Senior Research Engineer - AI-Native Online Datastore Systems

TikTok
San Jose
Workplace: OnsiteFull timeFunction: Research & Scientific (R&D)Education: phdSkills: ["Technical communication","Documentation","Collaboration"]

Build TikTok’s AI-native infrastructure for online datastore systems by designing an AI context and knowledge layer, agentic workflows, and an evaluation framework with offline metrics and experimentation. Turn storage capabilities into reusable AI Skills, integrate toolchains, and enable org-wide adoption through pairing, demos, and architecture reviews. Work on globalization, multi-region active-active, compliance, and cost efficiency—bridging research exploration with production engineering.

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FursaFursa
TikTok
TikTok
1 month ago

Senior Research Engineer - AI-Native Online Datastore Systems

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Source: Company careers pageValidated by: Fursa AI
Last checked: 6 hours agoStatus: Live

Job Summary

Build TikTok’s AI-native infrastructure for online datastore systems by designing an AI context and knowledge layer, agentic workflows, and an evaluation framework with offline metrics and experimentation. Turn storage capabilities into reusable AI Skills, integrate toolchains, and enable org-wide adoption through pairing, demos, and architecture reviews. Work on globalization, multi-region active-active, compliance, and cost efficiency—bridging research exploration with production engineering.
Location: San Jose
Workplace: Onsite
Employment Type: Full time
Job Function: Research & Scientific (R&D)
Seniority: Mid level

Key Responsibilities

  • •Design and build an AI Context & Knowledge Layer integrating knowledge bases, runbooks, code repositories, and real-time system state for grounded, traceable domain knowledge.
  • •Research and implement agentic workflows across the development and operations lifecycles, including multi-agent orchestration with tiered permissions and safety guardrails.
  • •Establish agent evaluation and experimentation with offline eval sets, core metrics, shadow-mode or A/B validation, and reproducible evaluation methodology.
  • •Encapsulate core online storage capabilities as reusable Skills and integrate them with gdpa-cli, lark-cli, and real-time query tools to standardize AI development environments.
  • •Drive org-wide AI-native adoption through pairing, workflow demos, architecture reviews, best-practice documentation, and technical advocacy.

Key Requirements

  • •PhD in Computer Science/AI (or related) or a thesis-based Master’s with a research focus in AI, ML, software engineering, or systems.
  • •Proficiency in Python and Go (or C++ / Java) with the ability to translate research prototypes into production systems.
  • •Deep expertise in LLM application engineering, including RAG, tool use/function calling, structured outputs, and prompt/context engineering.
  • •Solid distributed systems foundation with familiarity with online storage, caching, data sync, or metadata management (plus).
  • •Research-grade experience designing agent evaluation, offline benchmarks, or experimentation frameworks (preferred).
Experience:LLM applicationsAgent systemsDistributed systemsAIOps
Education:PhD / Doctorate
Skills:Technical communicationDocumentationCollaboration
Tech Stack:PythonGoC++JavaLLMRAGTool useFunction callingStructured outputsPrompt engineeringContext engineeringA/B experimentsGdpa-cliLark-cli

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