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TikTok · 6 hours ago

Software Engineer, LLM - USDS

San Jose, CA

Full-time

Onsite

Mid Level

$119K/yr - $259K/yr

TikTok is the leading destination for short-form mobile video, and they are seeking a Software Engineer to join their Cyber Defense & Engineering team. This role involves enhancing security tools and identifying vulnerabilities, with a focus on content assurance and the application of large language models.

Content CreatorsContent DiscoveryMedia and EntertainmentSocial MediaVideo

H1B Sponsor Likely

Responsibilities

Collaborate Across Teams: Work closely with data scientists, software engineers, machine learning engineers, and product managers to understand the recommendation engine

Deep Expertise in Recommender Systems: Leverage your expertise in machine learning and coding to gain an in-depth understanding of context-aware recommender systems

Understand Core System Components: Understanding of key modules in the recommender system, including recall, ranking, and reranking, ensuring high-quality, personalized recommendations at scale

End-to-End Ownership: In-depth understanding of the complete lifecycle of machine learning systems, from building and maintaining data pipelines and feature engineering, to training models and integrating them seamlessly into production environments

Ensure Security & Compliance: Work with cybersecurity teams to ensure that the recommender systems align with compliance standards and implement practices that enhance user trust and experience

Support Automation & Prototyping: Contribute to quick prototyping and proof-of-concept initiatives that automate rule reviews within the recommendation systems, ensuring both efficiency and compliance

Document & Ensure Accessibility: Build and maintain comprehensive documentation for data processes and machine learning models, ensuring transparency, accessibility, and consistency across teams

Qualification

Recommendation SystemsMachine LearningLarge Language ModelsProgramming SkillsDeep LearningData MiningNatural Language ProcessingCloud ExpertiseContainerizationCollaborationCommunicationProblem-Solving

Required

Bachelor's degree or PHD. in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related field along with Experience in Recommendation Systems: Proven track record of designing, developing, and optimizing recommendation systems, particularly at scale

Machine Learning Expertise: Experience working with machine learning frameworks such as TensorFlow, PyTorch, scikit-learn, MXNet, or similar tools to build and deploy models

Hands-on experience in one or more of the following areas: Large Language Models (LLM), Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Recommender Systems, Data Mining, or Natural Language Processing

Strong Programming Skills: Excellent programming skills, data structure and algorithm skills, proficient in C/C++ or Python programming language, candidates with awards in ACM/ICPC, NOI/IOI, Top Coder, Kaggle and other competitions are preferred

Solid Understanding of Algorithms: Deep knowledge of data structures, algorithms, and optimization techniques to solve complex technical challenges along with Problem-Solving Mindset: Excellent troubleshooting and debugging skills, with an ability to quickly address issues that arise in live environments

Collaboration & Communication: Strong teamwork and communication skills, with the ability to work effectively across interdisciplinary teams and clearly explain complex technical concepts

Preferred

Master's degree or PHD. in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related field along with Experience in Recommendation Systems: Proven track record of designing, developing, and optimizing recommendation systems, particularly at scale

Advanced Techniques: Experience with advanced recommendation algorithms such as matrix factorization, collaborative filtering, or deep learning-based methods

Production-Ready Systems: Hands-on experience in deploying machine learning models in production environments, with an understanding of scaling and performance tuning

Model Evaluation: Familiarity with model evaluation metrics (e.g., precision, recall, NDCG) and A/B testing to assess and improve system performance

Cloud & Containerization Expertise: Knowledge of containerization tools (Docker, Kubernetes) and microservices architecture to support scalable, distributed systems

Security Awareness: Understanding of security and compliance best practices for handling user data in machine learning applications

Benefits

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

401(k) savings plan with company match

Paid parental leave

Short-term and long-term disability coverage

Life insurance

Wellbeing benefits

10 paid holidays per year

10 paid sick days per year

17 days of Paid Personal Time (prorated upon hire with increasing accruals by tenure)

Company

TikTok

Glassdoor3.4

TikTok is a short-form video entertainment app and social network platform. It is a sub-organization of ByteDance.

Founded in 2003

Los Angeles, California, USA

10001+ employees

https://www.tiktok.com

H1B Sponsorship

TikTok has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)

Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship

Represents job field similar to this job

Trends of Total Sponsorships

2025 (979)

2024 (601)

2023 (387)

2022 (322)

2021 (133)

2020 (72)