Senior Research Scientist/Engineer - Neural Graphics and World Models - TikTok

Role Summary

We are looking for a Senior Research Scientist / Engineer to develop AI models, neural representations, data strategies, and evaluation methods for our neural graphics system.

This is a hands-on research role for candidates who combine current ML expertise with depth in 3D or graphics domain. Depending on your primary focus track, you may define research directions and build AI models, data strategies, evaluation systems, or interactive prototypes across generative modeling, world models, 3D modeling and representations, animation, simulation, and rendering.

Strong candidates combine research judgment with hands-on engineering ability: they can identify an important modeling problem, translate it into concrete research and engineering milestones, run rigorous experiments, and work with engineering teams to turn successful results into interactive, reliable engine capabilities.

Responsibilities

• Lead research directions in one or more areas of neural graphics, world models, 3D modeling, animation, simulation, or rendering.
• Develop, train, adapt, and evaluate AI models and representations for interactive graphics and world-generation systems.
• Define data and evaluation strategies that connect model behavior to quality, controllability, coherence, and interactive performance.
• Build research prototypes and collaborate with engineering teams to bring successful models into real-time engine workflows.
• Analyze results, identify technical risks, and translate research findings into clear next steps for model, data, and system development.
• Produce reproducible research artifacts, communicate technical direction, and mentor team members.

Requirements

• PhD/MS, or equivalent research experience in machine learning, computer graphics, robotics, applied mathematics, or a related technical field.
• 5 years of relevant research or industry experience in neural graphics, generative AI, computer graphics, world models, or a closely related domain; doctoral research may count toward this experience.
• Strong, up-to-date knowledge of modern machine learning, with deep expertise in at least one area of model architecture, training, data strategy, evaluation, or scaling and hands-on experience training or adapting generative models such as variational autoencoders, latent tokenizers, diffusion or flow-matching models, diffusion transformers, autoregressive models, or multimodal transformers.
• Engineering fluency with ML frameworks such as PyTorch or JAX, with practical understanding of model development, representation learning, model scaling, distributed training, and pre-training and post-training tradeoffs.
• Deep expertise in at least one of the following AI-for-graphics areas: 3D modeling, asset generation, or 3D representations; animation, motion generation, or character behavior; simulation, physical AI, or neural simulation; rendering or neural rendering; world models or video prediction; or graphics and game-engine workflows.
• Demonstrated ability to formulate original hypotheses, design controlled experiments, and connect data composition, model behavior, and evaluation results to technical decisions.
• Ability to collaborate with engineering teams to translate research prototypes into engine pipelines while preserving model quality, controllability, and interactive performance.

Preferred Qualifications

• Publications at leading research venues such as SIGGRAPH, CVPR, ICCV, ECCV, NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, RSS, CoRL, or related top-tier conferences.
• Experience creating novel model architectures, training recipes, data strategies, or evaluation methods for AI-for-graphics systems.
• Experience with 3D or world generation conditioned on text, images, video, actions, or structured scene inputs, including controllability or multimodal alignment.
• Experience with reinforcement learning, preference optimization, imitation learning, or model-based control for interactive world models, where relevant to the focus track.
• Experience moving models into real-time graphics or engine workflows, including distributed training or inference optimization for interactive use.

Job Information

[For Pay Transparency] Compensation Description (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.

About the Company

The Global Business Solutions (GBS) team is responsible for the revenue growth of the TikTok business, and our teams include Sales, Marketing, Ops, Account Managers, Agency and partnerships, as well as Marketing Science.

At TikTok, our Global Business Solutions (GBS) team plays a key role in generating revenue by promoting our advertising solutions, onboarding new clients, driving ad campaigns, and more. As the TikTok community grows at an unprecedented speed around the world, our GBS team leads groundbreaking projects that are changing the landscape of the advertising industry in real time.

We're seeking an analytically driven, and detail-oriented Client Solutions Manager (CSM) Intern to join our Ecommerce Team. As a CSM, you will partner closely with Client Partners and Client Solutions Managers to drive revenue by identifying opportunities, leveraging data insights, and delivering consultative solutions for advertisers.

This role centers on client education, relationship growth, data analysis, and campaign success. You will provide strategic recommendations to both clients and internal teams, ensuring campaigns achieve business objectives while optimizing long-term partnerships. Success in this role requires strong data analytics skills, adaptability in a fast-paced environment, and a test-and-learn mindset to uncover the best solutions.

Additional Information

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.