Senior Software Engineer – Ad Auctions

About the role

Roku is looking for a Senior Software Engineer to lead the design and evolution of its real‑time advertising auction platform. You will work on high‑scale, low‑latency services that power ad delivery across The Roku Channel and the broader Roku ecosystem.

Key responsibilities

• Design, implement, and maintain real‑time ad auction systems, including ad pod construction, bid evaluation, ranking, pricing, pacing, budget enforcement, and frequency capping.
• Build highly reliable distributed services that handle billions of ad opportunities with strict latency and uptime requirements.
• Develop SSP‑side auction mechanisms and integrate with multiple DSPs, programmatic demand sources, and direct‑sold campaigns.
• Collaborate with product managers, data‑science, and ads research teams to translate marketplace goals into scalable technical solutions.
• Drive yield optimization through auction design, demand shaping, floor strategies, and pricing experiments.

Required profile

• Proven experience building real‑time, low‑latency distributed systems at massive scale.
• Deep understanding of ad auction dynamics, multi‑objective optimization, and revenue‑yield trade‑offs.
• Strong analytical mindset with ability to work cross‑functionally across engineering, product, and data teams.

Required skills

• Distributed systems
• Real‑time processing
• Ad auction platforms
• Machine learning concepts (ML, RL, AI) for optimization

What we offer

• Opportunity to impact millions of TV streamers worldwide.
• Work in a fast‑growing public company with a mission‑driven culture.
• Collaborative environment with cutting‑edge advertising technology.