About the role#
The Global E-Commerce Search Infrastructure team builds systems that power product discovery on TikTok Shop. We work on retrieval, indexing, query understanding, real-time data processing, and AI-enabled search infrastructure. Our goal is to help customers find relevant products quickly and reliably. As an intern, you will work on a scoped project matched to your interests and team needs. You will have a dedicated mentor and work alongside engineers in search, machine learning, and data infrastructure.
What you'll do#
- Design and implement a feature or system component with mentor guidance.
- Write clear, maintainable, and tested production code in C++, Go, Java, or Python.
- Participate in design discussions, code reviews, testing, and launch-readiness reviews.
- Evaluate system quality using metrics like latency, throughput, reliability, and search relevance.
- Investigate technical issues to identify root causes and propose improvements.
- Present your work and findings to the team at the end of your internship.
What you'll need#
- Currently pursuing a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, or a related field.
- Ability to work full-time for 12 consecutive weeks.
- Programming experience in C++, Go, Java, or Python.
- Understanding of data structures, algorithms, and software design.
- Ability to communicate and work in a team environment.
- Relevant experience through coursework, research, personal projects, open-source contributions, or prior internships.
- Familiarity with search concepts like inverted indexes, BM25, learning-to-rank, vector search, FAISS, or HNSW.
- Experience with distributed systems, databases, or frameworks such as Kafka, Flink, or Spark.
- Knowledge of AI infrastructure, model serving, retrieval-augmented generation, or agentic systems.
- Skills in performance analysis, debugging, Linux development, or competitive programming.
Location & details#
- Location: Seattle, Washington
- Term: Fall 2027
- Modality: On-site
- Employment: Full-time intern
- Compensation: $42.75 per hour
About TikTok
TikTok operates as an entertainment provider. The company maintains a global presence with offices in cities including Los Angeles, Singapore, New York, London, and Tokyo. It employs over 92,000 people. The organization is privately held.
How to get in at TikTok
Landing an internship at TikTok requires speed because early applicants often get seen before the pile grows. Intern Insider sends an instant alert the moment a role matching your target is published anywhere, so you can apply among the first. This gives you a better chance of your resume being reviewed while the team is still actively filling the position. You should aim to be one of the first people to submit your materials. Reaching out to the right person can also improve your chances of getting a response. Intern Insider surfaces the recruiters behind the company roles so you can contact them directly to ask about the role or a referral. This direct approach often works better than waiting for a response from a general application queue.
