What are the responsibilities and job description for the Software Engineer, Emerging Product - USDS position at TikTok USDS Joint Venture?
Responsibilities
About the team:
The Emerging Product Engineering Team is the incubator for TikTok USDS JV's newest ventures in the US market. We are responsible for the end-to-end technical success of a diverse portfolio of non-TikTok applications, including Trae, Gauth, and MyTopia, as well as a growing pipeline of new products. We operate with a strong “0→1” mindset, prioritizing agility, rapid iteration, and creative problem-solving to build and scale products.
Now we are looking for a Software Engineer who thrives in fast-paced, ambiguous environments and is passionate about building new businesses from the ground up. In this role, you will develop foundational services that enable our emerging products to successfully launch, localize, and scale in the U.S. Market.
Responsibility:
- Partner closely with Product Managers, global engineering teams, and cross-functional stakeholders (e.g., compliance, legal, and operations) to identify and resolve launch-critical technical challenges.
- Design, build, and operate scalable, high-performance backend services with strong reliability and availability standards.
- Architect systems to support high concurrency and large-scale traffic, ensuring robustness under heavy load.
- Drive best practices in system reliability, performance optimization, and observability.
- Leverage early user feedback and data insights to iterate quickly and refine product and system design for successful U.S. market entry.
Qualifications
Minimum Qualifications:
- BS/MS in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related technical field.
- 1 years of backend software engineering experience with hands-on contributions to production systems.
- Proficiency in at least one backend programming language (e.g., Java, Go, Python, or C ), with solid foundations in data structures and algorithms.
- Experience building or maintaining scalable, reliable backend services, with an understanding of distributed systems fundamentals.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Familiarity with U.S. market localization and compliance-related engineering challenges.
- Experience with distributed systems, microservices architecture, or cloud platforms.
About USDS
TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC is dedicated to the safety and security of millions of Americans who create, discover, and connect with what they love on the apps we operate. The Joint Venture has been established in compliance with the Executive Order signed by President Trump on September 25, 2025. Our foundation is a comprehensive data privacy and cybersecurity program we operate under defined safeguards to protect national security and secure U.S. user data, apps and the algorithm. We safeguard the U.S. content ecosystem, holding decision-making authority for trust and safety policies and moderation. USDS Joint Venture helps ensure Americans can continue to express their creativity, discover new hobbies and interests, and build thriving communities and businesses on a global scale.
On-site presence across teams allows the company to operate with greater speed, alignment, and agility — especially in areas like real-time decision-making, team development, and integrated execution. As such, the company is shifting from a hybrid work model to a fully in-person schedule up to 5 days a week.
Why Join Us
Inspiring creativity is at the core of TikTok's mission. Our innovative product is 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 bring joy - a mission we work towards every day.
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. Every challenge is an opportunity to learn and innovate as one team. We're resilient and embrace challenges as they come. 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
TikTok 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 TikTok, our mission is to inspire creativity and bring joy. 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.
USDS Reasonable Accommodation
USDS 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/USDS-RA
Job Information
【For Pay Transparency】Compensation Description (Annually)
The base salary range for this position in the selected city is $122574 - $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.
About the team:
The Emerging Product Engineering Team is the incubator for TikTok USDS JV's newest ventures in the US market. We are responsible for the end-to-end technical success of a diverse portfolio of non-TikTok applications, including Trae, Gauth, and MyTopia, as well as a growing pipeline of new products. We operate with a strong “0→1” mindset, prioritizing agility, rapid iteration, and creative problem-solving to build and scale products.
Now we are looking for a Software Engineer who thrives in fast-paced, ambiguous environments and is passionate about building new businesses from the ground up. In this role, you will develop foundational services that enable our emerging products to successfully launch, localize, and scale in the U.S. Market.
Responsibility:
- Partner closely with Product Managers, global engineering teams, and cross-functional stakeholders (e.g., compliance, legal, and operations) to identify and resolve launch-critical technical challenges.
- Design, build, and operate scalable, high-performance backend services with strong reliability and availability standards.
- Architect systems to support high concurrency and large-scale traffic, ensuring robustness under heavy load.
- Drive best practices in system reliability, performance optimization, and observability.
- Leverage early user feedback and data insights to iterate quickly and refine product and system design for successful U.S. market entry.
Qualifications
Minimum Qualifications:
- BS/MS in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related technical field.
- 1 years of backend software engineering experience with hands-on contributions to production systems.
- Proficiency in at least one backend programming language (e.g., Java, Go, Python, or C ), with solid foundations in data structures and algorithms.
- Experience building or maintaining scalable, reliable backend services, with an understanding of distributed systems fundamentals.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Familiarity with U.S. market localization and compliance-related engineering challenges.
- Experience with distributed systems, microservices architecture, or cloud platforms.
About USDS
TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC is dedicated to the safety and security of millions of Americans who create, discover, and connect with what they love on the apps we operate. The Joint Venture has been established in compliance with the Executive Order signed by President Trump on September 25, 2025. Our foundation is a comprehensive data privacy and cybersecurity program we operate under defined safeguards to protect national security and secure U.S. user data, apps and the algorithm. We safeguard the U.S. content ecosystem, holding decision-making authority for trust and safety policies and moderation. USDS Joint Venture helps ensure Americans can continue to express their creativity, discover new hobbies and interests, and build thriving communities and businesses on a global scale.
On-site presence across teams allows the company to operate with greater speed, alignment, and agility — especially in areas like real-time decision-making, team development, and integrated execution. As such, the company is shifting from a hybrid work model to a fully in-person schedule up to 5 days a week.
Why Join Us
Inspiring creativity is at the core of TikTok's mission. Our innovative product is 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 bring joy - a mission we work towards every day.
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. Every challenge is an opportunity to learn and innovate as one team. We're resilient and embrace challenges as they come. 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
TikTok 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 TikTok, our mission is to inspire creativity and bring joy. 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.
USDS Reasonable Accommodation
USDS 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/USDS-RA
Job Information
【For Pay Transparency】Compensation Description (Annually)
The base salary range for this position in the selected city is $122574 - $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.
Salary : $122,574 - $259,200