Applied Machine Learning Engineer, LLM Applications Graduate (PICO)- 2026 Start(

Applied Machine Learning Engineer, LLM Applications Graduate (PICO)- 2026 Start(PHD)

Join to apply for the Applied Machine Learning Engineer, LLM Applications Graduate (PICO)- 2026 Start(PHD) role at ByteDance

Applied Machine Learning Engineer, LLM Applications Graduate (PICO)- 2026 Start(PHD)

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Join to apply for the Applied Machine Learning Engineer, LLM Applications Graduate (PICO)- 2026 Start(PHD) role at ByteDance

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Responsibilities
About Team:
PICO system prototyping teams mission is to incubate the next generation XR products including MR headsets, AR glasses and more smart wearables. Based on ByteDance groups vision, the team independently comes up with product vision, roadmap, definition, architecture as well as initial designs including experience, structural, electrical, firmware as well as software.
We are looking for talented individuals to join our team in 2026. As a graduate, you will get unparalleled opportunities for you to kickstart your career, pursue bold ideas and explore limitless growth opportunities. Co-create a future driven by your inspiration with ByteDance
Successful candidates must be able to commit to an onboarding date by end of year 2026.
Please state your availability and graduation date clearly in your resume.
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis - we encourage you to apply early.
Responsibilities

• Develop and prototype novel LLM-powered applications and experiences for next-generation smart wearables, bringing the power of generative AI to everyday interactions.
• Contribute to the design and implementation of conversational agents, multimodal reasoning systems, and other LLM-driven features for our product concepts.
• Fine-tune, and evaluate Large Language Models for on-device and cloud-based deployments, with a focus on enhancing capabilities like reasoning, instruction following, and safety.
• Design and build application frameworks using modern LLM development patterns, such as Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), function calling, and agentic workflows.
• Leverage and adapt state-of-the-art open-source LLMs (e.g., Llama, Mistral) and foundation models to fit the unique constraints and opportunities of smart glasses and AR.
• Design and implement robust evaluation frameworks to assess model performance, safety, and helpfulness, using both automated metrics and human-in-the-loop systems.
• Stay at the forefront of generative AI research, with a focus on prompt engineering, agent-based systems, and efficient LLM inference techniques.
• Assist in designing data curation strategies for instruction tuning and preference alignment of LLMs.
  
  

Qualifications
Minimum Qualifications

• Currently pursuing or recently graduated with a PhD degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical field.
• Solid understanding of fundamental Machine Learning, Deep Learning, and Natural Language Processing concepts.
• Hands-on experience with ML/DL frameworks (e.g., PyTorch, TensorFlow, Hugging Face Transformers) through coursework, research, or internships.
• Proficiency in at least one programming language, such as Python or C++.
  
  

Preferred Qualifications

• Currently pursuing or recently graduated with a PhD degree with a focus on NLP or Large Language Models.
• A track record of publications in top-tier AI/ML conferences (e.g., NeurIPS, ICML, ACL, EMNLP, ICLR).
• Deep understanding of Transformer architectures and attention mechanisms.
• Hands-on experience with LLM application development techniques such as Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), function calling, and building AI agents.
• Experience in fine-tuning and evaluating Large Language Models (e.g., instruction tuning, RLHF).
• Familiarity with vector databases (e.g., Pinecone, Chroma) and prompt engineering best practices.
• Experience with on-device ML optimization (e.g., quantization, model distillation) for efficient LLM inference.
  
  

Job Information
For Pay TransparencyCompensation Description (Annually)
The base salary range for this position in the selected city is $118657 - $259200 annually.
Compensation may vary outside of this range depending on a number of factors, including a candidates 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.
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 Pico
Founded in April 2015, Pico is a VR company committed to developing immersive and interactive VR experiences for people around the world. Pico also provides tailor-made solutions for our enterprise clients in the fields of education and healthcare.
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

Seniority level

• Seniority level

  Internship

Employment type

• Employment type

  Full-time

Job function

• Job function

  Engineering and Information Technology

• Industries

  Software Development

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