Senior Software Engineer, Advanced Development

About the role

Teamwork makes the stream work.

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.

What does the team work on?

The Advanced Development team pushes the boundaries beyond product lines to build genuinely new things. We think outside standard shipping cadences and timelines, working on foundational technologies that could impact every Roku device in the future, and on ideas no one has seen in their living room yet.

What is the role?

In this role, you will help drive modular enhancements to the RokuOS architecture and provide new ways for channel partners to leverage the modernized experience. You will implement new APIs for parts of Roku's system software and apply your refactoring expertise to ensure the APIs meet all requirements without privileged workarounds.

This work can include anything from optimizing common libraries to redesigning the APIs and development environment used by third-party apps running on the Roku platform. You will collaborate closely with cross-functional engineering teams to deliver high-performance, ultra-reliable software at scale.

The ideal candidate is a forward thinker with endless curiosity, a strong bias for action, and a demonstrated commitment to using AI to accelerate engineering outcomes. You will directly impact the architecture of Roku OS, which ships worldwide and runs on devices in more than 85 million streaming households.

How will I use AI at Roku?

At Roku, we don't just use AI, we work with it. AI agents and smart tools help power drafts, analysis, and repetitive workflows, while our people bring direction, judgment, and accountability. We're looking for curious, adaptable builders who can show how they've used AI or automation to move faster, raise the bar, and scale their impact.

We value your AI skills if you have built fluency across the agentic engineering toolchain - coding harnesses like Claude Code or Cursor, MCP servers, custom skills, or agent frameworks. And you can describe projects where you shipped real work with these tools. You know how to drive an agent, verify its output, and ramp on an unfamiliar codebase with an agent helping you.

What are the responsibilities of the role?

• Be an agentic engineer to evolve parts of the RokuOS system software that exposes fundamental APIs for the Roku platform, used internally and externally for higher-level SDKs
• Demonstrate excellence in C++ development and deliver high-performance, ultra-reliable software
• Use software design skills to deliver extensive changes to an existing codebase that are modular and maintainable
• Design and implement new APIs that enable channel partners to leverage modernized platform capabilities
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure API designs satisfy all requirements and adhere to platform standards
• Apply refactoring expertise to improve existing system software architecture without introducing privileged workarounds
• Leverage AI tools and agentic workflows to accelerate development, improve code quality, and scale engineering impact

What experience would help someone be successful in this role at Roku?

• 8+ years of experience in C/C++ software development, including firmware and full-stack systems, architecture, and API design
• 2+ years of Linux application development experience
• Advanced AI proficiency, including the ability to build repeatable agentic workflows, design autonomous AI agents, and independently complete complex tasks using reasoning and planning capabilities - beyond basic prompt usage
• Comfort with multi-threaded and multi-process development
• Strong analytical mindset with attention to detail and a self-driven approach to problem solving
• Bachelor's and/or master's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related technical discipline

#LI-LP1

What's Roku's approach to hybrid working?

Roku fosters an inclusive and collaborative environment where teams generally work in the office Monday through Thursday. Fridays are generally flexible for remote work, except for employees whose specific roles or assigned office location require five days' a week attendance.

What are some of the 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.

What should I know about Roku's 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.

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