Privacy Operations Senior Specialist (Functional Lead), Trust & Safety

Responsibilities
About the Team
We drive company success by mastering the intersection of law and high-speed operations. Our team is looking for experts who see compliance as a strategic enabler, not a hurdle. You will be tasked with navigating ambiguity and creating new frameworks for unprecedented safety and privacy challenges. Working here means safeguarding our global reputation and making a tangible difference through operational precision and uncompromising ethics.

Role Description
The Privacy Operations Lead Specialist is a high-impact technical leadership role for a master problem-solver. Serving as the definitive subject matter expert and final escalation point for complex compliance decisions, they bridge the gap between strategy and execution to ensure our response to regulations is accurate and timely. This role requires someone who will rapidly master internal workflows to anticipate systemic risks, ensuring the operation scales without compromising integrity.

This is a senior technical leadership position, not a formal people management role. They will drive operational output and provide real-time coaching without the burden of HR administration or direct reports. As a systems thinker and rapid learner, they synthesize product logic with legal requirements, leveraging technical credibility and influence without authority to resolve "unsolvable" challenges and lead vital cross-functional partnerships.
This role critically requires maintaining active technical proficiency by regularly processing high-complexity tickets and escalations. By staying close to the daily workflow to ensure SME status is grounded in current operational reality, as hands-on execution is our primary vehicle for identifying systemic blockers and maintaining team credibility.

Responsibilities
- Monitor real-time "Inflow vs. Outflow" targets; adjust staffing schedules and shift bandwidth dynamically to prevent backlog.
- Manage team schedules and rosters to ensure daily operational coverage, identifying and flagging bandwidth gaps before they impact compliance with legal deadlines.
- Serve as final escalation point for complex Data Subject Requests and nuanced privacy requests.
- Partner with Legal and Product to design checklists for seamless feature onboarding.
- Implement global laws through efficient, big-picture operational frameworks that scale.
- Audit SOPs to automate steps and improve the data subject experience.
- Provide real-time coaching and mentorship to elevate frontline expertise.
- Define the path forward for "gray area" challenges in fast-paced environments.
- Identify systemic, legal, or reputational risks beyond daily silos.
- Engage directly with Legal and Product teams to resolve "unsolvable" technical or tooling blockers that impede case processing.
- Ensure operational feasibility during high-level Legal and Product policy-making.
- Collaborate with the Quality Assurance team to identify training gaps, design new modules, and conduct deep-dive technical training for specialists.

Qualifications
Minimun Qualifications
- Minim 5 years experience in Privacy Operations, Legal Ops, or a highly regulated Compliance field.
- Deep understanding of global privacy frameworks (GDPR, CCPA, etc.) and experience managing Data Subject Requests at scale.
- Experience creating operational checklists, SOPs, and working with Product/Engineering teams to define requirements.
- Exceptional ability to translate complex legal or technical jargon into actionable operational steps.

Preferred Qualifications
- Experience working at a consumer based app tech company.

Trust & Safety
Content that this role interacts with includes images, video, and text related to every-day life, but it can also include (but is not limited to) bullying; hate speech; child safety; depictions of harm to self and others, and harm to animals. Hence, it is possible that this role will be exposed to harmful content on a daily basis. ​
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TikTok recognises that keeping our platform safe for the TikTok communities is no ordinary job which can be both rewarding and psychologically demanding and emotionally taxing for some. This is why we are sharing the potential hazards, risks and implications in this unique line of work from the start, so our candidates are well informed before joining. ​
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We are committed to the wellbeing of all our employees and promise to provide comprehensive and evidence-based programs, to promote and support physical and mental wellbeing throughout each employee's journey with us. We believe that wellbeing is a relationship and that everyone has a part to play, so we work in collaboration and consultation with our employees and across our functions in order to ensure a truly person-centred, innovative and integrated approach.​


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.​
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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.​
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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​


Job Information
【For Pay Transparency】Compensation Description (Annually)
The base salary range for this position in the selected city is $88000 - $198445 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.​