Candidates applying for Research Scientist roles take an average of 15 days to get hired, when considering 1 user submitted interviews for this role. To compare, the hiring process at TikTok overall takes an average of 34 days.
Common stages of the interview process at TikTok as a Research Scientist according to 1 Glassdoor interviews include:
Skills test: 33%
Phone interview: 33%
One on one interview: 33%
Here are the most commonly searched roles for interview reports -
I interviewed at TikTok (Beijing, Beijing) in Jan 2025
Interview
The interviewer guy is an expert in applied mathematics and knows a lot of my research. He raised many challenging questions about my experiences and my previous internship. Then a leetcode medium was given. Failed.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Leetcode medium (matrix rotation). Calculation on pi.
There are multiple rounds with their US and overseas teams. The interview questions are standard but detailed and heavily screwed towards engineering implementations. Some interviewers look tired and start right away with technical questions. Feel like more of an exam rather than collaborative discussion.
self introduction; easy coding (write a function to produce fibonacci numbers + complexity analysis + recusion/dynamic programming); deep dive into my own research; casual talk on the team and tasks;
I applied online. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at TikTok (San Jose, CA) in Mar 2026
Interview
The process started with an HR screening, followed by three technical interviews, and concluded with a final interview with the Hiring Manager. Overall, the process moved quickly, and each stage felt smooth and well-structured. My performance seemed solid throughout, and the discussions with the interviewers were generally positive and engaging. Despite this, I was ultimately rejected after the final interview.