(General Hire) Machine Learning Scientist Graduate (TikTok Recommendation) - 2027 Start (PhD)

About the role

The Recommendation algorithm team plays a central role in the company, driving critical product decisions and platform growth. The team is made up of machine learning researchers and engineers who support and innovate on production recommendation models and drive product impact. This is a fast-paced, collaborative, and impact-driven environment. As part of the general hiring process for the TikTok Recommendation organization, applications will be evaluated by multiple teams to ensure the best match based on skills and interests.

Successful candidates must be able to commit to an onboarding date by the end of the year. Please state your availability and graduation date clearly in your resume.

Responsibilities

• Build industry-leading recommendation systems, improving user experience, content ecosystem, and platform security.
• Deliver end-to-end machine learning solutions to address critical product challenges.
• Own the full-stack machine learning system and optimize algorithms and infrastructure to improve recommendation performance.
• Work with cross-functional teams to design product strategies and build solutions to grow TikTok in important markets.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications:

• Individuals who are completing or have recently completed a PhD degree in computer science or a related discipline.
• Good knowledge of theoretical and empirical research in addressing research problems.
• Solid knowledge and experience with at least one popular deep learning framework (e.g., PyTorch, TensorFlow) and familiarity with deep neural network architectures.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Research experience in one or more of the following fields: applied machine learning, machine learning infrastructure, large-scale recommendation systems, market-facing machine learning products.
• Strong first-author publications record in major AI conferences or journals (e.g., NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, ACL, EMNLP, NAACL).
• Proficient in C/C++, Python, and shell programming languages, with a deep understanding of data structure and algorithm design.
• Internship experience in an AI research organization.

Pay

The base salary range for this position is $156,000 - $387,600 annually. Compensation may vary outside of this range depending on qualifications, skills, competencies, experience, and location. Base pay is one part of the total package, which may also include discretionary bonuses, incentives, and restricted stock units.

Benefits

• Day-one access to medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• 401(k) savings plan with company match.
• Paid parental leave.
• Short-term and long-term disability coverage.
• Life insurance.
• Wellbeing benefits.
• 10 paid holidays per year.
• 10 paid sick days per year.
• 17 days of Paid Personal Time (prorated upon hire with increasing accruals by tenure).