Seizing the opportunities to thrive at TikTok (original) (raw)

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 Seizing the opportunities to thrive at TikTok

BEYOND FIRST JOBS:
WHY PROFESSIONALS AT ALL LEVELS THRIVE AT TIKTOK

09 Jan 2025 09:11AM(Updated: 09 Jan 2025 10:01AM)

From fresh graduates to seasoned leaders, the entertainment platform empowers tech talent with opportunities to innovate, lead and grow.

KEENAN PEREIRA

MEDIACORP STUDIO 3

TikTok has brought people together in ways that go far beyond entertainment. From small businesses connecting with loyal customers to creators inspiring global audiences, the platform fosters a sense of community and shared purpose. For entrepreneurs, it has become a space to grow and thrive – turning passions into livelihoods. That same spirit of collaboration and connection shapes life within TikTok itself.

At the heart of this culture are ByteStyles, a set of guiding principles shared across ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company. These values – such as “always day 1”, “grow together” and “be courageous and aim for the highest” – shape how employees approach their work and encourage them to experiment, collaborate and create for meaningful impact.

TikTok fosters a workplace built on collaboration, innovation and meaningful contributions.

LEADING WITH IMPACT

For Mr Omer Iqbal, 32, joining the platform in 2022 marked an exciting new chapter after eight years in livestreaming roles at another tech company.

“What stood out to me was TikTok’s commitment to technical rigour,” said Mr Omer, a computer engineering graduate from the National University of Singapore.

He was particularly impressed by TikTok’s data-driven approach to problem-solving, including its systematic A/B testing process. “The ability to validate every feature with data ensures we’re making calculated decisions that align with user needs,” he explained.

At TikTok, engineers are empowered to drive meaningful change. Now leading a team of 40 engineers responsible for payments on TikTok LIVE, Mr Omer has seen firsthand how this culture translates into real-world impact.

Leading a team of engineers, Mr Omer Iqbal manages TikTok LIVE’s payment systems to deliver secure and reliable transactions for users worldwide.

One of his key responsibilities is maintaining the stability of real-time payment systems, where there is no margin for error. When tasked with improving system stability, Mr Omer was not handed a rigid roadmap. Instead, he developed safeguards to proactively detect and resolve issues, so as to ensure secure transactions for millions of users.

“The stakes are high – every update carries risk,” he said. “But TikTok’s collaborative environment and detailed technical processes give us the confidence to move forward.”

Mr Omer also led the redesign of TikTok LIVE’s payment architecture to handle global traffic seamlessly. By enhancing data centre infrastructure, he improved the platform’s ability to deliver smooth and reliable experiences at scale. Central to TikTok’s culture is its “blameless postmortem” approach, which Mr Omer credits for fostering innovation.

“WHEN THINGS DON’T GO AS PLANNED, WE FOCUS ON LEARNING, NOT ASSIGNING BLAME. THAT MINDSET ALLOWS ME TO GUIDE A SIZEABLE TEAM OF ENGINEERS, TAKE RISKS AND IMPROVE PROCESSES TO DELIVER MEANINGFUL RESULTS FOR MILLIONS OF USERS.”

– MR OMER IQBAL, TEAM LEAD OF TIKTOK LIVE’S WALLET

EMPOWERED FROM THE GET-GO

Today’s young professionals are eager to lead and prove their mettle – and at TikTok, these opportunities are aplenty. Mr Eric Zheng’s journey exemplifies how trust and responsibility within the company fuel career progression.

Mr Zheng, 31, joined TikTok in 2018 as an engineer with three years of prior experience. He is now a technical manager leading the team that is responsible for identity and access systems across its global ecosystem.

His career growth was driven by his knack for solving complex technical challenges, such as stabilising high-traffic systems. The organisation’s work culture also played a significant role in his growth, by encouraging him to explore different solutions and experiment with new ideas.

“The more you demonstrate your ability to solve real-world problems, the more opportunities come your way,” he shared. Recognised for his technical skills, Mr Zheng was promoted to senior engineer and later to team leader.

His current role involves global collaborations with teams around the world. One of his key achievements was leading the development of a seamless log-in feature, which resulted in usability improvements for millions of TikTok users.

Mr Eric Zheng, a technical manager at TikTok, leads the team responsible for global identity and access systems, ensuring stability and seamless usability for millions of users.

“The challenge is not always straightforward,” he said. “You’re juggling time zones, expectations and working styles. But when it all comes together, it’s incredibly rewarding.”

For Mr Zheng, TikTok’s organisational culture of fostering innovation and empowering employees to make impactful contributions has resonated. “You’re not constrained by rigid processes or hierarchy,” he explained. “You’re also constantly reminded that you’re more than just a problem-solver. You’re helping to shape the future of user experience.”

“I STARTED OUT SOLVING TECHNICAL CHALLENGES, AND NOW I’M LEADING A TEAM ACROSS GLOBAL MARKETS. GROWING FROM ENGINEER TO MANAGER HAS BEEN A JOURNEY OF TRUST, LEARNING AND DISCOVERING WHAT IT TAKES TO LEAD.”

– MR ERIC ZHENG, TECHNICAL MANAGER FOR IDENTITY AND ACCESS SYSTEMS AT TIKTOK

SUPPORTED TO SUCCEED

Ms Amanda Lian’s rapid rise from intern to full-time engineer showcases TikTok’s commitment to nurturing young talent through mentorship and meaningful opportunities. After joining as an intern in January 2024, she secured a full-time role with the monetisation team just six months later.

From the start, Ms Lian, 23, received clear guidance from her leader and mentors, who provided both technical advice and career development support. Regular check-ins allowed her to track progress, address challenges and refine her work based on their feedback.

During her internship, Ms Lian proposed an idea for a feature and helped develop a technical design to show how it aligned with the product manager’s vision for the user experience. Working closely with her team, she played an active role in the design, testing and implementation phases – ultimately bringing the feature to life.

This experience allowed her to take on leadership and creative responsibilities, and reflects TikTok’s culture of encouraging experimentation and encouraging employees, including interns, to take ownership from the outset.

After excelling in her internship, Ms Amanda Lian is now a full-time software engineer on TikTok’s data team, optimising systems to support business growth.

She is now part of a team that develops data solutions to empower users throughout the data production and consumption lifecycle. Her current focus is on improving the architecture and usability of monetisation-related data to better support business needs.

Ms Lian credits her rapid growth to the organisation’s openness to ideas and its boundary-pushing approach. “It’s not just about following instructions – TikTok encourages us to experiment, propose bold ideas and see them through,” she said.

This collaborative and dynamic environment, distinct from rigid hierarchies, has shaped her not only as a software engineer but also as a problem-solver and innovator.

Her advice for fresh graduates considering a career at TikTok is simple: “Things move and iterate very fast here, so be prepared.” Yet, the pace is what excites her most. “There are endless opportunities with plenty of projects to work on,” she said. “You’ll never get bored!”

“EVEN AS AN INTERN, I WAS TRUSTED TO LEAD PROJECTS AND TAKE OWNERSHIP. HAVING MY TEAM’S SUPPORT GAVE ME THE CONFIDENCE TO STEP UP AND SEE MY WORK MAKE AN IMPACT.”

– MS AMANDA LIAN, SOFTWARE ENGINEER IN TIKTOK’S MONETISATION DATA TEAM

*Source: GradSingapore’s 100 Leading Graduate Employers survey of 11,000 students and graduates.

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