About the role#
This is a 2026 PhD internship position within the Monetization Technology department. You will join a general hire process where your background and interview performance help determine the specific team match. The role focuses on building systems that support advertising across feeds, live streaming, search, and other business solutions.
What you'll do#
- Contribute to the development of a large-scale Ads system.
- Develop applied machine learning projects.
- Manage key targeting components or strategies within the ads monetization ecosystem.
- Collaborate with product and business teams to shape product vision.
What you'll need#
- Current enrollment in a PhD program for Computer Science, engineering, or a quantitative field.
- A strong record of publications in top conferences or journals such as NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, or CVPR.
- Hands-on experience developing multimodality foundation models.
- Previous work or internship experience in an AI research organization.
Location & details#
- Location: San Jose, California.
- Modality: On-site.
- Employment: Full-time internship.
- Compensation: $60 per hour.
- Process: Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.
About TikTok
TikTok operates as an entertainment provider. The company maintains a global presence with offices in cities including Los Angeles, Singapore, New York, London, and Tokyo. It employs over 92,000 people. The organization is privately held.
How to get in at TikTok
Landing an internship at TikTok requires speed because early applicants often get seen before the pile grows. Intern Insider sends an instant alert the moment a role matching your target is published anywhere, so you can apply among the first. This gives you a better chance of your resume being reviewed while the team is still actively filling the position. You should aim to be one of the first people to submit your materials. Reaching out to the right person can also improve your chances of getting a response. Intern Insider surfaces the recruiters behind the company roles so you can contact them directly to ask about the role or a referral. This direct approach often works better than waiting for a response from a general application queue.
