Big Data Engineer Graduate (TikTok Recommendation Architecture) - 2026 Start (BS/MS)

About the Team

The Recommendation Architecture team builds and continually improves the system foundation behind TikTok’s recommendation engine. Its goal is to keep the platform dependable, highly available, and capable of delivering the best possible experience for users. The group works on strengthening online services and offline data pipelines, partnering closely with algorithm teams to improve recommendation quality, enhance system efficiency, lower operating costs, and develop flexible, scalable infrastructure for storage and computing.

This opening is for graduates joining in 2026, with the chance to work on ambitious technical problems and grow in a fast-moving environment. The role is intended for candidates who can begin onboarding by the end of 2026. Applicants should clearly mention their graduation timeline and availability in their resume. Each candidate may submit up to two applications across TikTok and its affiliates worldwide, and applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, so early submission is encouraged.

Responsibilities

• Build and deploy practical offline data architecture solutions for recommendation systems operating at large scale.
• Create storage and computing architectures that are flexible, scalable, and designed for high performance.
• Investigate production issues and develop the mechanisms and tooling needed to keep production systems stable and reliable.
• Contribute to distributed storage and computing platforms that support massive data workloads and large business systems.
• Develop data-processing techniques and analytics applications that turn raw data into useful insights using programming languages and visualization tools.
• Use data mining, data modeling, natural language processing, and machine learning to work with both structured and unstructured data.
• Present findings through visualizations, interpretation, and reporting, including the creation of data reports when needed.

Qualifications

Minimum qualifications:

• Final-year student or graduate from a technical discipline such as Software Development, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a closely related field.
• Working knowledge of common big data open-source technologies such as Hadoop, Hive, Flink, FlinkSQL, Spark, Kafka, HBase, Redis, RocksDB, and ElasticSearch.
• Hands-on familiarity with programming in Java, C++, and related languages.
• Strong ability to code and troubleshoot technical issues.

Preferred qualifications:

• Fast learner who is self-driven, adaptable, and able to take ownership while solving problems creatively.
• Comfortable collaborating in a fast-paced, globally distributed, and culturally diverse team.

Additional Information

By applying for this role, you agree to the company’s global applicant privacy policy. Questions about the role can be sent to apac-earlycareers@tiktok.com.

About TikTok

TikTok is a leading short-form mobile video platform with a mission to inspire creativity and bring joy. Its global headquarters are in Los Angeles and Singapore, with additional offices in New York City, London, Dublin, Paris, Berlin, Dubai, Jakarta, Seoul, and Tokyo.

Why Join Us

The company emphasizes creativity, curiosity, humility, resilience, and continuous improvement. Teams work together to build meaningful products, learn quickly, and make an impact in a rapidly evolving environment.

Diversity and Inclusion

TikTok states that it is committed to building an inclusive workplace where people are valued for their skills, backgrounds, and perspectives, and where the company reflects the diverse communities it serves.