Senior Software Engineer - Kubernetes & Service Mesh

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.

What does the team work on?

Our Cloud Platform team builds the internal platform that Roku's engineers use to ship and operate software. We run Kubernetes and Istio service mesh at scale across multiple regions and clouds, and we obsess over making that platform easy to use so every engineering team at Roku can move faster and scale reliably.

What is the role?

As a member of the Cloud Platform team, you'll architect, build, and operate Roku's next-generation, multi-cloud platform powered by Kubernetes and service mesh at scale across multiple regions. This is a hands-on engineering role: you'll write code (Go and Python) and use Docker, Kubernetes, Istio/Envoy, Terraform, and scripting to solve hard compute, scale, and reliability problems, and to evolve the technology stack and deployments over time.

You'll research and introduce new technologies to improve scalability, reliability, and developer experience, and bake security best practices into infrastructure design and automation. You'll partner with engineering teams across Roku to migrate their workloads onto Kubernetes and Istio, and work with the Observability team to scale telemetry for a holistic view of the platform. Applying SRE principles, you'll keep the platform highly available, streamline onboarding, and build tooling that surfaces inefficiencies and optimizes cost across shared-tenancy clusters. You'll also mentor engineers and help define the best practices other teams build on.

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?

• p]:inline">Architect, design, and operate Roku's multi-cloud, multi-region Kubernetes and service mesh platform
• p]:inline">Solve compute and scale challenges by writing code (Go, Python) and using Docker, Kubernetes, Istio/Envoy, Terraform, and scripting
• p]:inline">Proactively drive the research and implementation of new technologies to enhance scalability, reliability, and developer experience
• Build security best practices into infrastructure design and automation
• p]:inline">Build tooling to visualize inefficiencies and optimize costs across shared-tenancy clusters, including network traffic insights, cross-cluster communication efficiency, and cost attribution
• Partner with product teams to migrate their workloads onto Kubernetes and Istio
• Work closely with the Observability team to scale telemetry for a holistic view of the platform
• p]:inline">Apply SRE principles to maintain high availability and streamline onboarding workflows
• Design and build agentic systems and AI-powered tooling - e.g. agents, MCP servers, and automation - that improve platform reliability, developer experience, and operational efficiency
• Mentor team members and help define best practices for infrastructure and automation

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

• p]:inline">8+ years of relevant experience or equivalent
• p]:inline">Strong hands-on experience with cloud technologies (AWS preferred; GCP or Azure is a plus), specifically in architecting and managing performant, large-scale systems handling significant traffic and data
• p]:inline">Deep knowledge of Kubernetes (EKS, GKE, AKS, or similar) and service mesh technologies
• p]:inline">Proficiency in Go or another systems programming language, and Python or another scripting language
• p]:inline">Experience designing infrastructure and building automation tools, while collaborating with internal team members and external stakeholders
• p]:inline">
• p]:inline">Experience building CI/CD pipelines and following modern deployment practices
• p]:inline">Familiarity with observability tools (Prometheus, Thanos, Loki, Grafana, or similar)
• p]:inline">Ability to work independently and communicate effectively with technical and non-technical stakeholders
• p]:inline">Passion for learning and solving complex infrastructure challenges
• Hands-on experience building agentic systems (agents, MCP servers, custom skills, or agent frameworks), and integrating AI tools to improve processes and reduce operational toil

#LI-DN1

What's Roku's approach to hybrid working?

Roku fosters an inclusive and collaborative environment where teams generally work in the office Monday through Thursday. Fridays are generally flexible for remote work, except for employees whose specific roles or assigned office location require five days' a week attendance.

What are some of the 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). Employees are supported in taking time off, in accordance with local leave policies and other personal needs to support 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.

Accommodations

Roku welcomes applicants of all backgrounds and provides reasonable accommodations and adjustments in accordance with applicable law. If you require reasonable accommodation at any point in the hiring process, please direct your inquiries to [email protected].

What should I know about Roku's 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.

We have a unique culture that we are proud of. We think of ourselves primarily as problem-solvers, which itself is a two-part idea. We come up with the solution, but the solution isn't real until it is built and delivered to the customer. That penchant for action gives us a pragmatic approach to innovation, one that has served us well since 2002.

To learn more about Roku, our global footprint, and how we've grown, visit https://www.weareroku.com/factsheet.

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