San Jose
Regular
R&D - Testing
Job ID: A11587
Responsibilities
About the team The centralized QA Team of the Product Eng department of TikTok USDS provides support for multiple service component value chains. We provide end-to-end test support across multiple service component value chains — including back-end systems, API services, web, and mobile (iOS/Android) applications. Our charter covers automation framework development, functional and regression validation, App build & release management, and the closed-loop handling of user feedback. As we scale, we are looking for an experienced QA Manager to lead the team, raise the engineering bar, and drive quality strategy across the org. About the Role As QA Manager, Product Eng, you will lead a team of SDETs responsible for validating, automating, and managing the complex challenges of large-scale, high-traffic systems. You will own the team's technical roadmap, hiring & growth plan, day-to-day operations, and cross-functional collaboration with Product, Dev, SRE, and Video Architecture. You are equal parts people leader, technical strategist, and quality advocate, accountable for both how fast we ship and how reliably we ship. People Leadership - Build and lead a high-performing QA team: Own headcount planning, hiring, onboarding, performance management, and career development for a team of SDETs . - Coach and grow engineers: Provide regular 1:1s, technical mentorship, and structured feedback. Identify high-potential engineers and create growth paths toward senior IC and tech-lead tracks. - Foster an inclusive, collaborative culture: Champion psychological safety, a blameless post-incident culture, and a strong sense of ownership across the team. Strategy & Roadmap - Define the QA strategy and 6–12 month roadmap for Product Eng, aligned with org-level OKRs and business priorities. Translate strategy into concrete quarterly milestones, staffing plans, and measurable outcomes. - Own quality KPIs for the org: Define and track signals such as escape defect rate, automation coverage, regression cycle time, release health, and mean-time-to-detect/recover for quality issues. Report progress to engineering leadership on a regular cadence. Execution & Delivery - Manage cross-team dependencies and risk: proactively identify quality, schedule, and resourcing risks across project boundaries; develop mitigation plans; communicate trade-offs to stakeholders. - Lead incident response and post-mortems for production quality incidents within scope; drive durable corrective actions and feed learnings back into test plans, automation, and process. - Manage user-feedback closed loop: ensure timely triage, reproduction, and routing of high-impact issues from production back into the test cycle. Cross-Functional Partnership - Partner with Product, Engineering, SRE, and Video Architecture Leaders to align on quality bars, launch criteria, and release readiness. - Influence without direct authority: drive adoption of test standards, automation frameworks, and quality gates across teams that do not report into you. - Communicate up and out: prepare clear, concise updates for senior leadership on quality posture, risks, and investments. Technical Leadership - Set the technical direction for the team's automation frameworks, test platforms, and deployment integration. Review architectural designs and make final calls on major technical trade-offs. - Maintain hands-on credibility: review code and test designs, occasionally debug critical issues, and ensure the team's technical bar stays high. - Build internal tools, frameworks, and platforms that make the broader engineering org more productive — your team is a force multiplier.
Qualifications
Minimum Qualifications - 5+ years of QA / SDET experience, with 3+ years in a formal people-management role. - BS/MS degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical field — or equivalent professional experience. - Strong technical foundation: hands-on proficiency in at least one of Java / Python / Objective-C / Golang, with prior experience delivering test frameworks or automation platforms. - Deep experience testing complex distributed systems — APIs, web, and mobile applications backed by large-scale services. - Demonstrated ownership of the end-to-end test process: test planning, test design, execution, defect tracking, and release sign-off. - Excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to coordinate effectively across Engineering, Product, SRE, and Release teams. - Strong written and verbal communication skills; comfortable presenting to senior stakeholders and influencing across organizational boundaries. Preferred Qualifications - Experience managing QA for mobile internet products at scale (consumer apps, social, video, or similar high-traffic domains). - Hands-on knowledge of various test methodologies (functional, regression, performance, compatibility, security, chaos/resilience) and modern CI/CD practices. - Experience defining and operating quality KPIs and dashboards at the org level (escape rate, automation coverage, release health, MTTD/MTTR for quality issues).
Job Information
【For Pay Transparency】Compensation Description (Annually)
The base salary range for this position in the selected city is $180000 - $324000 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 USDS
TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC is dedicated to the safety and security of millions of Americans who create, discover, and connect with what they love on the apps we operate. The Joint Venture has been established in compliance with the Executive Order signed by President Trump on September 25, 2025. Our foundation is a comprehensive data privacy and cybersecurity program we operate under defined safeguards to protect national security and secure U.S. user data, apps and the algorithm. We safeguard the U.S. content ecosystem, holding decision-making authority for trust and safety policies and moderation. USDS Joint Venture helps ensure Americans can continue to express their creativity, discover new hobbies and interests, and build thriving communities and businesses on a global scale.
On-site presence across teams allows the company to operate with greater speed, alignment, and agility — especially in areas like real-time decision-making, team development, and integrated execution. As such, the company is shifting from a hybrid work model to a fully in-person schedule up to 5 days a week.
Why Join Us
Inspiring creativity is at the core of TikTok's mission. Our innovative product is 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 bring joy - a mission we work towards every day.
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. Every challenge is an opportunity to learn and innovate as one team. We're resilient and embrace challenges as they come. 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
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 are passionate about this and hope you are too.
USDS Reasonable Accommodation
USDS 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/USDS-RA
