Machine Learning Engineer Intern; E-Commerce PhD

Responsibilities

About the team

Tik Tok E-commerce is a content-driven business powered by short-form video and live-streaming, dedicated to becoming the premier destination for users to discover affordable, high-quality products. Our team strives to deliver a tailored and efficient shopping experience while upholding a robust governance and risk control framework to ensure platform integrity, merchant compliance, and a secure ecosystem.

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.

Please clearly state your availability in your resume (Start date, End date).

• Work with large-scale data, logs, metrics, or experiments to understand user search behavior and improve product or system quality.
• Collaborate with engineering, product, data science, and machine learning partners to define requirements and deliver project milestones.
• Write clear, maintainable code and documentation for assigned work streams.
• Communicate progress, risks, and learnings with mentors and stakeholders throughout the internship.

Minimum Qualification(s):

• Currently pursuing a PhD degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, or a related technical field.
• Able to commit to a 12-week internship during Summer 2027.
• Proficient coding skills and strong algorithm & data structure basis.
• Effective communication and teamwork skills.

• Familiar with machine learning frameworks such as scikit-learn, tensor flow, pytorch.
• Ability to think critically, rationally, and communicate in result-oriented, data-driven manner.

Tik Tok USDS Joint Venture LLC is dedicated to the safety and security of millions of Americans who create, discover, and connect with what they love on the apps we operate. The Joint Venture has been established in compliance with the Executive Order signed by President Trump on September 25, 2025. Our foundation is a comprehensive data privacy and cybersecurity program we operate under defined safeguards to protect national security and secure U.S. user data, apps and the algorithm.

We safeguard the U.S. content ecosystem, holding decision-making authority for trust and safety policies and moderation. USDS Joint Venture helps ensure Americans can continue to express their creativity, discover new hobbies and interests, and build thriving communities and businesses on a global scale.

On-site presence across teams allows the company to operate with greater speed, alignment, and agility — especially in areas like real-time decision-making, team development, and integrated execution. As such, the company is shifting from a hybrid work model to a fully in-person schedule up to 5 days a week.

Inspiring creativity is at the core of Tik Tok's mission. Our innovative product is built to help people authentically express themselves, discover and connect – and our global, diverse teams make that possible. Together, we create value for our communities, inspire creativity and bring joy - a mission we work towards every day.

We strive to do great things with great people. We lead with curiosity, humility, and a desire to make impact in a rapidly growing tech company. Every challenge is an opportunity to learn and innovate as one team. We're resilient and embrace challenges as they come. By constantly iterating and fostering an “Always Day 1” mindset, we achieve meaningful breakthroughs for ourselves, our company, and our users.

When we create and grow together, the possibilities are limitless. Join us.

Tik Tok is committed to creating an inclusive space where employees are valued for their skills, experiences, and unique perspectives. Our platform connects people from across the globe and so does our workplace. At Tik Tok, our…