Tech Lead Software Engineer, TikTok Risk Governance Foundation

Responsibilities

The Risk Governance Foundation team builds the core platform that supports TikTok's efforts to protect the balance and integrity of its business ecosystem. We focus on enabling trustworthy interactions among advertisers, creators, and the platform by developing scalable, intelligent, and reliable ads delivery systems. Our work powers critical functions in ads integrity and platform risk control, with a strong emphasis on automation, transparency, and explainability. We build foundational engineering platforms and collaborate closely with machine learning teams to deliver AI/ML infrastructure that drives accurate, data-informed decisions across TikTok's global business surfaces. We're looking for experienced tech leads who are excited about solving complex infrastructure problems, scaling machine learning workflows, and contributing to a safer and more trustworthy platform for everyone involved in our global business ecosystem. Responsibilities As part of the team, you will: - Lead the team to design and implement backend services/infra of Actor Risk Control Platform for abuse detection, enforcement, and transparency - Build real-time and offline data pipelines and feature platforms to support ML and Rule based risk control - Develop platforms that enable human-in-the-loop investigation and enforcement - Collaborate closely with machine learning engineers, product managers, and operations teams to build AI-powered Actor Moderation System with agentic decision-making powered by LLM - Contribute to the technical roadmap and help evolve TikTok's risk control ecosystem - Operate in a fast-paced, collaborative, and globally distributed environment

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications: - BS or MS degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related technical field - 5+ years of experience in software development (backend services) or infrastructure engineering - Strong coding skills in one or more languages (e.g., Go, Python, C++, Java) - Solid understanding of distributed systems, backend architectures, and data processing frameworks - Ability to think critically, solve complex problems, and communicate effectively across teams Preferred Qualifications: - Experience in risk control, ads integrity, abuse detection, or fraud prevention systems - Familiarity with ML workflows, feature engineering, or LLM-powered moderation tools - Knowledge of streaming and batch data processing (e.g., Kafka, Flink, Spark) - Passion for business integrity under complex recommender system/search/ranking or other relevant monetization scenarios, and building infrastructure that drives real-world impact at scale

Job Information

[For Pay Transparency]Compensation Description (Annually)

The base salary range for this position in the selected city is $208800 - $438000 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.

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