Responsibilities
About the team On the TikTok Search Team, you will have the opportunity to develop and apply cutting edge machine learning technologies in real-time large-scale systems, which serve billions of search requests every day. Via advanced NLP and multi-modal models, our projects impact and improve the search experience for hundreds of millions of users globally. We embrace a culture of self-direction, intellectual curiosity, openness, and problem-solving. About the Role TikTok is seeking a visionary and technically adept leader to head our Personalized Search team. This role is pivotal in advancing TikTok's search capabilities by integrating cutting-edge recommendation algorithms and Large Language Model (LLM) technologies to deliver highly personalized and engaging user experiences. Responsibilities - Technical Leadership: Lead the design, development, and deployment of large-scale personalized search and recommendation systems, ensuring scalability, efficiency, and robustness. - Innovation with Generative Recommendation Systems: Drive the integration of generative recommendation approaches, leveraging LLMs to directly generate personalized content recommendations, moving beyond traditional ranking-based methods. This includes exploring frameworks like GenRec, which utilize LLMs to interpret user contexts and generate relevant recommendations. - LLM Integration: Implement and fine-tune LLMs within the recommendation pipeline to enhance content understanding, user intent recognition, and personalization. Explore hybrid models that combine LLMs with traditional recommendation systems to mitigate feedback loops and uncover novel user interests. - Research and Development: Stay abreast of the latest advancements in machine learning, NLP, and recommendation systems, applying relevant findings to improve TikTok's search experience. - Cross-functional Collaboration: Work closely with product managers, data scientists, and infrastructure engineers to align search personalization strategies with overall product goals. - Team Development: Mentor and grow a team of engineers and researchers, fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, and continuous learning.
Qualifications
Minimum qualifications - Educational Background: Bachelor's or advanced degree in Computer Science, Machine Learning, or a related field. - Experience: 5+ years in developing large-scale search or recommendation systems, with at least 2 years in a leadership role. - Technical Expertise: Proficient in machine learning frameworks (e.g., TensorFlow, PyTorch), programming languages (e.g., Python, C++), and deep understanding of data structures and algorithms. - Generative Recommendation Systems: Hands-on experience with deploying and fine-tuning LLMs for real-world applications, including techniques like prompt engineering and retrieval-augmented generation. Familiarity with generative recommendation frameworks and their application in large-scale systems is highly desirable. - Publications: Contributions to top-tier conferences such as NeurIPS, ICML, ACL, or RecSys are a plus. Preferred Qualifications - Industry Recognition: Recognized thought leader in the fields of search personalization and recommendation systems. - Global Experience: Experience working with international teams and understanding of diverse user behaviors across different regions. - Open Source Contributions: Active participation in open-source projects related to search, recommendation, or NLP.
Job Information
【For Pay Transparency】Compensation Description (Annually)
The base salary range for this position in the selected city is $224000 - $410000 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 https://tinyurl.com/RA-request
