STEM OPT Backend Engineer Jobs
Backend Engineer roles in server infrastructure, APIs, and distributed systems directly align with STEM degrees in computer science, software engineering, and information technology. Your 24-month STEM OPT extension applies here, giving you up to 36 months total to work for any employer enrolled in E-Verify while you pursue long-term sponsorship.
Find STEM OPT Backend Engineer JobsOverview
Showing 5 of 62+ Backend Engineer jobs
See all 62+ Backend Engineer Jobs
Sign up for free to unlock all listings, filter by visa type, and get alerts for new Backend Engineer roles.
Get Access To All JobsResponsibilities
The TikTok User Growth team is central to the strategic acquisition, engagement, and expansion of TikTok's global user base. Our team focuses on driving user growth through organic traffic channels, content optimization, AIGC technologies, and scalable backend systems across TikTok surfaces such as Web, Lite, and other emerging platforms. We build growth and content optimization systems that turn search, discovery, data, and AI-driven capabilities into measurable business impact. Typical projects include Search Engine Optimization for organic acquisition, AIGC-powered content generation and quality evaluation, AI / Agentic workflow automation, Auto Research systems for growth opportunity discovery, and backend platforms that support experimentation and large-scale production rollout. We are looking for talented individuals to join our team. As a graduate, you will get opportunities to pursue bold ideas, tackle complex challenges, and unlock limitless growth. Successful candidates must be able to commit to an onboarding date by the end of the year. Please state your availability and graduation date clearly in your resume. Candidates can apply to a maximum of two positions and will be considered for jobs in the order you apply. The application limit is applicable to our Company and its affiliates' jobs globally. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis - we encourage you to apply early.
Responsibilities:
- Participate in the design and development of backend systems for TikTok user growth, content optimization, experimentation, and organic acquisition across global markets.
- Build scalable services and data pipelines for SEO/GEO, search and discovery, content understanding, content quality evaluation, and traffic optimization.
- Apply AIGC capabilities to support content generation, prompt workflows, quality assessment, and automated optimization for growth scenarios.
- Contribute to AI / Agentic workflow and Auto Research systems, including tool calling, evaluation pipelines, human-in-the-loop workflows, and feedback loops.
- Collaborate with product, data, algorithm, and design teams to deliver reliable production systems with measurable user growth and business impact.
Qualifications
Minimum Qualifications:
- Individuals who are completing or have recently completed a Bachelor's degree in computer science or a related discipline.
- Familiar with one or more programming languages such as Golang, Python, Java, or C++, with a good understanding of data structures and algorithms.
- Familiar with backend development, system design, microservice architecture, and distributed systems.
- Familiar with databases, cache systems, and cloud-native components such as MySQL, Redis, MongoDB, Docker, Kubernetes, or similar technologies.
- Good communication skills, strong learning ability, and willingness to collaborate with cross-functional and international teams.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Internship, project, or research experience in backend development, distributed systems, microservices, data platforms, or large-scale consumer-facing systems.
- Experience or strong interest in AI-related backend systems, such as LLM service integration, prompt workflows, model evaluation, vector retrieval, feature serving, or AI-powered automation.
- Experience building or experimenting with AI agents, agentic workflows, AI coding tools, tool-calling applications, or workflow automation systems.
- Experience or interest in search, recommendation, discovery, content platforms, SEO/GEO, growth engineering, experimentation, or traffic optimization.
- Strong self-drive, sense of ownership, and curiosity about applying AIGC technologies to real-world product and engineering problems.
Job Information
【For Pay Transparency】Compensation Description (Annually)
The base salary range for this position in the selected city is $128000 - $256000 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:
- Interacting and occasionally having unsupervised contact with internal/external clients and/or colleagues;
- Appropriately handling and managing confidential information including proprietary and trade secret information and access to information technology systems; and
- Exercising sound judgment.
About TikTok
TikTok is the leading destination for short-form mobile video. At TikTok, our mission is to inspire creativity and bring joy. TikTok's global headquarters are in Los Angeles and Singapore, and we also have offices in New York City, London, Dublin, Paris, Berlin, Dubai, Jakarta, Seoul, and Tokyo.
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.
TikTok Accommodation
TikTok 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
Responsibilities
The TikTok User Growth team is central to the strategic acquisition, engagement, and expansion of TikTok's global user base. Our team focuses on driving user growth through organic traffic channels, content optimization, AIGC technologies, and scalable backend systems across TikTok surfaces such as Web, Lite, and other emerging platforms. We build growth and content optimization systems that turn search, discovery, data, and AI-driven capabilities into measurable business impact. Typical projects include Search Engine Optimization for organic acquisition, AIGC-powered content generation and quality evaluation, AI / Agentic workflow automation, Auto Research systems for growth opportunity discovery, and backend platforms that support experimentation and large-scale production rollout. We are looking for talented individuals to join our team. As a graduate, you will get opportunities to pursue bold ideas, tackle complex challenges, and unlock limitless growth. Successful candidates must be able to commit to an onboarding date by the end of the year. Please state your availability and graduation date clearly in your resume. Candidates can apply to a maximum of two positions and will be considered for jobs in the order you apply. The application limit is applicable to our Company and its affiliates' jobs globally. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis - we encourage you to apply early.
Responsibilities:
- Participate in the design and development of backend systems for TikTok user growth, content optimization, experimentation, and organic acquisition across global markets.
- Build scalable services and data pipelines for SEO/GEO, search and discovery, content understanding, content quality evaluation, and traffic optimization.
- Apply AIGC capabilities to support content generation, prompt workflows, quality assessment, and automated optimization for growth scenarios.
