Senior Backend Software Engineer, TikTok Live Strategy Platform

Responsibilities

TikTok is the leading destination for short-form mobile video. At TikTok, our mission is to inspire creativity and bring joy. TikTok's global headquarters are in Los Angeles and Singapore, and its offices include New York, London, Dublin, Paris, Berlin, Dubai, Jakarta, Seoul, and Tokyo.

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.

About the Team

The TikTok Live Streaming Intelligent Strategy Platform team is at the forefront of optimizing live stream experiences for millions of users. Our mission is to compute and apply the most effective set of parameters during a live stream's lifecycle, optimizing elements like bitrates, video/audio encoding standards, transcoding hardware, and advanced algorithms, such as region of interest encoding, noise reduction, adaptive bitrate, and brightness equalization. Using big data and machine learning, we tailor these parameters for each user and adjust them in real-time, based on live data from users, data centers, and CDNs. This enables us to enhance user experience, minimize operational costs, and maximize business impact. Our team operates at the intersection of engineering, machine learning, and data, providing an exciting opportunity to develop technologies that directly influence the experience of millions of TikTok users globally.

As a backend Software Engineer on our team, you will:
• Collaborate with data scientists, machine learning engineers, and data engineers to design, develop, and optimize machine learning algorithms and strategies.
• Build and maintain high-performance, user-facing systems handling hundreds of thousands of queries per second (QPS), as well as robust infrastructure for developing, operating, and monitoring algorithmic strategies. Design and implement scalable data systems to support the algorithms, ensuring stability, performance, and cost efficiency.
• Drive the iteration of innovative ideas to improve the overall live streaming experience. Collaborate with multiple cross-functional teams to deliver high-quality work in a rapid environment.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications:
• BS/MS degree in Computer Science or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• Proficiency in one or more programming languages such as Java, Go, C++, or Python.
• Strong foundation in computer architecture, data structures, and algorithms.
• Excellent communication and teamwork skills.

Preferred Qualifications:
• Experience in building backend services for large-scale consumer-facing applications or data systems.
• Familiarity with machine learning technologies and techniques.

TikTok is committed to creating an inclusive space where employees are valued for their skills, experiences, and unique perspectives. Our platform connects people from across the globe and so does our workplace. At TikTok, our mission is to inspire creativity and bring joy. To achieve that goal, we are committed to celebrating our diverse voices and to creating an environment that reflects the many communities we reach. We are passionate about this and hope you are too.

TikTok is committed to providing reasonable accommodations in our recruitment processes for candidates with disabilities, pregnancy, sincerely held religious beliefs or other reasons protected by applicable laws. If you need assistance or a reasonable accommodation, please reach out to us at https://shorturl.at/cdpT2

Job Information

[For Pay Transparency] Compensation Description (annually)

The base salary range for this position in the selected city is $184300 - $337250 annually.

Compensation may vary outside of this range depending on a number of factors, including a candidate's qualifications, skills, competencies and experience, and location. Base pay is one part of the Total Package that is provided to compensate and recognize employees for their work, and this role may be eligible for additional discretionary bonuses/incentives, and restricted stock units.

Benefits may vary depending on the nature of employment and the country work location. Employees have day one access to medical, dental, and vision insurance, a 401(k) savings plan with company match, paid parental leave, short-term and long-term disability coverage, life insurance, wellbeing benefits, among others. Employees also receive 10 paid holidays per year, 10 paid sick days per year and 17 days of Paid Personal Time (prorated upon hire with increasing accruals by tenure).

The Company reserves the right to modify or change these benefits programs at any time, with or without notice.

For Los Angeles County (unincorporated) Candidates:

Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with all federal, state, and local laws including the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act. Our company believes that criminal history may have a direct, adverse and negative relationship on the following job duties, potentially resulting in the withdrawal of the conditional offer of employment:

1. Interacting and occasionally having unsupervised contact with internal/external clients and/or colleagues;

2. Appropriately handling and managing confidential information including proprietary and trade secret information and access to information technology systems; and

3. Exercising sound judgment.