China's ByteDance, owner TikTok, has decided to locate the popular streaming app's European business center in London, UK, where it will recruit a large number of AI engineers and software developers, according to CNBC.
TikTok's largest office is located in Los Angeles, USA, while the London office is comparable in size to Los Angeles and is the second largest office area in TikTok.
A number of European cities have a reputation as global technology hubs, however, TikTok is currently focusing on hiring engineers in London.
"They are on a big hiring spree," said a London tech worker who was approached by a TikTok recruiter and wishes to remain anonymous due to the sensitive nature of the discussions.
Workplace social platform LinkedIn shows that the high salaries offered by TikTok have poached some employees from companies like Google and Facebook.
According to the official TikTok website, TikTok has established offices of various sizes in 41 countries. In Europe, in addition to London, TikTok also has offices in Paris, Berlin and Dublin.
TikTok did not disclose the company's exact number of employees, but LinkedIn shows that TikTok has hired 2,948 people worldwide.
TikTok's Careers page shows that there are currently 824 positions under recruitment worldwide, with 117 of those positions based in London, which is much higher than in other cities.
Recruiting positions include Lead Machine Learning Engineer, iOS Engineer, Software Engineer, Lead Solutions Engineer, and Solutions Engineer for the Trust and Security Center.
In addition, TikTok is hiring a product manager in London to cover the entire European region.
Of the other open positions, 110 are in Mountain View (where Google is headquartered), 91 are in Los Angeles, 61 are in New York and 60 are in Singapore.
