Backend Developer Intern Jobs in Santa Cruz, CA (NOW HIRING)

Responsibilities
About the Team The Developer Platform team helps external developers and partners build secure, scalable, and high-quality integrations across our ecosystem. We provide APIs, SDKs, developer tools, internal platforms, and integration workflows that support authentication, data exchange, content sharing, and partner onboarding. As a Full-Stack Engineer Intern, you will work with experienced engineers on real platform products used by developers and partners. You will have opportunities to contribute across frontend experiences, backend services, internal tools, and developer-facing workflows. You may also explore how AI can improve developer experience and engineering productivity, such as smarter documentation, API debugging assistance, code examples, and workflow automation. We are looking for talented individuals to join us for an internship. Our internship program offers students hands-on experience, industry exposure, and opportunities to apply their knowledge to real-world challenges while building a strong foundation for personal and professional growth. Interns will gain practical experience, explore potential career paths, and participate in social events, learning programs, and development workshops alongside industry professionals. Candidates may apply to a maximum of two positions across Our Company and its affiliates globally. Applications will be considered in the order they are submitted. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, so we encourage you to apply early. Please clearly state your availability in your resume, including your start and end dates. Responsibilities - Contribute to frontend features, backend services, APIs, and internal tools for the Developer Platform. - Build clean and maintainable user interfaces for developer consoles, dashboards, integration tools, or internal operations systems. - Help develop backend APIs, data flows, and platform capabilities that support secure and reliable integrations. - Debug and improve issues across the stack, including frontend behavior, API contracts, service logs, and data consistency. - Support developer experience improvements, such as onboarding flows, API testing tools, documentation workflows, and integration diagnostics. - Explore practical AI-assisted features or tools that improve platform usability or engineering efficiency. - Participate in code reviews, technical discussions, team standups, and product development under the guidance of experienced engineers.
Qualifications
Minimum Qualifications: - Currently pursuing a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, or a related technical field. - Able to commit to a 12-week internship during Summer 2027. - Solid understanding of programming fundamentals and basic web development concepts, including HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and HTTP. - Familiarity with at least one programming language, such as JavaScript/TypeScript, Python, Java, Go, or similar. - Basic understanding of frontend, backend, databases, or APIs through coursework, projects, or internship experience. - Strong problem-solving skills, attention to detail, and willingness to learn from feedback. Interest in developer platforms, full-stack engineering, or AI-assisted development tools. Preferred Qualifications: - Experience with frontend frameworks such as React, Vue, Angular, or similar. - Experience building backend services, APIs, scripts, or data-driven applications. - Familiarity with browser debugging tools, API testing tools, Git, or common development workflows. - Exposure to developer platform concepts such as authentication, authorization, SDKs, webhooks, RESTful APIs, GraphQL, or third-party integrations. - Experience with side projects, personal websites, developer tools, open-source contributions, or AI-assisted applications. - Interest in AI development concepts such as LLM APIs, prompt engineering, RAG, embeddings, agents, or AI coding tools. By submitting an application for this role, you accept and agree to our global applicant privacy policy, which may be accessed here: https://careers.tiktok.com/legal/privacy
Job Information
[For Pay Transparency]Compensation Description (Hourly) - Campus Intern
The hourly rate range for this position in the selected city is $45- $45.
Benefits may vary depending on the nature of employment and the country work location. Interns have day one access to health insurance, life insurance, wellbeing benefits and more. Interns also receive 10 paid holidays per year and paid sick time (56 hours if hired in first half of year, 40 if hired in second half of year). Interns who are not working 100% remote may also be eligible for housing allowance.
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 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