The role
From TikTok's own posting.
About the team
Our Streaming Codec Team is dedicated to advancing cutting-edge research in multimedia, including but not limited to video compression, image processing, and video data processing, and translating these innovations into production-grade live-streaming systems. Our work directly supports large-scale products serving hundreds of millions of users worldwide. We are seeking exceptional PhD-level talent with deep expertise in video compression and processing, a strong record of research excellence, and the ambition to shape the future of realtime video technologies.
We are looking for talented individuals to join our team. As a graduate, you will get opportunities to pursue bold ideas, tackle complex challenges, and unlock limitless growth.
Successful candidates must be able to commit to an onboarding date by the end of the year. Please state your availability and graduation date clearly in your resume.
Responsibilities:
- Design and develop commercial-grade realtime video codec technologies for emerging media formats, including 2D/3D video, multiview video, 360-degree video, and light field video.
- Research, design, and optimize encoding and decoding frameworks for realtime live-streaming scenarios, with a focus on performance, scalability, and robustness.
- Develop advanced video encoding and processing algorithms for heterogeneous computing platforms.
- Research and implement visual quality-oriented video coding and video processing algorithms to improve perceptual quality under practical bitrate and latency constraints.
- Prepare and maintain clear encoder/decoder interface documentation and technical specifications.
- Collaborate with cross-functional engineering and product teams to transfer research prototypes and technologies into production systems.
- Track state-of-the-art developments in video coding, processing, and related standardization efforts, and help shape the team’s long-term technical direction.
Minimum Qualifications:
- Individuals who are completing or have recently completed a PhD degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mathematics, Statistics or a related discipline.
- Strong foundations in computer science, including algorithms, data structures, software design, and performance optimization.
- Solid understanding of modern image/video compression and processing algorithms.
- Excellent programming, debugging, and optimization skills in C/C++ or other relevant system-level programming languages.
- Strong problem-solving ability and a research-driven mindset.
- Effective written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to collaborate in a multidisciplinary environment.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Research or industry experience in image/video systems such as live streaming, video conferencing, realtime communications, or offline transcoding.
- Deep familiarity with at least one mainstream video compression standard, such as AVS, H.264/AVC, H.265/HEVC, VVC, or AV1, including reference software and practical optimization.
- Experience with neural network-based image/video coding and processing methods.
- Familiarity with performance optimization techniques such as NEON/SIMD vectorization and multi-threaded system design.
- Experience working on heterogeneous platforms and hardware-aware codec optimization.
- Experience participating in international standardization activities related to image/video compression, file formats, or media systems.
- Strong publication record in leading conferences or journals in video coding, image processing, computer vision, multimedia, or related areas.
- Demonstrated potential to lead technical research directions and drive technology transfer into products.