Student Researcher (LLM Post Training – Agent & Reinforcement Learning) - 2026 Start (PhD) Seed[...]

ByteDance; San Jose (CA); Hybrid; USD 33,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

ByteDance Seed team in San Jose is offering an internship to join the Seed LLM Post Training group. You will work on post-training technologies for unified multimodal large models, focusing on SFT, RM, RL, and self-learning to improve reasoning, coding, and agent capabilities.

The role targets PhD candidates with strong RL research, first-author ML/AI publications, and hands-on experience with RL/LLM frameworks. Sponsorship is not provided; authorization to work in the United States is required.

Qualifications

• Minimum: PhD in CS/AI; RL research; first-author ML/AI publications; strong programming with RL/LLM frameworks.
• Preferred: experience with LLM agents, tool use, or prompt-based control; familiarity with WebArena/ALFWorld or programmatic reasoning; RL techniques like reward shaping or curriculum learning.

Responsibilities

• Explore large-scale models and optimize systems.
• Data construction, instruction tuning, preference alignment, and model optimization.
• Improving model capabilities in reasoning, coding, math, etc.
• In-depth research and exploration of future use cases.

Skills

PhD in CS/AI

Reinforcement learning research

First-author publications in ML/AI

Programming with RL/LLM frameworks

Education

Pursuing PhD in Computer Science or AI

Tools

RL frameworks

LLM frameworks

Job description

Join us as we work together to inspire creativity and enrich life around the globe.

Location:

San Jose

Team:

Technology

Employment Type:

Intern

Job Code:

A253899

Responsibilities

About the teamThe Seed LLM Post Training team is responsible for researching cutting-edge posttrain technologies and providing core posttrain capabilities for unified multimodal large models. The team's goal is to research and explore next-generation advanced technologies such as SFT, RM, RL, and self-learning during the posttrain phase, while significantly optimizing and improving key areas including reasoning, coding, agent, and omni model.

• Explore large-scale models and optimize systems.
• Data construction, instruction tuning, preference alignment, and model optimization.
• Improving relevant model capabilities, such as reasoning, code, math etc.
• In-depth research and exploration of future use cases.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications:

• Currently pursuing a PhD in Computer Science, AI, or a related field.
• Research experience in reinforcement learning, sequential decision-making, or agent behavior.
• First-author publications in accredited ML/AI conferences (e.g., NeurIPS, ICLR, ICML).
• Solid programming and experimentation skills, including with RL or LLM frameworks.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with LLM agents, tool use, or prompt-based control.
• Familiarity with environments such as WebArena, ALFWorld, or programmatic reasoning tasks.
• Understanding of RL techniques such as reward shaping, memory augmentation, or curriculum learning.

As a condition of employment, all successful candidates must be able to establish authorization to work in the United States. For this position, the Company does not provide sponsorship or any immigration-related benefits.

Job Information

About Doubao (Seed)

Established in 2023, the ByteDance Seed team is dedicated to pioneering new paths toward artificial general intelligence. We aspire to advance the frontier of intelligence to drive progress for both technology and society.

With a long-term vision for the AI sector, the Seed team's research spans MLLM, GenMedia, AI for Science, and Robotics. We maintain a global presence with laboratories and career opportunities across China, Singapore, and the United States. To date, we have launched industry-leading general foundation models and cutting-edge multimodal capabilities. Our technology powers over 50 application scenarios — including Doubao, Jimeng, TRAE, Dola and Dreamnia — and serves enterprise customers through Volcano Engine and BytePlus. Third-party data shows that the Doubao App ranks first in user volume in the Chinese market, while Doubao foundation models lead the industry in average daily token consumption.

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