Candidate
Employer
Backend Engineering Intern – Media Platform
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Job Description
Backend Software Engineer Intern(Media Platform) – 2026 Summer (BS/MS) | TikTok
The Tone:
This is an internship at TikTok, available in various US locations. TikTok’s Media Platform team builds essential systems that power every video uploaded and watched on the platform, encompassing transcoding, content delivery, and media storage. The team collaborates with ML, product, and infra teams to develop intelligent, cost-effective video workflows. This role is crucial as interns contribute to designing and building core backend services that directly impact billions of users, offering significant industry exposure and hands-on experience in large-scale distributed systems.
The TL;DR
• Role: Internship
• Type: Temporary (12 weeks)
• Location: Various US locations
• Pay: $45 hourly
• Team: Backend Engineering team within the Media Platform team
• Mission: Design and build core backend services for TikTok’s global video infrastructure, enhancing the reliability and efficiency of video processing systems.
• Tech Stack: Golang, C, C++
What You’ll Actually Do
• Design: Help design and build core services utilized across TikTok’s global video infrastructure.
• Develop: Develop high-performance backend components and tools to improve the reliability and efficiency of video processing systems.
• Contribute: Contribute to internal tooling, service improvements, and cross-team integration efforts.
• Impact: Work on real-world projects that directly affect billions of users globally.
• Learn: Learn and apply best practices in the development of large-scale distributed systems.
The Must-Haves
• Background: Currently pursuing an Undergraduate or Master’s degree in Software Development, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• Experience: Able to commit to working for 12 weeks during Summer 2026; programming experience with Golang, C, C++, or similar languages; understanding of data structures, algorithms, and system design fundamentals.
• Skills: Golang, C, C++, Data Structures, Algorithms, System Design.
• Bonus: Previous internship or project experience with backend systems or distributed computing; familiarity with cloud infrastructure, media processing, or network performance optimization.
