Senior Backend Engineer — Distributed Systems (Streaming Platform)

Roku; Cambridge; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Mental health resources

Healthcare & retirement

Paid time off

Job summary

Roku in Cambridge is seeking a Senior Software Engineer to build services at scale, focusing on reliability, scalability, and automation. You will collaborate with product teams, prototype to production, and push features across the platform.

Ideal candidate has strong Java (and Python), experience with AWS, in-memory stores like Redis, and a deep understanding of end-to-end web architecture. Master's in CS/CE preferred.

Qualifications

• Experience building large-scale cloud services.
• Strong Java programming (Python optional).
• Experience with AWS and choosing appropriate data stores.
• Familiarity with caching layers like Redis/Memcached.
• Track record of deploying reliable production systems.

Responsibilities

• Build large-scale platform products used by engineers and consumers.
• Collaborate with Product/Design to move from ideation to production.
• Lead evaluations of new technologies and best practices.
• Manage project priorities, deadlines and deliverables.
• Participate in Agile processes from design to deployment.

Skills

Java

Python

Cloud services

AWS

End-to-end architecture

Monitoring & troubleshooting

Distributed systems

Team collaboration

Education

Master's degree in CS/CE

Tools

Redis

Memcached

Redis Cluster

AWS

Job description

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?

Roku pioneered streaming to the TV and continues to innovate and lead the industry. While we are well-positioned to help shape the future of television – including TV advertising – around the world, continued success relies on our investment in digital services. Our team is a multi-disciplinary team responsible for the architecture and implementation of services that make up Roku's browse and discovery platform. This platform is the backbone behind The Roku Channel, offering a wide range of free and premium content and entertainment to millions of users in the US and around the world.

What is the role?

We are seeking a Senior Software Engineer with experience in building services at scale. With so many people relying on us for great movies, TV, and news - scaling, reliability, fallbacks, and automation of these scenarios are always at the top of our mind as we continuously add features to the platform. We work very closely with the product team and pride ourselves on quickly iterating on features from prototypes to A/B tests to eventual release to all users. It's still early days for this platform, with plenty of challenging and interesting problems to work on.

The ideal candidate will have endless curiosity and can pair a global mindset with locally relevant execution. You should be a gritty problem solver and self-starter who can drive programs with the product and commercial teams within Roku and across external strategic partner organizations. The successful candidate will display a balance of hard and soft skills, including the ability to respond quickly to changing business needs.

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 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?

• Build extremely large-scale platform products and services, used both by Roku engineers from across the company, and directly by consumers across millions of devices
• Work with Product/Design teams to iterate and build software, taking a concept from ideation to its production deployment and support
• Lead efforts to evaluate new technologies and continue to push for best practices across the entire development life cycle, including code and design reviews
• Managing project priorities, deadlines, and deliverables
• Participate in Agile development process, including scoping, technical design, coding, testing, deployment, and maintenance

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

• Strong software development experience - Java preferably - (Python nice to have)
• Expertise in building large-scale cloud services, ideally in AWS
• Experience in the appropriate selection of data stores and analysis of trade-offs
• Experience with in-memory caching layers such as Redis, Redis Cluster, Memcached, or others
• Track record of monitoring the quality of deploys and troubleshooting of production systems
• Strong knowledge of the end-to-end architecture of the web, from end-user device to a service in a data center
• Master's degree in CS, CE or equivalent experience

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?

• 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

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.