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ML Engineer Graduate (TikTok Core Feed Recommendation- User Growth) - 2025 Start (PhD)

AT TikTok
TikTok

ML Engineer Graduate (TikTok Core Feed Recommendation- User Growth) - 2025 Start (PhD)

San Jose, CA

Responsibilities

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 its offices include New York, London, Dublin, Paris, Berlin, Dubai, Jakarta, Seoul, and Tokyo.

Why Join Us
Creation is the core of TikTok's purpose. Our platform is built to help imaginations thrive. This is doubly true of the teams that make TikTok possible.
Together, we inspire creativity and bring joy - a mission we all believe in and aim towards achieving every day.
To us, every challenge, no matter how difficult, is an opportunity; to learn, to innovate, and to grow as one team. Status quo? Never. Courage? Always.

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At TikTok, we create together and grow together. That's how we drive impact - for ourselves, our company, and the communities we serve.
Join us.

The User Growth (UG) algorithm team is the core engine propelling the rapid growth of TikTok, globally renowned as the fastest growing app. Facing real-world challenges in manifold scenarios, the team skillfully leverages machine learning techniques and massive data to forge efficient growth pathways.
In close collaboration with product teams, and firmly anchored by robust data analysis, we formulate high ROI strategies that encompass both user acquisition and retention. Based on the profound understanding and abstract interpretation of these scenarios, we develop innovative methods and versatile insights to accelerating user growth at an unprecedented rate.

We are looking for strong research scientist 2025 Graduates , who are excited about growing their business understanding, building scalable and high-performance models and systems, and partnering across disciplines with global teams, in pursuit of excellence.

Responsibilities
1. Develop large-scale machine learning algorithms to optimize new user acquisition efficiency and retention rates.
2. Data-driven: connect data to real-world user experiences using superior data sensitivity and analytical skills.
3. Using deep understanding of systems and scenarios, deliver end-to-end solutions to achieve the growth targets in diverse scenarios and recommendation systems.
4. Work cross-functionally with product managers, data scientists, and engineers to understand insights, formulate problems, and design, refine, and test machine learning algorithms and strategies.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications
1. PhD degree or equivalent degree in computer science, machine learning, or related fields.
2. Familiar with one or more of the following areas: recommendation systems, machine learning, deep learning, pattern recognition, data mining, computer vision, NLP, causal inference or multimodal machine learning.
3. Strong proficiency in Python and/or C/C++, and familiarity with a machine learning framework. Have a deep understanding of data structures and algorithms.
4. Good communication and teamwork skills, be passionate about learning new techniques and taking on challenging problems.

Preferred Qualifications
1. A strong record of first-author publications in top AI conferences or journals (e.g., NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, ACL, etc.) is preferred.
2. Internship experience in an AI research organization.
3. Participation in high visible public/open-source AI-related projects.

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.

TikTok is committed to providing reasonable accommodations in our recruitment processes for candidates with disabilities, pregnancy, sincerely held religious beliefs or other reasons protected by applicable laws. If you need assistance or a reasonable accommodation, please reach out to us at https://shorturl.at/cdpT2

By submitting an application for this role, you accept and agree to our global applicant privacy policy, which may be accessed here: https://careers.tiktok.com/legal/privacy.

Job Information

[For Pay Transparency] Compensation Description (annually)

The base salary range for this position in the selected city is $137750 - $237500 annually.

Compensation may vary outside of this range depending on a number of factors, including a candidate's qualifications, skills, competencies and experience, and location. Base pay is one part of the Total Package that is provided to compensate and recognize employees for their work, and this role may be eligible for additional discretionary bonuses/incentives, and restricted stock units.

Benefits may vary depending on the nature of employment and the country work location. Employees have day one access to 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, wellbeing benefits, among others. Employees also receive 10 paid holidays per year, 10 paid sick days per year and 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.

For Los Angeles County (unincorporated) Candidates:

Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with all federal, state, and local laws including the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act. Our company believes that criminal history may have a direct, adverse and negative relationship on the following job duties, potentially resulting in the withdrawal of the conditional offer of employment:

1. Interacting and occasionally having unsupervised contact with internal/external clients and/or colleagues;

2. Appropriately handling and managing confidential information including proprietary and trade secret information and access to information technology systems; and

3. Exercising sound judgment.

Client-provided location(s): San Jose, CA, USA
Job ID: TikTok-7380123626412083506
Employment Type: Other

Perks and Benefits

  • Health and Wellness

    • Health Insurance
    • Dental Insurance
    • Vision Insurance
    • HSA
    • Life Insurance
    • Fitness Subsidies
    • Short-Term Disability
    • Long-Term Disability
    • On-Site Gym
    • Mental Health Benefits
    • Virtual Fitness Classes
  • Parental Benefits

    • Fertility Benefits
    • Adoption Assistance Program
    • Family Support Resources
  • Work Flexibility

    • Flexible Work Hours
    • Hybrid Work Opportunities
  • Office Life and Perks

    • Casual Dress
    • Snacks
    • Pet-friendly Office
    • Happy Hours
    • Some Meals Provided
    • Company Outings
    • On-Site Cafeteria
    • Holiday Events
  • Vacation and Time Off

    • Paid Vacation
    • Paid Holidays
    • Personal/Sick Days
    • Leave of Absence
  • Financial and Retirement

    • 401(K) With Company Matching
    • Performance Bonus
    • Company Equity
  • Professional Development

    • Promote From Within
    • Access to Online Courses
    • Leadership Training Program
    • Associate or Rotational Training Program
    • Mentor Program
  • Diversity and Inclusion

    • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Program
    • Employee Resource Groups (ERG)

Company Videos

Hear directly from employees about what it is like to work at TikTok.