Senior Machine Learning Engineer (Applied ML / Generative AI)

NLP PEOPLE; Cambridge; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading streaming platform company in the U.K. is looking for a Senior Applied Machine Learning Engineer to design, build, and deploy intelligent media systems. The candidate will work at the intersection of machine learning and software engineering, handling the full model lifecycle. This role requires strong expertise in machine learning, computer vision, and cloud engineering, and offers competitive benefits and a collaborative work environment.

Benefits

Mental health and financial wellness support

Healthcare benefits (medical, dental, vision)

Retirement options (401(k)/pension)

Time off for vacation and personal reasons

Qualifications

• Strong foundation in mathematics and computer science.
• Experience with scalable ML pipelines and cloud architectures.
• Ability to evaluate models and communicate insights effectively.

Responsibilities

• Deploy scalable computer vision and generative AI systems.
• Oversee model development from ideation to deployment.
• Design uncertainty metrics and communicate results.

Skills

Machine learning

Computer vision

Cloud engineering

DevOps

Mathematics

Python

Education

Master’s degree (PhD preferred) in Computer Science, Applied Mathematics, or related field

Tools

PyTorch

TensorFlow

AWS

Docker

Kubernetes

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.

About the Team

The Advanced Development team at Roku pushes beyond today’s product lines to invent the next generation of intelligent and generative media systems.

We explore ideas that sit years ahead of production, developing foundational technologies that will redefine how content is understood, created, and personalised across millions of Roku devices.

This is a rare environment — a PhD-level, cross-disciplinary group combining machine learning research, software engineering, and DevOps.

Everyone here is an expert, but not narrowly focused. The team blends deep technical mastery with broad creative vision — people who challenge convention, embrace ambiguity, and build what’s never been built before. It’s a collaborative, low-ego, ownership-driven culture built on trust and curiosity.

We’re seeking an Applied Scientist with a strong foundation in mathematics, machine learning, and computer science, combined with experience in cloud engineering, DevOps, and computer vision — someone who thrives where research meets production.

About the Role

As a Senior Applied Machine Learning Engineer, you’ll help design, build, and deploy the systems that make media smarter. You’ll work across the full model and software lifecycle, from prototype to production, developing scalable ML pipelines and cloud architectures that power generative AI, intelligent media understanding, content analysis, and advertising intelligence.

You’ll operate at the intersection of machine learning, infrastructure, and software engineering, taking ownership from data collection through deployment — and seeing your work directly influence how audiences experience Roku’s content and advertising ecosystem.

What you’ll be doing

• Deploying scalable, fault-tolerant computer vision, media understanding, and generative AI systems to production
• Overseeing the full model development cycle: ideation, prototyping, implementation, deployment, testing, and operations
• Designing uncertainty metrics and communicating results to both technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Gathering and compiling datasets, defining annotation ontologies, auditing annotation operations, and ensuring data quality
• Staying up to date with industry and academic trends in computer vision, machine learning, and generative models for media and advertising
• Working closely with product and other engineering teams to implement new content and advertising experiences through cloud services
• Integrating services from other teams around the company, while also providing reusable ML services to others
• Evaluating and providing feedback on new platform technologies provided by internal teams
• Working with QA teams to address bugs and contribute to automation and quality assurance

We’re excited if you have

• A Master’s degree (PhD preferred) in Computer Science, Applied Mathematics, or a related field
• Strong background developing applied machine learning systems using PyTorch or TensorFlow
• Expertise in image processing, computer vision, or natural language processing
• Experience using AWS, GCP, or Azure for storing data, training, and serving models
• Proven ability to evaluate models and communicate insights effectively
• Experience building APIs with frameworks such as GraphQL or REST
• Experience with workflow orchestration tools such as Airflow, Argo, AWS Step Functions, or Metaflow
• Hands‑on experience with Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, CloudFormation, CI/CD automation, and Python build or packaging tools

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). Our employees can take time off work for vacation and other personal reasons to balance 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.

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.

To learn more about Roku, visit https://www.weareroku.com/factsheet.