What are the responsibilities and job description for the Research Scientist Graduate (Computational Imaging- Pico)- 2026 Start (PHD) position at ByteDance?
Responsibilities
About Team:
PICO's imaging systems & human engineering team is looking for a passionate and versatile imaging expert to work on next generation imaging algorithms that will deliver the top visual experience across PICO products, from camera to display. The ideal candidate specializes in imaging algorithm development with a deep understanding of camera and display optical and digital imaging chains, and will play a key role in delivering camera capture and rendering to display experience with the best image quality and efficiency. This role will also contribute to the definition and execution of technological and productization roadmap in imaging to shape the future of imaging technologies and their applications in VR/MR/AR products.
We are looking for talented individuals to join our team in 2026. As a graduate, you will get unparalleled opportunities for you to kickstart your career, pursue bold ideas and explore limitless growth opportunities. Co-create a future driven by your inspiration with ByteDance
Successful candidates must be able to commit to an onboarding date by end of year 2026.
Please state your availability and graduation date clearly in your resume.
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis - we encourage you to apply early.
Responsibilities
Minimum Qualifications
【For 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:
Founded in April 2015, Pico is a VR company committed to developing immersive and interactive VR experiences for people around the world. Pico also provides tailor-made solutions for our enterprise clients in the fields of education and healthcare.
Why Join ByteDance
Inspiring creativity is at the core of ByteDance's mission. Our innovative products are built to help people authentically express themselves, discover and connect – and our global, diverse teams make that possible. Together, we create value for our communities, inspire creativity and enrich life - a mission we work towards every day.
As ByteDancers, we strive to do great things with great people. We lead with curiosity, humility, and a desire to make impact in a rapidly growing tech company. By constantly iterating and fostering an "Always Day 1" mindset, we achieve meaningful breakthroughs for ourselves, our Company, and our users. When we create and grow together, the possibilities are limitless. Join us.
Diversity & Inclusion
ByteDance is committed to creating an inclusive space where employees are valued for their skills, experiences, and unique perspectives. Our platform connects people from across the globe and so does our workplace. At ByteDance, our mission is to inspire creativity and enrich life. To achieve that goal, we are committed to celebrating our diverse voices and to creating an environment that reflects the many communities we reach. We are passionate about this and hope you are too.
Reasonable Accommodation
ByteDance is committed to providing reasonable accommodations in our recruitment processes for candidates with disabilities, pregnancy, sincerely held religious beliefs or other reasons protected by applicable laws. If you need assistance or a reasonable accommodation, please reach out to us at https://tinyurl.com/RA-request
About Team:
PICO's imaging systems & human engineering team is looking for a passionate and versatile imaging expert to work on next generation imaging algorithms that will deliver the top visual experience across PICO products, from camera to display. The ideal candidate specializes in imaging algorithm development with a deep understanding of camera and display optical and digital imaging chains, and will play a key role in delivering camera capture and rendering to display experience with the best image quality and efficiency. This role will also contribute to the definition and execution of technological and productization roadmap in imaging to shape the future of imaging technologies and their applications in VR/MR/AR products.
We are looking for talented individuals to join our team in 2026. As a graduate, you will get unparalleled opportunities for you to kickstart your career, pursue bold ideas and explore limitless growth opportunities. Co-create a future driven by your inspiration with ByteDance
Successful candidates must be able to commit to an onboarding date by end of year 2026.
Please state your availability and graduation date clearly in your resume.
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis - we encourage you to apply early.
Responsibilities
- Conduct cutting edge research and development of next generation human perception motivated computational imaging systems, including camera and rendering to display systems of XR products.
- Apply deep learning knowledge and software engineering skills to computational photography and computational display challenges and push the limit of image quality and efficiency.
- Lead camera and display imaging systems new feature incubation, productization, and system specification, through software prototyping, simulation, hardware software co-design, and image quality characterization.
- Drive cross-functional efforts, including but not limited to the areas of optics, module, software, silicon IP, etc. to push the limit of system image quality and efficiency of complex imaging systems in various engineering constraints such as real time and deferred processing scenarios.
Minimum Qualifications
- Advanced degree in CS, ECE, Imaging Science, Color Science, or a related field.
- Research and practical experience in diffusion model, GAN, transformer, RLHF, and generative AI.
- Understanding of computational imaging tasks such as denoising, 3A, HDR, tone mapping, super-resolution, camera calibration etc., and the application of machine learning in those tasks.
- Proficient in one of the high performance languages such as C and one of the scripting languages such as Python or MATLAB. Familiar with rendering and display pipelines.
- Publications in top-tier venues such as CVPR, ECCV, ICCV, NeurIPS, ICLR, SIGGRAPH or SIGGRAPH Asia, etc.
- Proficient in Graphics API and Shader Languages such as HLSL/GLSL, Metal Shaders.
- Hands on experience of imaging system metrology and deep understanding of camera sensors, optics, and image signal processing of mobile imaging systems, including ISP and software pipelines.
- Deep understanding of image quality metrics and human visual system.
- Familiar with software and hardware architecture, software efficiency optimizations and tradeoffs.
【For 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:
- Interacting and occasionally having unsupervised contact with internal/external clients and/or colleagues;
- Appropriately handling and managing confidential information including proprietary and trade secret information and access to information technology systems; and
- Exercising sound judgment.
Founded in April 2015, Pico is a VR company committed to developing immersive and interactive VR experiences for people around the world. Pico also provides tailor-made solutions for our enterprise clients in the fields of education and healthcare.
Why Join ByteDance
Inspiring creativity is at the core of ByteDance's mission. Our innovative products are built to help people authentically express themselves, discover and connect – and our global, diverse teams make that possible. Together, we create value for our communities, inspire creativity and enrich life - a mission we work towards every day.
As ByteDancers, we strive to do great things with great people. We lead with curiosity, humility, and a desire to make impact in a rapidly growing tech company. By constantly iterating and fostering an "Always Day 1" mindset, we achieve meaningful breakthroughs for ourselves, our Company, and our users. When we create and grow together, the possibilities are limitless. Join us.
Diversity & Inclusion
ByteDance is committed to creating an inclusive space where employees are valued for their skills, experiences, and unique perspectives. Our platform connects people from across the globe and so does our workplace. At ByteDance, our mission is to inspire creativity and enrich life. To achieve that goal, we are committed to celebrating our diverse voices and to creating an environment that reflects the many communities we reach. We are passionate about this and hope you are too.
Reasonable Accommodation
ByteDance is committed to providing reasonable accommodations in our recruitment processes for candidates with disabilities, pregnancy, sincerely held religious beliefs or other reasons protected by applicable laws. If you need assistance or a reasonable accommodation, please reach out to us at https://tinyurl.com/RA-request
Salary : $118,657 - $259,200