Job description

Responsibilities
TikTok is the leading destination for short-form mobile video. Our mission is to inspire creativity and bring joy. TTikTok has global offices including Los Angeles, New York, London, Paris, Berlin, Dubai, Mumbai, Singapore, Jakarta, Seoul, and Tokyo.

The Threat Research Lab is a group of trained quantitative and qualitative researchers, data scientists, and exploitation experts that focus on long-term research studies that explore platform risks and user threats that will help inform and address platform safety and societal health.

We are seeking an experience quantitative or mixed-methods researcher with subject matter expertise in multiple areas, including: Violent Extremism (Radicalization, Recruitment, and Mobilization), Coordinated and Inauthentic Behavior, Advanced Persistent Manipulation, Mis/Disinformation, Minor Predation, Bullying and Harassment, Scams, and/or Transnational Criminal Organizations.

Using subject-matter expertise and scientifically rigorous analytical methodologies, a threat researcher will have the opportunity to run research projects to test different threat-related hypotheses and answer research questions that help improve the capabilities of threat analysts, increase the accuracy of current threat detection models, improve current platform policies, and improve the accuracy/efficiency of threat mitigation processes.

Possible locations include Austin, Los Angeles, Mountain View, Seattle, Nashville, New York, or Washington DC.

What will I be doing?

• Conduct high-impact data-driven research projects that answer pressing questions related to threat detection, analysis, and mitigation across multiple high priority issue areas.
• Create and run experiments aimed at testing current product/process assumptions and identify key gaps that must be addressed in the near and distant future.
• Lead large-scale and high-impact research projects aimed at company-wide product/process evaluation and optimization.
• Use current understanding of industry practices and processes to develop high-impact research questions and hypotheses.
• Use both quantitative and qualitative methods of analysis to best answer high-priority research questions around threats.
• Use both internal and external data to find the best and most comprehensive answer to threat research questions. This may include using already developed external data pipelines or developing new collection methods according to research needs.
• Work cross-functionally with product managers, program managers, security, operations, policy, public relations, government relations, and communications teams to answer research questions around current threat response processes such as detection and mitigation.
• Sit on a team of experts as a research consultant that not only respond to known bad actors, but proactively search and identify potential threats in order to build scalable protections to keep them out.
• Actively use data-driven research results to strengthen threat detection and investigation SOPs.

Qualifications
What should I bring with me?

• Doctorate or Master's degree in Psychology, Communication Studies, Information Sciences, Sociology, International Relations, Criminal Justice, Public Policy, Political Science, or other relevant field.
• An understanding of online deceptive and manipulative behavior. Knowledge of the signals of specific threat actors, their cross-platform tactics, and how they evolve or change over time.
• Knowledge of social media processes and products, as well as current gaps that can be exploited by threat actors.
• Understanding of current industry data analytical capabilities and shortcomings.
• Expertise in big data analysis, experimental design, survey-design, content analysis, and/or statistical analysis (multivariate analysis of variance, correlation/regression, etc.).
• SQL, Python or similar scripting languages.

Preferred skills/qualifications:

• Published research regarding social media use by violent extremists, malign actors, child exploitation actors, or other criminal actors.
• Critical thinking skills to be able to apply theories or analytical techniques when developing high-impact research projects that would benefit internal teams.
• Excellent writing skills.

Abilities

• Ability to lead research projects from conception to implementation.
• Ability to rapidly shift priorities based on evolving challenges to the platform.
• Identify investigative, product, and process research needs of teams without extensive feedback.
• Ability to communicate complex concepts to broader stakeholders without shared subject expertise.

TikTok 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 TikTok, our mission is to inspire creativity and bring joy. 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 believe individuals shouldn't be disadvantaged because of their background or identity, but instead should be considered based on their strengths and experience. We are passionate about this and hope you are too.

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