Backend Software Engineer, AI Safety, Tik Tok

• San Jose

3+ months ago• San Jose, CA
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About Us

Tik Tok is the leading destination for short-form mobile video and our mission is to inspire creativity and bring joy.
Size: 5001-10000 employees

Industry: Entertainment & Gaming, Social Media, Technology

Responsibilities:

About Us: Tik Tok identifies Trust and Safety as a top priority, and our team obsesses over it daily. As generative AI and large models power more Tik Tok experiences, the AI Safety team ensures these systems are deployed responsibly, reliably, and in alignment with our community values.

We are a newly founded team focused on building scalable safety systems to detect, prevent, and mitigate risks associated with advanced AI technologies. Our mission is to create robust infrastructure, tools, and model-based interventions to support safe and trustworthy AI development at Tik Tok.

Responsibilities:

• Design, build, and maintain infrastructure that enables safe deployment and monitoring of generative AI systems
• Develop systems to detect, respond to, and mitigate misuse and safety incidents in AI-generated content
• Collaborate closely with ML engineers, T&S policy, operations, and research teams to align models with Tik Tok's safety principles
• Lead efforts to assess and remediate real-time safety risks from emerging AI capabilities
• Prototype and productionize classifiers, filters, audits, and feedback loops for high-risk or novel model outputs
• Drive safety evaluations, instrumentation, and experimentation to monitor alignment, fairness, and reliability at scale

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree or above in Computer Science or related technical field
• 2+ years of backend or platform engineering experience
• Strong proficiency in at least one programming language: Python/Go/Java/C++
• Experience in building production systems with an emphasis on security, integrity, or safety
• Familiarity with machine learning pipelines or model deployment infrastructure
• Excellent communication skills and ability to collaborate across cross-functional teams
• Passion for trustworthy AI and a proactive attitude toward solving open-ended safety challenges

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience working on content moderation, anti-abuse, fraud detection, or related domains

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• Familiarity with AI safety research, LLM alignment techniques, or risk mitigation frameworks
• Experience working with large-scale data systems and real-time monitoring

Job InformationFor Pay Transparency Compensation Description (annually)

The base salary range for this position in the selected city is $118657 - $259200 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.

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.

Client-provided location(s): San Jose, CA

Job ID: Tik Tok-7519285693375531272

Employment Type: OTHER

Posted: 2025-08-07T04:37:22
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Perks and Benefits

Health and Wellness

• Health Insurance
• Dental Insurance
• Vision Insurance
• HSA
• Life Insurance
• Fitness Subsidies
• Short-Term Disability
• Long-Term Disability
• On-Site Gym
• Mental Health Benefits
• Virtual Fitness Classes

Parental Benefits

• Fertility Benefits
• Adoption Assistance Program
• Family Support Resources

Work Flexibility

• Flexible Work Hours
• Hybrid Work Opportunities

Office Life and Perks

• Casual Dress
• Snacks
• Pet-friendly Office
• Happy Hours
• Some Meals Provided
• Company Outings
• On-Site Cafeteria
• Holiday Events

Vacation and Time Off

• Paid Vacation
• Paid Holidays
• Personal/Sick Days
• Leave of Absence

Financial and Retirement

• 401(K) With Company Matching
• Performance Bonus
• Company Equity

Professional Development

• Promote From Within
• Access to Online Courses
• Leadership Training Program
• Associate or Rotational Training Program
• Mentor Program

Diversity and Inclusion

• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Program
• Employee Resource Groups (ERG)

Company Videos

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