Research Intern (AI/LLM Network) - 2026 Start (PhD)

Research Intern (AI/LLM Network) - 2026 Start (PhD)

Location: San Jose

Team: Technology

Employment Type: Intern

Job Code: A223894A

Responsibilities

Team Introduction ByteDance Networking brings together innovative ideas and technologies from network architecture, software defined networking (SDN), network virtualization, switch software and hardware co-design, and high-speed networking, to create hyperscale data-center networking solutions that power several of the most popular apps of the world such as Douyin and TikTok which serve hundreds of millions of users around the globe. ByteDance Networking is responsible for designing, building, and operating the global, intelligent network infrastructure to meet the requirements of high availability, scalability, and high-performance. By joining this team, you will gain marketable software development and/or network operation experience in data center networking at massive scale. We are looking for talented individuals to join us for an internship in 2026. Internships at ByteDance aim to offer students industry exposure and hands-on experience. Turn your ambitions into reality as your inspiration brings infinite opportunities at ByteDance. 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:

• Design, implementation and deployment of high-speed network technologies to support AI/LLM applications.
• Design and development of platforms/systems for monitoring, analysis and diagnosis of large scale AI/LLM network.
• Research and development of high-performance AI communication framework, network protocol stacks, and codesign optimization of host-network-application to improve the scalability, reliability and performance of AI/LLM network.
• Follow the latest technologies from academia and industry, identify the innovative parts of the system and present in academic papers.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications:

• Currently pursuing a PhD in computer networking or a related technical discipline.
• Experience with at least one of the following areas:
• Proficiency in computer network and network programming.
• Proficiency in one or several mainstream programming languages, including C/C++, Python, Go and so on.
• Be familiar with the latest advances in the area of high-speed network systems, including RDMA, congestion control, AI network optimization and so on.
• Experience in developing high performance communication frameworks(including NCCL, MPI and RPC libraries) is a plus.
• Experience in developing software systems for AI network diagnosis and performance optimization.
• Preferred Qualifications:
• Be familiar with AI training/inference systems and software-hardware co-design.
• Having top tier networking conference publications such as NSDI,SIGCOMM,OSDI,SOSP etc.

By submitting an application for this role, you accept and agree to our global applicant privacy policy, which may be accessed here:

Job Information

For Pay TransparencyCompensation Description (Hourly) - Campus Intern

The hourly rate range for this position in the selected city is $60- $60.

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:

• 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.

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