 2027 Fall

TikTok; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 52,000 - 72,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Life insurance

Wellbeing benefits

Housing allowance

Job summary

TikTok Search is building the next-generation search experience for hundreds of millions of users. Our team develops TikTok’s search engine and explores combining traditional search with large language models to boost relevance and engagement.

We offer an internship program providing hands-on experience, industry exposure, and growth opportunities. Interns will work on challenging problems at the intersection of information retrieval, ML, NLP, and distributed systems, with the chance to advance

Qualifications

• Currently pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related technical discipline.
• Solid foundation in data structures, algorithms, and operating systems.
• Strong programming skills with one or more languages such as C++, Python, Go or Java.

Responsibilities

• Build and optimize search systems for hundreds of millions of users.
• Tackle large-scale problems in search quality, ranking, and retrieval.
• Investigate integration of search technologies with LLMs to improve results.
• Develop algorithms and systems for next-generation search experiences.
• Collaborate with product managers and engineers to translate user needs into scalable solutions.
• Apply ML, NLP, IR, and LLM techniques to enhance search quality.

Skills

C++

Python

Go

Java

Education

Bachelor's in CS

Job description

Responsibilities

About the Team

TikTok Search is building the next-generation search experience for hundreds of millions of users around the world. Our team is responsible for developing and improving TikTok’s search engine, with the goal of helping users discover the most relevant, useful, and engaging content through search.

We are actively exploring how to deeply integrate traditional search engine technologies with Large Language Models (LLMs) to enhance the TikTok Search experience and pioneer new search paradigms. You will have the opportunity to work on challenging problems at the intersection of information retrieval, machine learning, natural language understanding, recommendation systems, and large-scale distributed systems.

We are looking for talented individuals to join us for an internship. Our internship program offers students hands‑on experience, industry exposure, and opportunities to apply their knowledge to real-world challenges while building a strong foundation for personal and professional growth.

Interns will gain practical experience, explore potential career paths, and participate in social events, learning programs, and development workshops alongside industry professionals.

Candidates who pass resume screening will be invited to participate in Our Company's technical online assessment.

Responsibilities:

• Build and optimize search systems and features that serve hundreds of millions of users globally.
• Work on large-scale, complex technical problems in search quality, ranking, query understanding, retrieval, and system reliability.
• Explore the integration of search engine technologies and LLMs to improve user experience and search result relevance.
• Develop algorithms and systems that support next-generation search experiences and new search interaction paradigms.
• Collaborate with product managers, researchers, and engineers to understand user needs and translate them into scalable technical solutions.
• Apply modern machine learning, information retrieval, NLP, and LLM techniques to improve search quality and user perception.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualification(s)

• Currently pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related technical discipline.
• Solid foundation in computer science fundamentals, with strong understanding of data structures, algorithms, and operating systems.
• Strong programming skills and good coding habits; experience with one or more programming languages such as C++, Python, Go or Java.
• Strong curiosity, willingness to learn, and ability to quickly understand and solve complex technical problems.
• Good communication skills and ability to collaborate effectively in a team environment.
• Able to commit to a 12-week internship in 2027.

Preferred Qualification(s)

• Currently pursuing a Master's degree in Computer Science or a related technical discipline.
• Experience in search, recommendation systems, machine learning, NLP, LLMs, distributed systems, or related areas.
• Demonstrated software engineering experience through internships, research projects, open-source contributions, or publications.
• Award-winning experience in programming competitions such as ICPC, CCPC, NOI, IOI, or other comparable competitions is a plus.
• High levels of creativity, self-motivation, and strong problem-solving capability.

Job Information

【For Pay Transparency】Compensation Description (Hourly) - Campus Intern

The hourly rate range for this position in the selected city is $45- $45.

Benefits

• Interns have day one access to health insurance, life insurance, wellbeing benefits and more.
• Interns also receive 10 paid holidays per year and paid sick time (56 hours if hired in first half of year, 40 if hired in second half of year).
• Interns who are not working 100% remote may also be eligible for housing allowance.

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 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