Roku

Senior Software Engineering Manager, Ads Auction & Marketplace Optimization

Roku$150K — $180K *
Consumer Technology
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 3+ years leading teams in auction theory and quantitative optimization
  • 5+ years experience managing engineering teams through design to implementation
  • Deep understanding of auction theory, game theory, and statistics
  • Proficient in Python and Java within production environments
  • BS or higher in CS, Economics, Mathematics, or related field

Responsibilities

  • Build and mentor engineering teams across time zones
  • Define strategy and long-term roadmap in collaboration with Product and Engineering teams
  • Lead design and implementation of real-time ads auction systems
  • Enhance core auction capabilities like bid valuation and budget enforcement
  • Design auction logic balancing viewer experience with advertiser and publisher needs
  • Drive optimization strategies for yield and gross profit
  • Conduct A/B testing and data-driven experiments based on performance metrics

Benefits

  • Global access to mental health and financial wellness resources
  • Local healthcare options including medical, dental, and vision insurance
  • Life, accident, and disability insurance
  • Commuter and retirement options (401(k)/pension)
  • Support for time off aligned with local leave policies
Full Job Description
About the team

The Advertising Performance group focuses on performance for all participants in the Advertising ecosystem - Advertisers, Publishers and Roku. The systems and solutions span across different disciplines and technologies to perform realtime multi-objective optimization with distributed systems at large scale and low latencies. We use Machine Learning, Reinforcement Learning, AI, Control and Optimization Systems and Auction Dynamics to solve a large set of complex problems. At the core of this is our Machine Learning, Experimentation and Inference Platform that powers the entire landscape which we continuously evolve over time.

About the role

In this role you will build teams focused on the Ads Auction and Marketplace to optimize yield, gross profit, perform realtime multi-objective optimization across various short and long term objectives, build control and simulation systems, design and run experiments and extend the experimentation framework.

You will partner closely with other Engineering, Inventory and Product teams to define the vision and strategy for your group and to build and deliver the roadmap.

What you'll be doing
  • Building teams and mentoring engineers across geographic locations and time zones
  • Defining the strategy and building the long-term roadmap by partnering with Product, Science and Engineering teams
  • Leading the design, implementation, and evolution of real-time ads auction and marketplace systems
  • Building and enhancing core auction capabilities including ad pod construction, bid valuation, ranking, pricing, pacing and budget enforcement
  • Designing auction logic that balances viewer experience (ad load, relevance, repetition) with advertiser performance, publisher yield, platform revenue and gross profit
  • Driving yield and gross profit optimization through auction design, floor strategies, and pricing experiments
  • Leading experimentation using A/B testing, auction simulations, offline replay frameworks, and make data-driven decisions based on performance metrics and statistical rigor
  • Stay at the forefront of advancements in related areas


We're excited if you have
  • 3+ years of experience leading teams that apply auction theory, quantitative optimization, advanced statistical methods to large, sophisticated datasets
  • 5+ years experience of leading engineering teams from design to implementation, ensuring scalability and reliability
  • Deep mathematical understanding of auction theory, game theory, economics, quantitative optimization and statistics
  • Hands-on experience with Python and Java in a production environment
  • BS or higher in CS, Economics, Mathematics, or a related quantitative field

Preferred Qualifications:
  • Experience in the Advertising domain
  • 5+ years of experience applying auction theory, game theory, economics, quantitative optimization, advanced statistical methods to large, sophisticated datasets
  • MS or PhD in CS, Economics, Math or a related quantitative field


Our Hybrid Work Approach

Roku fosters an inclusive and collaborative environment where teams work in the office Monday through Thursday. Fridays are flexible for remote work except for employees whose roles are required to be in the office five days a week or employees who are in offices with a five day in office policy.

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.

About Roku

Roku is an American consumer electronics company founded in 2002. The company is best known for its streaming devices that allow users to access internet-based video content on their televisions. Roku's devices are available in several models and are sold in the United States and other countries. The company also offers a streaming service called The Roku Channel that features a selection of movies and TV shows. Roku went public in 2017 and is traded on the NASDAQ stock exchange.
Learn more about Roku
Size
3,000 employees
Market Cap
$5.5 billion
Industry
Net Income
-$17.5 million
Founded
2002
5 Year Trend
+47.3%
Revenue
$1.7 billion
NASDAQ

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