Senior Software Engineer, Ad Auctions

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 Advertising Performance group focuses on outcomes for all participants in the advertising ecosystem: advertisers, publishers, and Roku. The systems and solutions span multiple disciplines and technologies to perform real-time multi-objective optimization with distributed systems at large scale and low latency. We use machine learning, reinforcement learning, AI, control systems, optimization systems, and auction dynamics to solve a broad set of complex problems. At the core of this is our machine learning, experimentation, and inference platform, which powers the ecosystem and is continuously evolved over time. What is the role? You’ll join the Auctions/Marketplace team building the systems that clear and price every ad impression across Roku’s advertising platform. This is a senior, hands-on engineering role with deep ownership over auction mechanics, optimization, and the real-time infrastructure that runs them at scale. You’ll work closely with the hiring manager and a small team of senior engineers on problems spanning auction theory, mechanism design, and large-scale distributed systems. Expect to move between whiteboard-level design and production code in the same week. The team is UK-based (Manchester-anchored) with close collaboration across Roku’s global ad engineering org. 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 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? Design and build components of Roku’s real-time ad auction and marketplace systems Apply auction theory and mechanism design to pricing, ranking, and clearing problems Own optimization work end-to-end — from framing the problem through production rollout Partner with the hiring manager and senior engineers on system design for scale, reliability, and latency Use probability, statistics, and experimentation to validate changes before and after launch Communicate technical trade-offs clearly to engineering and cross-functional partners What experience would help someone be successful in this role at Roku? Senior-level experience in software engineering, ideally with direct exposure to ad tech, auctions, or marketplace systems Working knowledge of auction theory, mechanism design, or pricing/ranking optimization Strong grounding in probability and statistics as applied to real-world systems Comfort designing and reasoning about distributed systems at scale Demonstrated AI/agentic-tooling fluency per the section above Clear communicator who can explain reasoning and trade-offs, not just conclusions #LI-MS3 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. 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] . 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. To learn more about Roku, our global footprint, and how we've grown, visit https://www.weareroku.com/factsheet . By providing your information, you acknowledge that you want Roku to contact you about job roles, that you have read Roku's Applicant Privacy Notice , and understand that Roku will use your information as described in that notice. If you do not wish to receive any communications from Roku regarding this role or similar roles in the future, you may unsubscribe at any time by emailing [email protected] .