Backend Software Engineer Intern (Reliability) - 2026 Start (BS/MS)
Summary
Build and maintain large-scale video delivery systems that adapt to viral traffic surges, infrastructure changes, and global events using distributed systems and cloud technologies.
Location:
Employment Type: Intern
Job Code: A13650
Team Introduction: Every time someone uploads, or watches a short video on TikTok, our team is working behind the scenes to make it happen — smoothly, instantly, and reliably. The Short Video Reliability team is where software engineering meets site reliability. We run the world’s largest short video posting and delivery systems and build systems that adapt to anything: a sudden viral trend, a massive global event, a data center switch, or a rare disaster scenario.
We are looking for talented individuals to join us for an internship in 2026. Internships at TikTok aim to offer students industry exposure and hands‑on experience.
Responsibilities- Design and build systems that adjust on the fly to infrastructure changes, data center moves, and global events.
- Create smart traffic management that can handle viral video surges without breaking a sweat.
- Build tools to spot and fix issues before they reach users.
- Keep TikTok running smoothly across continents and time zones.
- Develop systems for mapping, capacity planning, disaster recovery, and incident automation.
- Test our systems with chaos engineering so they can handle anything thrown at them.
- Use A/B testing to measure real-world improvements in stability, performance, and user experience.
Minimum Qualifications:
- Undergraduate or Postgraduate in Software Development, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or similar.
- Solid coding skills in at least one of Python, Java, Golang, C++, or C.
- Understanding of distributed systems, networking, and large-scale architecture.
- Experience with Linux/Unix and cloud environments.
- A genuine passion for building reliable, high-scale systems.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Open-source contributions or competitive programming experience.
- Research or internship experience in distributed/high-availability systems.
- Ability to debug complex issues under pressure.
- Great communication skills and comfort working with global teams.
- Must commit to at least a 3-month internship period.
- Internship options:
- January to June 2026 (onboard by 12 Jan 2026)
- May to August 2026 (onboard by 11 May 2026)
