Machine Learning Engineer Graduate (TikTok-Data-Search-Local Service) - 2027 Start

About the role

This full-time Graduate role provides early-career engineers the opportunity to join the Search Engineering Team, which builds and owns TikTok's search engine to deliver the best search experience. You'll work on a full-stack search engine system, combining information retrieval technology with modern machine learning methods from fields such as NLP, CV, and recommender systems. The team embraces self-direction, intellectual curiosity, openness, and problem-solving.

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

Responsibilities

• Participate in improving the search core algorithm, focusing on areas such as:
  • Content understanding: Apply cutting-edge NLP and CV technology, leverage LLM to match the most relevant videos for each search query, and continuously improve search relevance.
  • User Behavior Modeling: Solve recommendation problems in search to enhance personalization while maintaining relevance and better understanding users.
  • Video understanding: Use NLP, CV, and LLM to improve video comprehension from both the video itself and social network perspectives, enhancing authority, credibility, and usefulness of search results.
  • Search systems engineering: Design, build, test, and maintain search services, data pipelines, tools, or platform components that support search quality, reliability, latency, and user experience.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

• Completing or recently completed a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Data Science, Statistics, Mathematics, or a related technical discipline.
• Experience with at least one programming language such as Python, Java, C++, Go, or JavaScript through coursework, internships, projects, or equivalent practical experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with search, recommendation, machine learning, information retrieval, natural language processing, ranking, data mining, or backend systems.
• Familiarity with distributed systems, databases, data pipelines, online experimentation, or large-scale service development.
• Experience using data or metrics to debug, evaluate, or improve a product or system.
• Strong problem-solving, communication, and collaboration skills.
• Interest in building Search products and systems for a large-scale consumer platform.

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

Pay

The base salary range for this position is $121,600 - $243,200 annually. Compensation may vary based on qualifications, skills, competencies, experience, and location. Base pay is one part of the total package, which may include additional 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).

The Company reserves the right to modify or change these benefits programs at any time, with or without notice.

About TikTok

TikTok is the leading destination for short-form mobile video. Our mission is to inspire creativity and bring joy. TikTok's global headquarters are in Los Angeles and Singapore, with additional offices in New York City, London, Dublin, Paris, Berlin, Dubai, Jakarta, Seoul, and Tokyo.

We strive to create an inclusive space where employees are valued for their skills, experiences, and unique perspectives. Our platform connects people globally, and our workplace reflects the diverse communities we reach. We are committed to celebrating diverse voices and fostering an environment that aligns with our mission of inspiring creativity and bringing joy.