Machine Learning Engineer - Ads Core and Commerce Ads

About the role

The TikTok USDS shop Ads team blends advertiser focus with technical expertise to enhance shop ads—both open-loop and closed-loop—establishing TikTok US as a growth engine for businesses and a top destination for consumers to discover and purchase products, content, and services. This team drives TikTok's ad revenue by developing next-generation shop ad solutions.

Responsibilities

• Build highly scalable machine learning systems and state-of-the-art models to improve ad ranking quality and optimize advertisers' marketing strategies, including click-through rate prediction, conversion rate prediction, intelligent format selection, and user journey optimization.
• Explore, develop, and experiment with new features to enhance model accuracy.
• Leverage modern machine learning to improve ads relevance, quality, and quantity delivered to end-users, aligning with ads platform objectives.
• Collaborate with global teams, product managers, designers, and other disciplines to innovate the next generation of shopping experiences on TikTok.

Requirements

Minimum Qualifications

• Highly self-motivated with a drive for business growth and technical advancement.
• Proficient in SQL and Python, with experience in data manipulation.
• Experience with big data processing frameworks (e.g., Hadoop, Spark) and distributed computing for large-scale data mining.
• Solid understanding of machine/deep learning concepts, including feature engineering, model evaluation, and optimization.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to derive insights from complex and unstructured datasets.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s or advanced degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Statistics, or a related field.
• 5+ years of experience as a Machine Learning Engineer or Data Scientist, with experience in causal machine learning preferred.
• Work experience in user growth, marketing algorithms, recommendation algorithms, advertisement algorithms, or related fields.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work in cross-functional teams and convey technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders.

About USDS

TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC ensures the safety and security of millions of Americans using TikTok’s apps. Established under the Executive Order signed on September 25, 2025, the joint venture operates a comprehensive data privacy and cybersecurity program to protect national security and U.S. user data, apps, and algorithms. USDS safeguards the U.S. content ecosystem, holding decision-making authority for trust and safety policies and moderation. The company enables Americans to express creativity, discover new interests, and build communities and businesses globally.

USDS operates with an on-site presence across teams to enhance speed, alignment, and agility, particularly in real-time decision-making, team development, and integrated execution. As a result, the company is transitioning from a hybrid work model to a fully in-person schedule, up to 5 days a week.

Why Join Us

TikTok’s mission is to inspire creativity, and our innovative product helps people express themselves, discover, and connect. Our global, diverse teams create value for communities and bring joy daily. We work with curiosity, humility, and a desire to make an impact in a rapidly growing tech company. Every challenge is an opportunity to learn and innovate as one team. We embrace resilience and an "Always Day 1" mindset to achieve meaningful breakthroughs for ourselves, the company, and our users.

Pay

The base salary range for this position is $136,800 – $359,720 annually. Compensation may vary based on qualifications, skills, experience, and location. Base pay is part of a total package that may include discretionary bonuses, incentives, and restricted stock units. Benefits vary by employment type and country but include 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; and wellbeing benefits. Employees also receive 10 paid holidays, 10 paid sick days, and 17 days of paid personal time per year (prorated upon hire with accruals increasing by tenure).

Schedule

This role requires a fully in-person schedule, up to 5 days a week.