Roku is changing how the world watches TV
Roku is the #1 TV streaming platform in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, and we've set our sights on powering every television in the world. Roku pioneered streaming to the TV. Our mission is to be the TV streaming platform that connects the entire TV ecosystem. We connect consumers to the content they love, enable content publishers to build and monetize large audiences, and provide advertisers unique capabilities to engage consumers.
From your first day at Roku, you'll make a valuable - and valued - contribution. We're a fast-growing public company where no one is a bystander. We offer you the opportunity to delight millions of TV streamers around the world while gaining meaningful experience across a variety of disciplines.
A highly scalable and highly available real-time advertising platform is crucial for supporting and growing Roku's advertising business. The mission of the Ad Engineering Team is to build this platform. The Ad Serving team designs, builds, deploys, and operates Roku’s Supply-Side, Ad Mediation, and Demand-Side platforms, which sit at the core of Roku’s ad monetization and are critical to the business. We are looking for a staff-level machine learning engineer with deep research and data science expertise to lead marketplace intelligence and demand optimization initiatives.
This role will drive improvements in Roku Exchange efficiency by applying advanced data analytics and machine learning techniques to optimize pricing, allocation, and auction across the marketplace.
For New York Only - The estimated annual salary for this position is between $195,000 - $408,000 annually. Compensation packages are based on factors unique to each candidate, including but not limited to skill set, certifications, and specific geographical location. This role is eligible for health insurance, equity awards, life insurance, disability benefits, parental leave, wellness benefits, and paid time off.
What You'll Be Doing
- Translate ambiguous business problems into clear hypotheses, measurable objectives, and actionable strategies
- Develop advanced ML models and research-driven methodologies to drive product innovation and improve business outcomes
- Design and run live experiments to prototype improvements and validate their effectiveness
- Build production-grade ML systems that operate reliably in large-scale, low-latency ad serving environments
- Partner with cross-functional stakeholders to define, plan, and drive the ML strategy for Ad Serving
- Provide technical leadership and mentorship in machine learning, experimentation frameworks, and applied research best practices
- 10+ years of industry experience applying machine learning and data science to solve complex, mission-critical real-world problems
- Deep expertise in statistics, machine learning, and optimization techniques
- Perform as a staff+ technologist on complex, revenue-critical, large-scale distributed ML systems
- Hands-on experience building and deploying ML models in production, including feature engineering, model serving, monitoring, and continuous improvement
- Solid software engineering skills in languages such as Python, SQL, and Java/Scala
- Strong CS fundamentals with the ability to translate ideas into clean, efficient code with ease
- Excellent written and verbal communication and collaboration skills
- Proven track record of leading cross-functional teams and initiatives
- Publications in leading peer-reviewed conferences or academic journals are a plus
- Expertise in advertising is a plus
Our Hybrid Work Approach
Roku fosters an inclusive and collaborative environment where teams work in the office Monday through Thursday. Fridays are flexible for remote work except for employees whose roles are required to be in the office five days a week or employees who are in offices with a five day in office policy.
Benefits
Roku is committed to offering a diverse range of benefits as part of our compensation package to support our employees and their families. Our comprehensive benefits include global access to mental health and financial wellness support and resources. Local benefits include statutory and voluntary benefits which may include healthcare (medical, dental, and vision), life, accident, disability, commuter, and retirement options (401(k)/pension). Employees are supported in taking time off, in accordance with local leave policies and other personal needs to support their evolving work and life needs. It's important to note that not every benefit is available in all locations or for every role. For details specific to your location, please consult with your recruiter.
Accommodations
Roku welcomes applicants of all backgrounds and provides reasonable accommodations and adjustments in accordance with applicable law. If you require reasonable accommodation at any point in the hiring process, please direct your inquiries to [email protected].
The Roku Culture
Roku is a great place for people who want to work in a fast-paced environment where everyone is focused on the company's success rather than their own. We try to surround ourselves with people who are great at their jobs, who are easy to work with, and who keep their egos in check. We appreciate a sense of humor. We believe a fewer number of very talented folks can do more for less cost than a larger number of less talented teams. We're independent thinkers with big ideas who act boldly, move fast and accomplish extraordinary things through collaboration and trust. In short, at Roku you'll be part of a company that's changing how the world watches TV.
We have a unique culture that we are proud of. We think of ourselves primarily as problem-solvers, which itself is a two-part idea. We come up with the solution, but the solution isn't real until it is built and delivered to the customer. That penchant for action gives us a pragmatic approach to innovation, one that has served us well since 2002.
To learn more about Roku, our global footprint, and how we've grown, visit https://www.weareroku.com/factsheet.
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Skills Required
- 10+ years industry experience applying machine learning and data science to real-world problems
- Deep expertise in statistics, machine learning, and optimization techniques
- Experience as a staff+ technologist on complex, revenue-critical, large-scale distributed ML systems
- Hands-on experience building and deploying ML models in production, including feature engineering, model serving, monitoring, and continuous improvement
- Solid software engineering skills in Python, SQL, and Java or Scala
- Strong computer science fundamentals with ability to write clean, efficient code
- Ability to design and run live experiments and prototype improvements
- Excellent written and verbal communication and collaboration skills
- Proven track record of leading cross-functional teams and initiatives
- Publications in peer-reviewed conferences or academic journals
- Expertise in advertising or ad tech
Roku Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Roku and has not been reviewed or approved by Roku.
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Fair & Transparent Compensation — Pay is positioned as competitive across many roles, with frequent emphasis on strong base and total compensation relative to market expectations. Fair-pay perception appears comparatively stronger than overall satisfaction with the broader rewards package.
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Healthcare Strength — Healthcare coverage is framed as a standout, with sizable employer premium contributions that can reduce employee premiums significantly depending on plan choice. Preventive care and mental-health support are also described as part of the core offering.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Time-off offerings are presented as broad, including paid holidays, PTO, and multiple leave categories such as bereavement and family-related leave. Self-managed or “unlimited” PTO is also described for many salaried roles, supporting flexibility in taking time off.
Roku Insights
What We Do
Roku pioneered streaming to the TV. We connect users to the streaming content they love, enable content publishers to build and monetize large audiences, and provide advertisers with unique capabilities to engage consumers. Roku streaming players and Roku TV™ models are available around the world through direct retail sales and licensing arrangements with TV OEMs and service operators.
