Senior Software Engineer, Advanced Development

Roku•Austin, TX

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Advanced Development team pushes the boundaries beyond product lines to build genuinely new things. We think independently of standard shipping cadences and timelines, working on foundational technologies that could impact every Roku device in the future and on ideas that no one's seen in their living room yet. In this role, you will be part of the team responsible for driving modular enhancements of the RokuOS architecture and providing 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 API capabilities satisfy 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 have a direct impact on the architecture of Roku OS, which ships worldwide and runs on devices in more than 85 million streaming households. 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.

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

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