Machine Learning Engineer Intern - Global E-Commerce Content Recommendation - 2026 Summer (BS/MS)

Responsibilities

Team Introduction
Global E-Commerce Content Recommendation 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. The team is fast-pacing, collaborative and impact-driven.

Here, you will have the opportunity to:

• Drive the development of industry-leading recommendation systems that elevate user experience, strengthen platform safety, and empower a vibrant content ecosystem.
• Explore generative recommendation techniques, including Diffusion Models, prompt learning, and multimodal content generation, to unlock new capabilities in content discovery.
• Build multi-model and cross-scenario systems enabling unified recommendation across livestreams, short videos, and search.
• Deliver impactful, end-to-end machine learning solutions that tackle high-priority product challenges related to content understanding, LLMs, robustness, and fairness.
• Own and optimize the full-stack ML pipeline—from algorithm design to system infrastructure—to continuously push the boundaries of recommendation performance.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to craft innovative product strategies and develop intelligent solutions that fuel TikTok’s growth in key global markets.

Qualifications

• Currently pursuing a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree with a background in computer science, machine learning, or similar fields;
• 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;
• Able to commit to working for 12 weeks during Summer 2026;
• Research experience in one or more of the following fields: applied machine learning, machine learning infrastructure, large-scale recommendation system, market-facing machine learning product;
• Strong first-author publications record in top AI conferences or journals(e.g., NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, ACL, EMNLP, NAACL etc.);
• Proficient in C/C++, Python, and shell programming languages, and have a deep understanding of data structure and algorithm design;
• Internship experience in an AI research organization.

Job Information

[For Pay Transparency]
Compensation Description (Hourly)
- Campus Intern
The hourly rate range for this position in the selected city is $42.75- $57.

Benefits may vary depending on the nature of employment and the country work location. Interns have day one access to health insurance, life insurance, wellbeing benefits and more. Interns also receive 10 paid holidays per year and paid sick time (56 hours if hired in first half of year, 40 if hired in second half of year). Interns who are not working 100% remote may also be eligible for housing allowance.

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. At TikTok, our mission is to inspire creativity and bring joy. TikTok's global headquarters are in Los Angeles and Singapore, and we also have offices in New York City, London, Dublin, Paris, Berlin, Dubai, Jakarta, Seoul, and Tokyo.

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.

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.