Software Engineer - TikTok Search Engine

About the Team

Our Search Team is responsible for building and owning TikTok's search engine, which provides our users the best search experience. On the TikTok Search Team, you’ll have the opportunity to build a full-stack search engine system and combine information retrieval technology with modern machine learning methods from related fields such as NLP, CV, and recommender systems. We embrace a culture of self-direction, intellectual curiosity, openness, and problem-solving.

Responsibilities

• Optimize the searching quality to provide TikTok's users the best search experience
• Combine your understanding of product objectives and take full advantage of modern machine learning and information retrieval techniques to improve search quality and perception
• Build the core systems and algorithms development including query understanding, result ranking, query recommendation, system reliability, and more

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

• BS degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or other relevant majors
• At least 2+ years of experience in developing and implementing large-scale consumer-facing services/products and/or building backend services for large-scale consumer-facing applications
• Proficiency in the following languages but not limited to: C/C++, Python, Java, or Golang
• Effective team communication and collaboration skills

Preferred Qualifications

• Working knowledge in one of the following or similar domains: search, recommendation, ranking, ads, etc.
• Working knowledge in one of the following areas: machine learning, deep learning, backend, large-scale systems, data science, full-stack
• Experience with Big Data Frameworks, such as Hadoop, Spark, Flink, etc.

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, 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. We strive to do great things with great people, leading 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'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.

Pay

The base salary range for this position in the selected city is $162,000 - $387,600 annually. Compensation may vary outside of this range depending on a number of factors, including a candidate’s qualifications, skills, competencies, and experience. Base pay is one part of the Total Package that 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)