AI & Security Process Engineer - USDS

Responsibilities

• Design and Develop AI Agents: Architect, build, and deploy robust, multi-step AI agents capable of complex reasoning, tool use, and decision-making using frameworks like LangChain, AutoGen, or CrewAI. Develop and integrate agentic systems—using LLMs, RAG, and tool-use/function-calling frameworks—to automate or accelerate complex tasks for end-users.
• RAG: Deep, practical experience with the end-to-end RAG lifecycle, from designing chunking and hybrid retrieval strategies for domain-specific data to implementing agentic design patterns.
• Workflow and Process Design: Translate user needs into robust, autonomous workflows that can reason, plan, and execute actions.
• Integrate Tools and Data Sources: Equip agents with the ability to interact with external systems by integrating APIs, databases, and other data sources to enable real-world action and information retrieval.
• Implement Agentic Architectures: Develop and implement advanced agentic patterns such as ReAct (Reasoning and Acting), plan-and-execute, and multi-agent collaboration to solve complex, open-ended problems.Optimize and Evaluate Performance: Establish rigorous metrics to evaluate agent performance, reliability, and efficiency. Continuously iterate on agent design, prompting strategies, and model choice to improve outcomes.
• LLM Customization: Fine-tune and adapt foundational LLMs to enhance their capabilities for specific agentic tasks and domains. Implement and refine Retrieval‑Augmented Generation (RAG) pipelines to provide agents with relevant, up-to-date context. Proven experience building and shipping applications powered by Large Language Models (LLMs).
• Collaboration: Work closely with product managers, data scientists, and other engineers to define requirements, identify opportunities for automation, and integrate agentic solutions into our core products and internal workflows.
• Stay Current: Keep up-to-date with the latest advancements in agentic AI, LLMs, and autonomous systems, and champion the adoption of new techniques and technologies within the team.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, AI, Machine Learning, or a related technical field.
• 5+ years of professional experience in a software engineering or machine learning role.
• Demonstrable experience building and deploying solutions using agentic AI frameworks (e.g., LangChain, LlamaIndex, AutoGen) and a strong portfolio of projects to showcase this work.
• Deep understanding of Large Language Models (LLMs), transformer architectures, and modern NLP techniques, including prompt engineering, fine‑tuning, and RAG.
• Solid software engineering fundamentals in Python, including experience building and deploying production‑level APIs and using common ML libraries (e.g., PyTorch, Hugging Face, Scikit‑learn).
• Solid software engineering fundamentals, including experience with APIs, databases, and cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, or Azure).

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience designing and building multi‑agent systems where agents collaborate or compete.
• Published research in top‑tier AI/ML conferences (e.g., NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR).
• Experience with MLOps practices and tools (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes, CI/CD pipelines) for deploying and monitoring AI systems.
• A strong passion for the potential of autonomous agents and a creative mindset for finding novel applications.
• Experience building automated tools in Java, C or PowerShell as well as Experience with SQL or other query languages.

About USDS

TikTok is the leading destination for short‑form mobile video. Our mission is to inspire creativity and bring joy. U.S. Data Security (“USDS”) is a subsidiary of TikTok in the U.S. This new, security‑first division was created to bring heightened focus and governance to our data protection policies and content assurance protocols to keep U.S. users safe. Our focus is on providing oversight and protection of the TikTok platform and U.S. user data, so millions of Americans can continue turning to TikTok to learn something new, earn a living, express themselves creatively, or be entertained. The teams within USDS that deliver on this commitment daily span across Trust & Safety, Security & Privacy, Engineering, User & Product Ops, Corporate Functions and more.

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

Job Information

【For Pay Transparency】 Compensation Description (Annually) - Washington, DC
The base salary range for this position in the selected city is 106920 - 242820 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.