Research Scientist, Operations Research (Infrastructure Lab)
ByteDance
Other Engineering, Operations
Seattle, WA, USA
USD 148,200-300,960 / year + Equity
Responsibilities
About the Team We are the Infrastructure System Lab — a hybrid research and engineering group building the next-generation AI-native data infrastructure. Our work sits at the intersection of databases, large-scale systems, and AI. We drive innovation across: - Next-generation databases: We build VectorDBs and multi-modal AI-native databases designed to support large-scale retrieval and reasoning workloads. - AI for Infra: We leverage machine learning to build intelligent algorithms for infrastructure optimization, tuning, and observability. - LLM Copilot: We develop LLM-based tooling like NL2SQL, NL2Chart. - High-performance cache systems: We develop a multi-engine key-value store optimized for distributed storage workloads. We're also building KV caches for LLM inference at scale. This is a highly collaborative team where researchers and engineers work side-by-side to bring innovations from paper to production. We publish, prototype, and build robust systems deployed across key products used by millions. About the Role We are seeking a highly motivated and technically strong Research Scientist with a PhD in Computer Science, Database, Information Retrieval, or a related field to join our team. You will work on designing and optimizing state-of-the-art vector indexing algorithms to power large-scale similarity search, filtered search, and hybrid retrieval use cases. Your work will directly contribute to the next-generation vector database infrastructure that supports real-time and offline retrieval across billions or even trillions of high-dimensional vectors. Why Join Us - Work on problems at the frontier of AI x systems with huge practical impact. - Collaborate with a world-class team of researchers and engineers. - Opportunity to publish, attend conferences, and contribute to open-source. - Competitive compensation, generous research support, and a culture of innovation. Responsibilities - For scenarios such as AI data centers and cloud resource scheduling, understand business requirements, formulate mathematical models, and design and develop efficient algorithms, heuristic algorithms, and meta-heuristic algorithms for optimization problems. -Explore AI for OR by integrating LLM, RL and Agent technologies into the operations research optimization pipeline, including but not limited to: Natural language-based decision engine interfaces & Enhancing the interpretability of optimization results
Qualifications
Minimum Qualifications: - Ph.D. degree with strong research achievements, such as multiple first-author papers at conferences (CCF-A) in the areas of Data, Systems, or AI. - Solid foundation in operations research theory, with expertise in areas such as linear programming, integer programming, and combinatorial optimization. - Proficient with at least one mainstream commercial or open-source solver (e.g., Gurobi, CPLEX, CP-SAT). Familiar with commonly used (meta-)heuristic algorithms (e.g., genetic algorithms, simulated annealing) and experienced in real-world deployment. - Strong engineering and coding skills, proficient in at least one programming language such as Python, C++, or Java, with solid knowledge of common data structures and algorithms. - Excellent logical thinking and business abstraction skills, capable of translating ambiguous business requirements into clear technical solutions. - Strong communication, teamwork, and collaboration abilities. Preferred Qualifications: - Domain knowledge of datacenter hardware supply chain operations or the underlying implementation of cloud computing products. - Familiarity with LLMs, reinforcement learning, and Agent frameworks such as LangGraph. Experience with prompt engineering optimization and Agent development. Strong interest and insight in combining traditional operations research optimization with generative AI.
Job Information
【For Pay Transparency】Compensation Description (Annually)
The base salary range for this position in the selected city is $148200 - $300960 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.
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:
1. Interacting and occasionally having unsupervised contact with internal/external clients and/or colleagues;
2. Appropriately handling and managing confidential information including proprietary and trade secret information and access to information technology systems; and
3. 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 https://tinyurl.com/RA-request