Senior Software Engineer, Advanced Development

Roku•Austin, TX

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

Roku is the #1 TV streaming platform in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, aiming to power every television in the world. The Advanced Development team focuses on building new foundational technologies that could impact all Roku devices in the future, operating independently of standard shipping cadences. In this role, you will contribute to modular enhancements of the RokuOS architecture, enabling channel partners to leverage a modernized experience. You will implement new APIs for Roku's system software and refactor existing code to ensure API capabilities meet requirements without workarounds. This includes optimizing libraries and redesigning APIs and development environments for third-party apps. You will collaborate with cross-functional engineering teams to deliver high-performance, reliable software at scale. The ideal candidate is a forward thinker with curiosity, a bias for action, and experience using AI to accelerate engineering outcomes, directly impacting the architecture of Roku OS used in over 85 million households.

Requirements

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

Nice To Haves

Fluency across the agentic engineering toolchain — coding harnesses like Claude Code or Cursor, MCP servers, custom skills, or agent frameworks
Experience shipping real work with AI tools
Ability to drive an agent, verify its output, and ramp on an unfamiliar codebase with an agent's help

Responsibilities

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