Senior Research Data Scientist

About the team 

Our Data Science team is an elite research team actively shaping the future of TV, using Big Data to build and enhance the user experience on the Roku streaming platform. Our production-level machine learning models and statistical solutions optimize the user experience across all of Roku’s core business models and products, and our scientists engage closely with business, product, and engineering leaders to make material and measurable impacts on the success and growth of the platform.  

About the role 

As a Senior Research Data Scientist on Roku’s Data Science team, you will be at the forefront of machine learning—building models that serve as scalable, production-ready solutions with measurable improvements—while driving actionable insights that shape the future of the Roku platform. In this role, you will analyze user behaviors and develop best-in-class models using techniques from machine learning, operations research, and advanced statistical methods. You will also create visualizations that depict complex platform phenomena. Your work will span a wide array of initiatives aimed at expanding video ad capabilities, optimizing advertising placements, and innovating new user experiences. You will collaborate closely with domain experts to refine methodologies, debate emerging approaches, and advance the state-of-the-art in both data science and connected TV advertising.  

You will be instrumental in delivering high-impact outcomes such as: 

• Driving incremental video ad revenue through enhanced targeting, programmatic strategies, and ad auction optimization. 

• Enhancing Roku’s measurement capabilities, including audience targeting, advanced TV analytics, and integrated attribution models. 

• Improving the performance and value of native and video advertising through data-driven optimizations and ML-driven decision-making including estimating the effects of advertising. 

• Streamlining the creative launch process and automating workflows to reduce operational overhead and time-to-market. 

• Collaborating with third-party measurement and identity partners to expand platform integrations and broaden the scope of performance insights using personal and household graphs. 

• Innovating on shoppable ad experiences to increase demand, enhance user engagement, and simplify purchase flows. 

This role is ideal for a data enthusiast who thrives in a fast-paced, intellectually challenging environment—someone who relishes solving complex problems, continually refining analytical methods, and having a tangible impact on the connected TV advertising landscape 

What you will do

• Dive into data, clean it up, and interpret insights that can be used to improve business and product performance. 

• Develop best-in-class algorithms to improve product and business outcomes, defining problem statements, and delivering against technical and research objectives in a timely manner. 

• Run live experiments to prototype the improvements and prove their efficacy. 

• Work cross functionally with engineering and product management teams to align roadmaps, adopt best practices, and deploy data science products. 

• Provide expert consultative assistance to other teams in the company, including data scientists working in other areas of Roku’s stack. 

• Contribute to the technical vision of the Data Science team. 

We're excited if you have 

• PhD Degree (or equivalent experience) in Machine Learning, Operations Research, Applied Math, Economics, or similar field. 

• Experience as an ML engineer, applied scientist, or research scientist driving measurable business impact, particularly in AdTech or MarTech. 

• Proven problem solving, analytical, and communication abilities. 

• Excellent understanding of algorithms and data structures for optimization. 

• Proficiency with analysis tools such as Spark, SQL, Python, R, or similar.  

• Experience with TB or PB size datasets preferred. 

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