Recommendation Algorithm Intern – Machine Learning

Machine Learning Scientist Intern (Tik Tok-Recommendation) – 2026 Start (PhD) | Tik Tok

The Tone:
This is an internship at Tik Tok, likely located in Los Angeles, CA. Tik Tok is a leading global destination for short-form mobile video, aiming to inspire creativity and bring joy. This role in the recommendation algorithm team is central to the company, driving critical product decisions and platform growth by enhancing user experience and content safety. Interns receive industry exposure, hands‑on experience, and opportunities for personal and professional growth.

• Role:
  Internship
• Location:
  
  In-person, Los Angeles, CA
• Pay: $60 hourly
• Team:
  Recommendation algorithm team, comprising machine learning researchers and engineers
• Mission:
  Drive the development of industry‑leading recommendation systems and deliver impactful, end‑to‑end machine learning solutions.
• Tech Stack:
  PyTorch, Tensor Flow, C/C++, Python, shell programming languages

• Develop:
  Drive the development of industry‑leading recommendation systems that elevate user experience, strengthen platform safety, and empower a vibrant content ecosystem.
• Deliver:
  Deliver impactful, end‑to‑end machine learning solutions that tackle high‑priority product challenges related to content understanding, LLMs, robustness, and fairness.
• Optimize:
  Own and optimize the full‑stack ML pipeline—from algorithm design to system infrastructure—to continuously push the boundaries of recommendation performance.
• Collaborate:
  Collaborate with cross‑functional teams to craft product strategies and develop intelligent solutions that fuel Tik Tok’s growth in key global markets.

• Background:
  Currently pursuing a PhD with a background in computer science, machine learning, or similar fields.
• Experience:
  
  Good knowledge of theoretical and empirical research in addressing research problems.
• Skills:
  
  Solid knowledge and experience with at least one popular deep learning framework (e.g., PyTorch, Tensor Flow) and familiarity with deep neural network architectures.
• Bonus:
  Research experience in applied machine learning, machine learning infrastructure, large‑scale recommendation system, or market‑facing machine learning products; strong first‑author publications record in top AI conferences or journals (e.g., NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, ACL, EMNLP, NAACL etc.); proficient in C/C++, Python, and shell programming languages, with a deep understanding of data structure and algorithm design; internship experience in an AI research organization.