Senior Software Engineer, Backend & Data Platform

Job Summary

We are seeking a highly experienced and skilled Senior Software Engineer to join our backend and data team. This role is crucial for designing, building, and optimizing distributed data pipelines, real-time data processing systems, and backend solutions that handle large-scale data effectively. The ideal candidate will have deep expertise in Java, distributed systems, and big data technologies, as well as a passion for solving complex problems and delivering robust solutions. We're in build mode because we're a company of data-focused builders. Every day, you'll look at what exists and find ways to make it better.

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 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.

What are the responsibilities of the role

Design and Development:

• Architect, develop, and maintain scalable backend systems
• Build distributed data pipelines for batch and real-time data processing
• Design efficient and scalable systems that process large volumes of data

Big Data Expertise:

• Leverage big data technologies such as Apache Spark, Kafka, Flink, and related tools to build high-performance data pipelines
• Work on data transformation, ingestion, and integration for both structured and unstructured data
• Implement solutions for data lake and data warehouse integrations

Real-Time Processing:

• Develop and maintain real-time data processing applications to support business-critical use cases
• Optimize real-time data flows for low latency and high throughput

Java Expertise:

• Write clean, efficient, and reusable code in Java, adhering to industry best practices
• Optimize Java applications for performance, scalability, and reliability
• Leverage Java frameworks such as Spring Boot for backend development

Monitoring and Optimization:

• Monitor, troubleshoot, and optimize backend and data systems to ensure high availability and reliability
• Design and implement performance tuning strategies for large-scale distributed systems

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

• 7+ years of experience in backend development and distributed data processing
• Proven expertise in designing and building scalable systems with Java
• Hands-on experience with Big Data technologies such as Spark, Kafka, and Flink
• Proficiency in Java and Java-based frameworks (Spring, Spring Boot, etc.)
• Strong understanding of distributed systems and microservices architecture
• Experience with cloud platforms like AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud
• Familiarity with containerization and orchestration tools like Docker and Kubernetes
• Knowledge of SQL and NoSQL databases (e.g., DynamoDB or Aerospike)