Senior Machine Learning Engineer, Foundation Model Applications

$187,040 - $280,000/Yr

Tiktok - San Jose, CA

Full-time - Senior

San Jose, CA

Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services

About the position

TikTok is the leading destination for short-form mobile video, and our mission is to inspire creativity and bring joy. As a Senior Machine Learning Engineer focusing on Foundation Model Applications, you will be part of a pioneering Machine Learning team dedicated to leveraging cutting-edge technologies to enhance TikTok's user experience. Our team culture emphasizes 'First Principles Thinking,' which encourages a deep understanding of core concepts and a focus on delivering solid, well-grounded solutions. In this role, you will understand and optimize TikTok's industry-leading recommendation system, deploying, prompting, and fine-tuning advanced foundation models. Your work will directly impact the experience of billions of consumers and creators on our platform. You will collaborate with cross-functional teams, including product managers, data scientists, and product engineers, to identify and solve complex problems, refine machine learning algorithms, and communicate results effectively. Regular A/B testing and analysis will be part of your responsibilities, allowing you to iterate on algorithms based on empirical results. Additionally, you will work closely with infrastructure teams to enhance the efficiency and stability of our machine learning systems.

Responsibilities

• Understand and optimize TikTok's industry-leading recommendation system
• Deploy, prompt, and fine-tune cutting-edge foundation models
• Apply foundation models to enhance TikTok's recommendation system and product offerings
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to solve problems and refine machine learning algorithms
• Regularly run A/B tests, perform analyses, and iterate algorithms based on results
• Work with infrastructure teams on improving the efficiency and stability of machine learning systems

Requirements

• Hands-on experience in Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Recommender Systems, Data Mining, Natural Language Processing, or Computer Vision
• Strong programming skills in Python and/or C/C++
• Deep understanding of data structures and algorithms
• Familiarity with at least one mainstream machine learning programming framework (TensorFlow/PyTorch/MXNet)
• Excellent communication and teamwork skills
• Passion for learning new techniques and tackling challenging problems

Nice-to-haves

• Prior research/industry experience with deploying, prompting, and fine-tuning foundation models
• Experience with applied machine learning or large-scale recommendation systems
• Publications at major AI-related conferences
• Strong track record in AI-related competitions or participation in high-visibility open-source AI projects
• A strong passion for First Principles Thinking

Benefits

• 100% premium coverage for employee medical insurance
• Approximately 75% premium coverage for dependents
• Health Savings Account (HSA) with company match
• Dental, Vision, Short/Long term Disability, Basic Life, Voluntary Life and AD&D insurance plans
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA) options
• 10 paid holidays per year
• 17 days of Paid Personal Time Off (PPTO)
• 10 paid sick days per year
• 12 weeks of paid Parental leave
• 8 weeks of paid Supplemental Disability
• Mental and emotional health benefits through EAP and Lyra
• 401K company match
• Gym and cellphone service reimbursements