Staff Machine Learning Engineer, TikTok Ads Core Global - Traffic & Strategy

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.

TikTok Ads Core ML Team aims at creating automatic delivery products for the next generation and developing advertising as a global business, instead of just a monetization tool to consolidate the delivery funnel framework allowing multiple teams to iterate parallel.

Ads Core Traffic Strategy & User Experience team is essential to TikTok's success, our work focuses are:
- Personalized Ads Experience: We optimize every stage of the ad delivery pipeline, from recall and ranking to final placement, by integrating user feedback to make ads more relevant and engaging.
- Cutting-Edge Multi-Scenario Integration: this includes building context models that analyze ads-related information and scene elements to improve accuracy, as well as developing list-wise models to optimize recommendation outcomes and ads ROIs.

We're looking for innovative Staff Machine Learning Engineers to develop state-of-art ad technologies, including ranking, retrieval, targeting, bidding, auction, etc. You will be part of a team that's optimizing ads format and ranking strategies, and you will be responsible for bringing a better returns on investment for advertisers.

What will you do:
- Develop advanced ads delivery capabilities that leverage cutting-edge machine learning techniques, working closely with recommendation system teams to deliver personalized ads.
- Lead the rapid iteration and optimization of machine learning models to enhance TikTok's overall revenue and system efficiency.
- Ensure that advertising models deliver high performance in terms of CTR, CVR, user engagement, and business ROIs.
- Continuously improve bidding and budget optimization algorithms to help advertisers find the best-matching traffic for their needs.
- Work closely with product managers, data scientists, software engineers, and business teams to align machine learning solutions with business goals.
- Ensure that ads delivery systems are tailored to the needs of different verticals and global markets customers, driving measurable business impacts.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications:
- Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related technical field.
- Hands-on experience with at least one mainstream machine learning framework, such as TensorFlow, PyTorch, or MXNet, including its architecture and implementation mechanisms.
- Solid domain knowledge in at least one of the following areas: search, ranking, recommendation systems, or monetization.
- Proven experience in optimizing machine learning models for performance, scalability, and business impacts.
- Sophisticated analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to break down complex problems and deliver effective technical solutions.
- Strong collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively with cross-functional teams across different locations and time zones for global business needs.

Preferred Qualifications:
- In-depth understanding of online advertising concepts such as CPC, CPM, CTR, CVR, ranking, targeting, conversion, budgeting, campaigns, creatives, demand and inventory management, DSP, and RTB.
- Hands-on experience with large-scale distributed software systems such as Spark or TensorFlow for resource management and task scheduling.
- Excellent communication skills, with the ability to present complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences.
- Strong interest in improving user experience, ensuring that advertising models and delivery systems provide relevant and engaging content while respecting user preferences and privacy.

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 .

Job Information

[For Pay Transparency] Compensation Description (annually)

The base salary range for this position in the selected city is $224000 - $410000 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.