Great culture - Machine Learning Engineer TikTok Employee Review

5.0
Nov 8, 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

TikTok is a great place to work - work/life balance is very good, and the working hours tend to be really flexible which is a great plus. The work is super interesting, and there is also lots of flexibility to work in what you are interested in.

Cons

We have teams in the US/China/Singapore which we have to work with frequently. The different time-zones can be frustrating.

Explore other reviews about TikTok

5.0
Jul 2, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

High visibility Full coaching Lots of opportunities

Cons

High pressure Limited work life balance

2.0
Jun 15, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Pay is level with industry and actual work is somewhat interesting depending on the team you're on

Cons

In my experience, career growth can feel very limited if you are not part of the dominant internal language and cultural network. A significant amount of important context, communication, and decision-making happens in Chinese, which can make non-Chinese-speaking employees feel excluded from key conversations and promotion opportunities. The environment did not feel as inclusive as it should be for a global company. Advancement often felt less tied to performance and more tied to whether you were connected to the right groups or able to operate fluently within the Chinese-speaking side of the organization. Over time, it felt like non-Chinese-speaking employees had fewer long-term career paths and were at risk of being replaced by people who could better fit that internal operating model. Things also move very slowly because employees are often given access only to the bare minimum needed to do their jobs. There is a heavy push toward using AI tools, but in practice it can make it harder to get help from real people. Instead of getting quick support, you often have to spend time going through AI bots or internal tools before getting a useful answer.

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