- Contribute to AI / Agentic workflow and Auto Research systems, including tool calling, evaluation pipelines, human-in-the-loop workflows, and feedback loops.
- Collaborate with product, data, algorithm, and design teams to deliver reliable production systems with measurable user growth and business impact.
Qualifications
Minimum Qualifications:
- Individuals who are completing or have recently completed a Bachelor's degree in computer science or a related discipline.
- Familiar with one or more programming languages such as Golang, Python, Java, or C++, with a good understanding of data structures and algorithms.
- Familiar with backend development, system design, microservice architecture, and distributed systems.
- Familiar with databases, cache systems, and cloud-native components such as MySQL, Redis, MongoDB, Docker, Kubernetes, or similar technologies.
- Good communication skills, strong learning ability, and willingness to collaborate with cross-functional and international teams.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Internship, project, or research experience in backend development, distributed systems, microservices, data platforms, or large-scale consumer-facing systems.
- Experience or strong interest in AI-related backend systems, such as LLM service integration, prompt workflows, model evaluation, vector retrieval, feature serving, or AI-powered automation.
- Experience building or experimenting with AI agents, agentic workflows, AI coding tools, tool-calling applications, or workflow automation systems.
- Experience or interest in search, recommendation, discovery, content platforms, SEO/GEO, growth engineering, experimentation, or traffic optimization.
- Strong self-drive, sense of ownership, and curiosity about applying AIGC technologies to real-world product and engineering problems.
Job Information
【For Pay Transparency】Compensation Description (Annually)
The base salary range for this position in the selected city is $128000 - $256000 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:
- Interacting and occasionally having unsupervised contact with internal/external clients and/or colleagues;
- Appropriately handling and managing confidential information including proprietary and trade secret information and access to information technology systems; and
- Exercising sound judgment.
About TikTok
TikTok is the leading destination for short-form mobile video. At TikTok, our mission is to inspire creativity and bring joy. TikTok's global headquarters are in Los Angeles and Singapore, and we also have offices in New York City, London, Dublin, Paris, Berlin, Dubai, Jakarta, Seoul, and Tokyo.
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.
TikTok Accommodation
TikTok 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
See all 62+ STEM OPT Backend Engineer Jobs
Sign up for free to unlock all listings, filter by visa type, and get alerts for new STEM OPT Backend Engineer Jobs.
Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding STEM OPT Authorization as a Backend Engineer
Verify your CIP code before applying
Your STEM OPT extension depends on your degree's Classification of Instructional Programs code matching a STEM-designated field. Check your DSO's records to confirm your computer science, software engineering, or IT degree qualifies before targeting Backend Engineer roles.
Screen employers for E-Verify enrollment early
Your employer must be enrolled in E-Verify before your STEM OPT extension begins. Ask recruiters directly during the screening call, or look up the company in the E-Verify employer search tool before investing time in their process.
Align your I-983 training plan to backend engineering work
Your I-983 must list specific learning objectives tied to your role, not a generic job description. Connect backend responsibilities like API design, database architecture, or distributed systems to the technical skills from your STEM degree program.
Use Migrate Mate to find Backend Engineer roles at E-Verify employers
Search Migrate Mate to filter Backend Engineer openings at companies already enrolled in E-Verify and with documented sponsorship history, so you're applying where your STEM OPT authorization is actually usable from day one.
Target companies with active H-1B filing patterns
Backend Engineer roles at companies with consistent H-1B visa LCA filings signal a real sponsorship pipeline for when your OPT authorization ends. Cross-reference DOL Labor Condition Application disclosure data to identify employers who regularly sponsor software engineering roles.
Understand cap-gap protection before your OPT expires
If your employer files an H-1B petition before your STEM OPT end date and it's selected in the lottery, cap-gap automatically extends your work authorization through September 30. Confirm the filing timeline with your employer's HR team well before your EAD expires.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does my degree qualify me for the STEM OPT extension as a Backend Engineer?
Your degree must fall under a STEM-designated Classification of Instructional Programs code recognized by the Department of Homeland Security. Degrees in computer science, software engineering, computer engineering, and information technology commonly qualify. Your DSO can confirm your specific CIP code. The Backend Engineer role itself doesn't determine eligibility, your degree field does, so verify this before you start applying.
Does every company hiring Backend Engineers accept STEM OPT authorization?
No. To employ you on a STEM OPT extension, your employer must be enrolled in E-Verify, a federal online verification system. Not every tech company, startup, or contractor is enrolled. Ask HR directly whether the company is an active E-Verify participant before you accept an offer. You can also search the E-Verify employer database to confirm enrollment status independently.
What goes into the I-983 training plan for a Backend Engineer role?
The I-983 must describe how your Backend Engineer position provides practical training related to your STEM degree. It should list specific goals such as building RESTful APIs, designing relational database schemas, or implementing microservices architectures, and connect each to coursework or skills from your program. Your employer signs it, your DSO endorses it, and USCIS can review it at any time during your extension.
How does cap-gap work if I'm a Backend Engineer on STEM OPT?
If your employer files an H-1B petition on your behalf before your STEM OPT EAD expires and USCIS selects it in the lottery, cap-gap automatically extends your work authorization through October 1 of that fiscal year. You can continue working as a Backend Engineer during this period without interruption. If your petition isn't selected, your authorization ends when your EAD expires, so have a contingency plan ready.
Where can I find Backend Engineer jobs that are open to STEM OPT candidates?
Migrate Mate lists Backend Engineer roles at employers enrolled in E-Verify and with documented H-1B sponsorship history, so you can filter for companies where your STEM OPT authorization is actually viable. Targeting employers with active Labor Condition Application filings through DOL disclosure data also helps you identify companies with established hiring pipelines for international engineers on work authorization.