Software Engineer Intern – App Ads Machine Learning

Job Description

Machine Learning Engineer Intern (App Ads) – 2026 Fall (BS/MS) | TikTok

The Tone:
This is a full-time internship at TikTok, a global company known as the leading destination for short-form mobile video that aims to inspire creativity and bring joy. This role is part of the App Ads and Gaming team, which is central to empowering TikTok’s billion-dollar global monetization business by efficiently delivering application ads. The intern will contribute to pushing the boundaries of large-scale ad delivery systems and innovating TikTok’s personalized online advertising. This internship offers industry exposure, hands-on experience, and foundational skill development in a dynamic, global environment.

The TL;DR
• Role: Internship
• Type: Full-time
• Location: In-person (various global offices)
• Pay: $45–$60 hourly
• Team: App Ads and Gaming team within the Global Monetization Product and Technology organization
• Mission: Push the boundaries of large-scale ad delivery systems and lead innovations of TikTok’s personalized online advertising to empower global monetization.
• Tech Stack: Go, C/C++, Python, Tensorflow/PyTorch/MXNet

What You’ll Actually Do
• System Development: Participate in the development of a large-scale Ads system.
• Project Execution: Be responsible for the development of state-of-the-art applied machine learning projects.
• Feature Ownership: Own key targeting components or strategies within the TikTok ads monetization ecosystem.
• Cross-functional Collaboration: Work with product and business teams to shape product vision.

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: Good theoretical grounding in machine learning concepts and techniques, with practical experience in general-purpose programming languages and machine learning frameworks. Must be able to commit to a 12-week full-time work period during Summer or Fall 2026.
• Skills: Excellent programming, debugging, and optimization skills in at least one language among Go, C/C++, or Python. Experience with one or more of the following frameworks: Tensorflow, PyTorch, or MXNet. Ability to think critically and formulate solutions to problems clearly and concisely.
• Bonus: Familiarity with Ads systems, recommendation engines, searching, or ranking concepts.