Research Scientist Intern (PICO-Computational Imaging and Human Perception) - 2025 Summer/Fall (PhD)

TikTok is the leading destination for short-form mobile video. At TikTok, our mission is to inspire creativity and bring joy. TikTok's global headquarters are in Los Angeles and Singapore, and its offices include New York, London, Dublin, Paris, Berlin, Dubai, Jakarta, Seoul, and Tokyo.

Why Join Us
Creation is the core of TikTok's purpose. Our platform is built to help imaginations thrive. This is doubly true of the teams that make TikTok possible.
Together, we inspire creativity and bring joy - a mission we all believe in and aim towards achieving every day.
To us, every challenge, no matter how difficult, is an opportunity; to learn, to innovate, and to grow as one team. Status quo? Never. Courage? Always.
At TikTok, we create together and grow together. That's how we drive impact - for ourselves, our company, and the communities we serve.
Join us.

PICO is a leading VR/AR platform with independent innovation and R&D capabilities, focusing on all-in-one VR technology. PICO is committed to offering immersive and interactive VR experiences to our customers, including providing tailor-made solutions for our enterprise clients in the fields of education and healthcare.

During your internship at PICO, you will help enhance our VR products by innovating creative solutions to engineering challenges by statistically modeling complex datasets. Our goal is to deliver the most realistic VR experiences possible by optimizing engineering trade-offs according to user experience. Competitive candidates will be those with proven experience in statistical modeling of complex datasets and a strong knowledge of optimization techniques. Experience with human psychophysics, vision science, or adaptive experimentation is a plus.

Internships at TikTok 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. It runs for 12-24 weeks and begins in May/June 2025 or August/September 2025. Successful candidates must be able to commit to one of the following start dates below:

(Select below options for Summer)
- Monday, May 12
- Monday, May 19
- Tuesday May 27 (Memorial Day May 27)
- Monday, June 9
- Monday, June 23

(Select below options for Fall)
- Monday, August 11
- Monday, August 25
- Monday, September 8
- Monday, September 22
Please state your availability clearly in your resume (Start date, End date).

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. We encourage you to apply early. Candidates can apply to a maximum of TWO positions and will be considered for jobs in the order you apply. The application limit is applicable to TikTok and its affiliates' jobs globally.

Responsibilities:
- Implement modelling frameworks to characterize user experience of AR/VR imaging pipelines
- Draw insights from large, complex datasets of eye tracking data, AR/VR optical simulations, and human psychophysics
- Develop models that relate complex data to visual experience ratings
- Improve user experience by optimizing engineering trade-offs (e.g., signal filtering, data calibration, dimensionality reduction) according to visual experience
- Build simulations tools and/or prototypes to demonstrate the impact of your models
- Collaborate with other PICO teams to identify opportunities for collaborationMinimum Qualifications:
- Ph.D. student in Statistics, Machine Learning, Neuroscience, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical discipline
- Experience characterizing human perception
- Strong software engineering capabilities in Python, MATLAB, or similar scientific computing language
- Strong knowledge of statistics, optimization, machine learning, and function approximation
- Ability to implement new modelling workflows on large, complex datasets
- Strong communication and teamwork skills, ability to communicate technical concepts with non-experts
- Must obtain work authorization in the US at the time of hire, and maintain ongoing work authorization during employment.

Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience with adaptive experimentation is a plus
- Experience with real-time signal processing (digital filtering) is a plus
- Experience with eye tracking data is a plus
- Experience with ray tracing or other optical simulation methods is a plus

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.

TikTok 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://shorturl.at/cdpT2.