Software Engineer Intern (TikTok - Shoot Experience Optimization) - 2027 Summer San Jose Underg[...]

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

Discover a career that energizes and excites you every day.

@2026 TikTok

Technology

Software Engineer Intern (TikTok - Shoot Experience Optimization) - 2027 Summer

Location: San Jose

Employment Type: Intern

Job Code: A34395

Responsibilities

About the TeamEvery TikTok video starts the same way: someone opens the camera. That moment — and everything that follows, from framing a shot to switching effects to hitting record — has to feel instant and effortless. We are the TikTok Camera Client Team, responsible for the experience and performance of the creation entry point used by hundreds of millions of people every day. Our mission is to make the camera fast to open, fluid to touch, and rock-solid on every device our users hold, from the latest flagship to the most entry-level phone. If you care about how an app actually feels in the hand, and about the engineering underneath that makes it feel that way, you came to the right place.You will be working on two sides of the same problem. On the experience side, you'll help refine how creation feels — responsiveness of capture, smoothness of effect switching, gestures, and transitions — turning rough edges into flows that feel natural. On the performance side, you'll attack what quietly ruins that feeling at scale: slow cold start, jank, memory pressure, power drain, and stability issues on low-end devices. Partnering closely with product, design, and the effects and camera pipeline teams, you'll help build the tooling that makes this work measurable and repeatable. Small wins here are multiplied by hundreds of millions of daily creation sessions.

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.

• Participate in the user experience and performance optimization of TikTok Camera, the creation entry point used by hundreds of millions of people every day.
• Contribute to the optimization of the camera interaction experience — capture flows, effect switching, gestures, and transitions — to make creation feel faster, smoother, and more intuitive for users.
• Assist in the design and implementation of automated performance monitoring pipelines, such as automatic Perfetto trace capture, agent-assisted bottleneck analysis, and regression detection, to assess camera experience and performance at various stages.
• Using client-side optimization techniques such as cold start optimization, jank and memory analysis, and thread scheduling to improve camera responsiveness and stability across a massive range of mobile devices.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

• Currently pursuing an Undergraduate/Graduate in Software Development, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• Able to commit to working for 12 weeks during the Summer of 2027.
• Strong knowledge of data structures and algorithms, proficient in at least one coding language, including but not limited to Java, Kotlin, Swift, Objective-C.
• Curiosity towards mobile client performance and user experience optimization, and outstanding ability to analyze and solve problems.
• Good grasp of software engineering and how to build a system in a scalable and extensive manner.

Preferred Qualifications

• Passion about user experience and performance, and solving challenging problems on real devices.
• Understanding of Android or iOS internals, such as UI rendering, threading, memory management, and application lifecycle.
• Experience in performance profiling and analysis tools such as Perfetto, Systrace, Instruments, or Android Studio Profiler.
• Interest in AI Agent development, and in exploring how LLM-powered tools can improve engineering workflows.

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

Benefits may vary depending on the nature of employment and the country work location. 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:

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