Tech Lead Manager, Recommendations - USDS

TikTok USDS Joint Venture; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 209,000 - 616,000; Full time

Job summary

TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC is seeking a senior ML leader to drive end-to-end recommendation models across multiple product areas. You will shape the technical vision, collaborate with research and platform teams, and guide system design for scalable, impactful solutions.

You will recruit and mentor a high-performing team, applying state-of-the-art techniques such as LLMs, Graph Neural Networks, and modern Deep Learning Ranking models to deliver business impact and improved user engagement.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in CS, ML, DS or related field.
• 5+ years hands-on ML experience with large-scale recommender/search/ranking models.
• 2+ years leading engineering teams as Tech Lead or Engineering Manager.

Responsibilities

• Drive the technical vision and execution for end-to-end recommendation models across product areas.
• Explore and integrate cutting-edge ML techniques (LLMs, GNNs, modern DL RMs) into pipelines.
• Recruit, mentor, and manage a high-performing ML engineering team.

Skills

Machine Learning

Leadership

Team management

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Data Science, or a related technical field

Job description

Responsibilities

We are a group of applied machine learning engineers that focus on TikTok recommendations and search engineers powering multiple product areas such as For-You-Page (FYP), Live Streaming, Global E-commerce, Local Services and more. We are developing innovative algorithms and techniques to improve user engagement and satisfaction, converting creative ideas into business-impacting solutions. We are interested in and excited about pushing the envelope of State-of-the-Art (SOTA) large scale machine learning to solve various real-world problems.

Key Responsibilities

• Drive the technical vision and execution for end-to-end recommendation models, including candidate generation/retrieval, multi-task ranking, re-ranking, and cold-start solutions.
• Explore and integrate cutting-edge machine learning techniques into recommendation pipelines, such as LLM/Generative AI applications in RecSys, Graph Neural Networks, and modern Deep Learning Recommendation Models (DLRM).
• Recruit, mentor, and manage a high-performing team of Machine Learning Engineers, fostering a culture of algorithmic excellence, scientific rigor, and fast iteration.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Data Science, or a related technical field.
• 5+ years of hands‑on experience in machine learning, with a heavy focus on developing large‑scale recommendation, search, or ads ranking models.
• 2+ years of experience leading engineering teams as a Tech Lead or Engineering Manager.

Preferred Qualifications

• Practical experience or strong expertise in leveraging Foundation Models / LLMs for feature representation, recommendation context, or personalization.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal, and stakeholder management skills.
• Ability to balance strategic thinking with hands‑on problem‑solving.

About USDS

TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC is dedicated to the safety and security of millions of Americans who create, discover, and connect with what they love on the apps we operate. The Joint Venture has been established in compliance with the Executive Order signed by President Trump on September 25, 2025. Our foundation is a comprehensive data privacy and cybersecurity program we operate under defined safeguards to protect national security and secure U.S. user data, apps and the algorithm. We safeguard the U.S. content ecosystem, holding decision‑making authority for trust and safety policies and moderation. USDS Joint Venture helps ensure Americans can continue to express their creativity, discover new hobbies and interests, and build thriving communities and businesses on a global scale.

On‑site presence across teams allows the company to operate with greater speed, alignment, and agility — especially in areas like real‑time decision‑making, team development, and integrated execution. As such, the company is shifting from a hybrid work model to a fully in‑person schedule up to 5 days a week.

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.

USDS Reasonable Accommodation

USDS 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/USDS-RA

Job Information

【For Pay Transparency】Compensation Description (Annually)

The base salary range for this position in the selected city is $208800 - $616000 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:

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; and
3. Exercising sound judgment.