Machine Learning Project Intern (Business Integrity Data Cycling Center) - 2026 Start (BS/MS)

Responsibilities

Team Introduction: TikTok's Generative AI and Monetization ecosystem relies on large-scale, high-quality data to sustain model performance, safety, and product innovation as the business continues to scale. Ensuring data quality, coverage, and efficiency is a foundational requirement for long-term Generative AI advancement. The Data Solutions Team owns the data layer that powers Monetization-related Generative AI systems. The team combines deep understanding of Generative AI model behavior, evaluation dynamics, and failure patterns with quantitative and qualitative analysis to drive systematic improvements in data quality and model outcomes. Operating on a global scale, the team focuses on high-value dataset curation, data infrastructure and processing capabilities, and data-driven discovery of opportunities that unlock next-generation Generative AI capabilities. By transforming insights from model evaluation, human feedback, and data analysis into scalable data assets, the team enables sustainable model improvement and product growth. We are looking for passionate Machine Learning Engineer Interns that have strong problem solving skills to join forces with talented cross functional partners (business operation, data science, engineering and product management) to tackle cutting-edge challenges in the realm of generative AI. In this role, you will contribute to the company's core business across innovative advertising products, campaign management and measurement solutions. You will see a direct impact from your day-to-day work to customer satisfaction and company growth. As a project intern, you will have the opportunity to engage in impactful short-term projects that provide you with a glimpse of professional real-world experience. You will gain practical skills through on-the-job learning in a fast-paced work environment and develop a deeper understanding of your career interests. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis - we encourage you to apply early. Successful candidates must be able to commit to at least 3 months long internship period. Responsibilities: - Support dataset construction and data quality initiatives, including sampling, preprocessing, label validation, and root cause analysis of human annotation inconsistencies. - Build and improve model evaluation frameworks for state-of-the-art generative AI models in production, and/or contribute to the iteration of next-gen generative AI models - Contribute to human-in-the-loop systems by analyzing human annotator behavior, and ML-assisted labeling strategies to improve efficiency and reliability. - Work closely with Product Managers, Data Scientists/Analysts, and cross-functional Software/Machine Learning Engineers to understand AIevaluation, safety, and data requirements, translating business problems into measurable ML tasks. - Communicate findings, experimental results, and data insights clearly to technical and non-technical stakeholders, supporting data-driven decision making.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications: - Undergraduate or postgraduate candidate currently pursuing a degree in Machine Learning, Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a closely related quantitative discipline. - Solid grounding in statistical theory & modeling, and transformer-based model fundamentals, acquired through coursework and practical projects. - Past internship/research experience in generative AI, LLM/VLM, or deep learning models. - Proficiency in Python, plus Shell scripting, with hands-on experience building ML prototypes, data processing workflows, or experimental pipelines. - Familiarity with ML / data science ecosystems such as NumPy, pandas, PyTorch / TensorFlow, scikit-learn, or similar frameworks. - Strong problem-solving and analytical skills, with the ability to reason about model behavior, data quality, and performance trade-offs. - Effective communication and collaboration skills, enabling productive work with cross-functional partners including ML engineers, data teams, and product stakeholders. Preferred Qualifications: - Experience working with SQL for data querying, aggregation, and analysis in large-scale or production-like datasets. - Exposure to large-scale data processing or distributed computing environments (e.g., Spark, Hive, Airflow, or equivalent). - Understanding of human-in-the-loop systems, data annotation workflows, or data quality challenges in the field of generative AI. - Demonstrated ability to build small projects, prototypes, or research experiments involving pre-training, post-training and evaluation of generative AI models. By submitting an application for this role, you accept and agree to our global applicant privacy policy, which may be accessed here: ;br>
Job Information

[For Pay Transparency]Compensation Description (Hourly) - Campus Intern

The hourly rate range for this position in the selected city is $35- $55.

Benefits may vary depending on the nature of employment and the country work location. Interns have day one access to health insurance, life insurance, wellbeing benefits and more. Interns also receive 10 paid holidays per year and paid sick time (56 hours if hired in first half of year, 40 if hired in second half of year). Interns who are not working 100% remote may also be eligible for housing allowance.

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.

About TikTok

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 we also have offices in New York City, London, Dublin, Paris, Berlin, Dubai, Jakarta, Seoul, and Tokyo.

Why Join Us

Inspiring creativity is at the core of TikTok's mission. Our innovative product is built to help people authentically express themselves, discover and connect - and our global, diverse teams make that possible. Together, we create value for our communities, inspire creativity and bring joy - a mission we work towards every day.

We strive to do great things with great people. We lead with curiosity, humility, and a desire to make impact in a rapidly growing tech company. Every challenge is an opportunity to learn and innovate as one team. We're resilient and embrace challenges as they come. By constantly iterating and fostering an "Always Day 1" mindset, we achieve meaningful breakthroughs for ourselves, our company, and our users. When we create and grow together, the possibilities are limitless. Join us.

Diversity & Inclusion

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 Accommodation

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