Software Engineer Intern (Recommendation Performance Efficiency) - 2027 Summer

Location: San Jose, California, United States of America Department: R&D

The TikTok Video team works on the systems behind the For You Feed, TikTok’s personalized recommendation experience. We operate at the intersection of machine learning and large-scale systems, designing and operating the end-to-end pipeline —from offline training data orchestration to real-time online inference—that delivers seamless, high-frequency discovery to over a billion users.

We are looking for talented individuals to join us for an internship. Our internship program offers students hands-on experience, industry exposure, and opportunities to apply their knowledge to real-world challenges while building a strong foundation for personal and professional growth.

Interns will gain practical experience, explore potential career paths, and participate in social events, learning programs, and development workshops alongside industry professionals.

Candidates may apply to a maximum of two positions across Our Company and its affiliates globally. Applications will be considered in the order they are submitted.

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, so we encourage you to apply early. Please clearly state your availability in your resume, including your start and end dates.

Candidates who pass resume screening will be invited to participate in Our Company's technical online assessment.

Responsibilities

• Build globalized large-scale recommendation system;
• Build extremely efficient and reliable data pipelines for candidates generation, ranking system, profile generation, training examples generation, realtime online training, etc;
• Coach AI to perform release process and production operations, including online anomaly detection and diagnose, release safeguards, etc.

Minimum Qualifications

• Currently pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related technical discipline.
• Experience in programming, included but not limited to the following programming languages: C, C++, Java or Golang
• Effective communication skills and a sense of ownership and drive.

Preferred Qualifications

• Currently pursuing a Master's degree in Computer Science or a related technical discipline.
• Experience in AI coding is a plus.