(General Hire) Machine Learning Engineer Intern (USDS)- 2025 Summer (PhD)

TikTok is the leading destination for short-form mobile video. Our mission is to inspire creativity and bring joy. U.S. Data Security (“USDS”) is a subsidiary of TikTok in the U.S. This new, security-first division was created to bring heightened focus and governance to our data protection policies and content assurance protocols to keep U.S. users safe. Our focus is on providing oversight and protection of the TikTok platform and U.S. user data, so millions of Americans can continue turning to TikTok to learn something new, earn a living, express themselves creatively, or be entertained. The teams within USDS that deliver on this commitment daily span across Trust & Safety, Security & Privacy, Engineering, User & Product Ops, Corporate Functions and more.

Why Join Us
Creation is the core of TikTok's purpose. Our platform is built to help imaginations thrive. This is doubly true of the teams that make TikTok possible.
Together, we inspire creativity and bring joy - a mission we all believe in and aim towards achieving every day.
To us, every challenge, no matter how difficult, is an opportunity; to learn, to innovate, and to grow as one team. Status quo? Never. Courage? Always.
At TikTok, we create together and grow together. That's how we drive impact - for ourselves, our company, and the communities we serve.
Join us.

The Tech and Product team of TikTok USDS is missioned to empower TikTok US users to have a great user experience with strong data security and privacy protections, focusing on compliance, reliability, business and product support, and efficiency improvement.

We are looking for talented individuals to join us for an internship in 2025. Internships at TikTok aim to offer students industry exposure and hands-on experience. Turn your ambitions into reality as your inspiration brings infinite opportunities at TikTok USDS.

Internships at TikTok aim to provide students with hands-on experience in developing fundamental skills and exploring potential career paths. A vibrant blend of social events and enriching development workshops will be available for you to explore. Here, you will utilize your knowledge in real-world scenarios while laying a strong foundation for personal and professional growth. This Internship Program runs for 12-24 weeks for the PhD summer program beginning in May/June 2025. Successful candidates must be able to commit to one of the following summer internship start dates below:
Monday, May 12
Monday, May 19
Tuesday May 27 (Memorial Day May 26)
Monday, June 9
Monday, June 23

We will prioritize candidates who are able to commit to these start dates. Please state your availability clearly in your resume (Start date, End date).

Candidates can apply to a maximum of two positions and will be considered for jobs in the order you apply. The application limit is applicable to TikTok and its affiliates' jobs globally. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis - we encourage you to apply early.

Online Assessment
Candidates who pass resume evaluation will be invited to participate in TikTok's technical online assessment in HackerRank.

In order to enhance collaboration and cross-functional partnerships, among other things, at this time, our organization follows a hybrid work schedule that requires employees to work in the office 3 days a week, or as directed by their manager/department. We regularly review our hybrid work model, and the specific requirements may change at any time.

Depending on the team that you'll be considered for, you can expect to:
- build ML models (clustering, graph mining, sequence, LLM) and data mining tools, analyzing user behaviors and attack patterns for risk control detection and mitigation,
- or build recall models for users in support of our webapp recommendations systems to ensure better user experience across devices.