Research Scientist Intern (Data-TnS-Algo-Foundations & Intelligence Service) - 2027 Start (PhD)

TikTok
San Jose
Workplace: OnsiteInternshipFunction: Data Science & Machine LearningEducation: phdSkills: ["Analytical/problem-solving","Communication","Collaboration","Logical thinking"]

Work on TikTok’s Foundations & Intelligence Service, advancing LLM/VLM capability while building trustworthiness and safety into the model stack. Develop approaches for pretraining and continued pretraining, create evaluation systems aligned to real downstream use, and design reinforcement-learning strategies such as RLHF/RLAIF/DPO variants. Investigate failure modes in scaffolded agent/workflow settings and translate findings into robust mitigations.

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TikTok
TikTok
1 day ago

Research Scientist Intern (Data-TnS-Algo-Foundations & Intelligence Service) - 2027 Start (PhD)

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Job Summary

Work on TikTok’s Foundations & Intelligence Service, advancing LLM/VLM capability while building trustworthiness and safety into the model stack. Develop approaches for pretraining and continued pretraining, create evaluation systems aligned to real downstream use, and design reinforcement-learning strategies such as RLHF/RLAIF/DPO variants. Investigate failure modes in scaffolded agent/workflow settings and translate findings into robust mitigations.
Location: San Jose
Workplace: Onsite
Employment Type: Internship
Job Function: Data Science & Machine Learning
Seniority: Intern level

Key Responsibilities

  • •Explore and develop pretraining/continued pretraining approaches to improve general capability and safety for LLMs and VLMs.
  • •Build advanced evaluation systems to study emerging LLM/VLM skills and safety behaviors aligned with real downstream use.
  • •Develop reinforcement-learning strategies (e.g., RLHF/RLAIF/DPO variants) and study how to balance pretraining and post-training for capability/safety alignment.
  • •Probe new failure modes and pitfalls in scaffolded environments (agents, workflows, tool use) and translate insights into mitigations.

Key Requirements

  • •Currently pursuing a PhD in Computer Science or a related technical field.
  • •Research experience in at least one of LLMs, AI Safety, Computer Vision, or Multimodality.
  • •Ability to actively track recent AI-safety developments, including current papers, benchmarks, and terminology.
  • •Proficiency with at least one deep learning framework, such as PyTorch or TensorFlow.
  • •Strong analytical/problem-solving skills, clear logical thinking, and strong communication/collaboration abilities.
Experience:LLMsAI safetyComputer visionMultimodality
Education:PhD / Doctorate in Computer Science
Skills:Analytical/problem-solvingCommunicationCollaborationLogical thinking
Tech Stack:LLMsVLMsPretrainingContinued pretrainingAI safetyReinforcement learningRLHFRLAIFDPOComputer visionMultimodalityPyTorchTensorFlowEvaluation systemsDeep learning

Company Brief

TikTok
Short-form video platform that lets users create, share, and discover entertainment content through algorithmic recommendations. It also offers advertising and creator tools for brands, influencers, and businesses.
Industry: Digital Media
Company Size: Enterprise (1,001+ employees)
Growth: Scaleup
Headquarters: Singapore, Singapore
Founded: 2016
WebsiteLinkedIn