Research Scientist Intern (AI Infrastructure)- 2026 Start (PhD)

Responsibilities

About Team: On the AI Infra Team, you'll be immersed in the robust and scalable infrastructure that powers our cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) initiatives. You will work closely with our AI/ML researchers, data scientists, and software engineers to create an efficient, high-performance environment for training, inference, and data processing. Your expertise will be critical in enabling the next generation of AI-driven products and services. We are looking for talented individuals to join us for an internship in 2026. PhD Internships at ByteDance aim to provide students with the opportunity to actively contribute to our products and research, and to the organization's future plans and emerging technologies. Internships at ByteDance aim to provide students with hands-on experience in developing fundamental skills and exploring potential career paths. A vibrant blend of social events and enriching development workshops will be available for you to explore. Here, you will utilize your knowledge in real-world scenarios while laying a strong foundation for personal and professional growth. PhD internships at Bytedance provide students with the opportunity to actively contribute to our products and research, and to the organization's future plans and emerging technologies. Our dynamic internship experience blends hands-on learning, enriching community-building and development events, and collaboration with industry experts. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis - we encourage you to apply early. Please state your availability clearly in your resume (Start date, End date). Responsibilities The ideal candidate should be an expert in at least one of the following fields to define and design the next-gen AI Infrastructure:

• Infrastructure Design & Architecture - Lead end-to-end design of scalable, reliable AI infrastructure (AI accelerators, compute clusters, storage, networking) for training and serving large ML workloads. - Define and implement service-oriented, containerized architectures (Kubernetes, VM frameworks, unikernels) optimized for ML performance and security.
• Performance Optimization - Profile and optimize every layer of the ML stack—ML Compiler, GPU/TPU scheduling, NCCL/RDMA networking, data preprocessing, and training/inference frameworks. - Develop low-overhead telemetry and benchmarking frameworks to identify and eliminate bottlenecks in distributed training and serving.
• Distributed Systems & Scalability - Build and operate large-scale deployment and orchestration systems that auto-scale across multiple data centers (on-premises and cloud). - Champion fault-tolerance, high availability, and cost-efficiency through smart resource management and workload placement.
• Data Pipeline & Workflow Engineering - Architect and implement robust ETL and data ingestion pipelines (Spark/Beam/Dask/Flume) tailored for petabyte-scale ML datasets. - Integrate experiment management and workflow orchestration tools (Airflow, Kubeflow, Metaflow) to streamline research-to-production.
• Collaboration & Mentorship - Partner with ML researchers to translate prototype requirements into production-grade systems. - Mentor and coach engineers on best practices in performance tuning, systems design, and reliability engineering.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

• Graduation date in 2026 year with a PhD in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field.
• Understanding of infrastructure or systems engineering focused roles, with ML/AI infrastructure.
• Strong programming skills in Python, C++, Go, or Rust for systems development and automation.
• Excellent communicator able to bridge research and production teams.
• Strong problem-solving aptitude and a drive to push the state of the art in ML infrastructure.

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Job Information

【For Pay Transparency】Compensation Description (Hourly) - Campus Intern

The hourly rate range for this position in the selected city is $57- $57.

Benefits may vary depending on the nature of employment and the country work location. Interns have day one access to health insurance, life insurance, wellbeing benefits and more. Interns also receive 10 paid holidays per year and paid sick time (56 hours if hired in first half of year, 40 if hired in second half of year). Interns who are not working 100% remote may also be eligible for housing allowance.

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 Us

Founded in 2012, ByteDance's mission is to inspire creativity and enrich life. With a suite of more than a dozen products, including TikTok, Lemon8, CapCut and Pico as well as platforms specific to the China market, including Toutiao, Douyin, and Xigua, ByteDance has made it easier and more fun for people to connect with, consume, and create content.

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