(General Hire) Machine Learning Engineer Intern (TikTok-Recommendation) - 2026 Fall (BS/MS) San[...]

Machine Learning Engineer Intern (TikTok-Recommendation) - 2026 Fall (BS/MS)

Location: San Jose

Employment Type: Intern

Job Code: A A

Responsibilities

• Drive the development of industry‑leading recommendation systems that elevate user experience, strengthen platform safety, and empower a vibrant content ecosystem.
• Deliver impactful, end‑to‑end machine‑learning solutions that tackle high‑priority product challenges related to content understanding, large‑language models, robustness, and fairness.
• Own and optimize the full‑stack machine‑learning 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.

Minimum Qualifications

• Currently pursuing a Master degree with a background in computer science, machine learning, or related 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.

Preferred Qualifications

• Research experience in one or more of the following fields: applied machine learning, machine‑learning infrastructure, large‑scale recommendation systems, market‑facing machine‑learning products.
• Strong first‑author publication record in accredited AI conferences or journals (e.g., NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, ACL, EMNLP, NAACL).
• Proficiency in C/C++, Python, and shell programming languages, and a deep understanding of data‑structure and algorithm design.
• Internship experience in an AI research organization.

Job Information

Hourly rate range for this position in the selected city is $45.

Benefits

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 the first half of the year, 40 hours if hired in the second half). Interns who are not working 100 % remote may also be eligible for a housing allowance.

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

EEO Statement – Los Angeles County (Unincorporated)

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.

Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records may be considered for employment in accordance with all federal, state, and local laws. The following job duties may be affected: 1. Interacting and occasionally having unsupervised contact with internal or external clients 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.

Legal Notice

For TikTok, by submitting an application for this role, you accept and agree to our global applicant privacy policy.