Sr. Research Engineer​/Scientist Efficient Models

Responsibilities

About the Team The Vision-Applied Research team focuses on applied research in Generative AI and CV/Multimodal Understanding, and delivering intelligent solutions, enabling users to make and share creative content in a much easier way. The team has research groups dedicated to generative models for content creation, image generation, video synthesis, intelligent image/video editing, and virtual humans.

The team is looking for a Research Engineer / Scientist who can take initiatives in designing and implementing efficient models for large-scale generative AI, with a particular emphasis on large model distillation and compression. The candidate will work on developing methods and infrastructure for transferring capabilities from foundation models into smaller, more efficient models, enabling scalable training, optimization, and deployment. Responsibilities may include, but are not limited to, distillation frameworks, model acceleration, hardware-efficient inference, and their applications.

• Develop efficient algorithms and architectures for large-scale generative and multimodal models, using techniques such as step distillation, cfg distillation, quantization, and other methods to improve model efficiency (e.g., image generation, video generation, VLM).
• Advance scalable generative modeling approaches, including diffusion and autoregressive models, with a focus on acceleration and efficiency.

• B.S. in Computer Science or related fields, or equivalent experience
• Expertise in efficient models with deep understanding of computational bottlenecks and acceleration methods.
• Proficiency in training generative AI or LLM models using widely adopted frameworks and tools such as PyTorch and JAX.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills in fast-paced environments.

• Ph.D. in GenAI, MLSys or equivalent experience
• Extensive research experiences in broad GenAI, MLSys, LLM areas.
• Proven experiences in at least one of the following areas: image/video generation and editing; model compression (e.g., quantization, step/cfg distillation); efficient architectures (e.g., MoE, window attention); efficient model design; or reinforcement learning training methods (e.g., RLHF, DPO, GRPO).

Tik Tok is the leading destination for short-form mobile video. At Tik Tok, our mission is to inspire creativity and bring joy. Tik Tok's global headquarters are in Los Angeles and Singapore, and we also have offices in New York City, London, Dublin, Paris, Berlin, Dubai, Jakarta, Seoul, and Tokyo.

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 are 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 mission is to inspire creativity and bring joy. To achieve that goal, we are committed to celebrating our diverse voices and to creating an environment that reflects the many communities we reach.

We are passionate about this and hope you are too.

Tik Tok is committed to providing reasonable accommodations in our recruitment processes for candidates with disabilities, pregnancy, sincerely held religious beliefs or other reasons protected by applicable laws. If you need assistance or…