Research Scientist Intern (TikTok-Recommendation) - 2027 Start (PhD)

San Jose, California, US Until 10/3/2026 H-1B sponsor history First posted July 17, 2026 Last posted August 4, 2026
Job description

Description

Recommendation algorithm 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.

This opening is part of the general hiring process for the TikTok Recommendation organization. Applications will be evaluated by multiple teams within the Recommendation organization to ensure the best match based on skills and interests.

We are looking for talented individuals to join us for an internship. PhD internships at Our Company provide students with the opportunity to actively contribute to our products and research, as well as to the organization's future plans and emerging technologies.

Our dynamic internship experience blends hands-on learning, enriching community-building and professional development events, and collaboration with industry experts.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, so we encourage you to apply early. Please clearly state your availability in your resume (Start date, End date).

Responsibilities - What You'II Do
- Build industry-leading recommendation system, improving user experience, content ecosystem and platform security;
- Deliver end-to-end machine learning solution to address critical product challenges;
- Own the full stack machine learning system and optimize algorithms and infrastructure to improve recommendation performance.
- Work with cross functional teams to design product strategies and build solutions to grow TikTok in important markets.

Requirements

Minimum Qualifications:
- Currently pursuing a PhD degree in the field of computer science or a related technical discipline
- Proficient coding skills and strong algorithm & data structure using C++/Python or other programming language
- Experienced in Machine Learning, familiar with at least one DeepLearning framework, e.g. PyTorch, Tensorflow.
- Experienced in one or more of the following areas, e.g. NLP, CV, Recommender System, and Machine Learning, etc
- Effective communication and teamwork skills

Preferred Qualifications:
- Authors of published papers in top academia conferences is an advantage
- Winners of algorithm and machine learning competitions such as ACM and Kaggle is an advantage

About this role

Summary

Build and optimize recommendation algorithms using machine learning and deep learning techniques.

Job title

Research Scientist Intern (TikTok-Recommendation) - 2027 Start (PhD)

Experience level

PhD candidate

Industry

software

Location requirements

Must be in San Jose, remote not specified

Salary

Not specified

Visa sponsorship

H-1B sponsor history

Management role

No

Skills & keywords

Required skills

C++Pythonmachine learningPyTorchTensorFlow

Preferred skills

published papersKaggle competitions

Specializations

machine learningrecommendation systemdeep learningNLPCV
Locations

Structured locations inferred from the posting.

San Jose, CA, USA

On-site City