Senior Research Data Scientist

About the role

As a Senior Research Data Scientist on Roku's Data Science team, you will lead the development of a best-in-class causal inference platform that measures and optimizes the true incremental impact of customer actions, product features, and business interventions on long-term outcomes. Partnering with the Customer Growth organization, you will build the methods and systems that enable Roku to make high-confidence decisions from observational data when randomized experiments are not feasible.

You will own the full lifecycle of causal measurement—from gathering business requirements and defining estimation approaches, to partnering with Engineering to productionize scalable causal pipelines and communicating findings to senior leadership. Your work will directly inform growth, retention, and monetization strategy across the platform, making this role ideal for an applied economist or econometrician who excels at the intersection of rigorous research and production engineering.

What you'll be doing

• Design, build, and productionize a causal inference platform that standardizes how Roku measures the incremental impact of customer actions and business decisions
• Research and implement causal estimation methods, including heterogeneous treatment effects, tailored to Roku's data and business questions
• Build long-term outcome frameworks that enable impact projection from limited observation windows
• Develop diagnostic and validation standards at scale to ensure credibility of causal estimates
• Leverage AI to create counterfactual scenarios and build tools that help users run, understand, and act on causal estimates correctly
• Work cross-functionally with Data Engineering, Product Management, and Core Analytics to translate business questions into well-defined causal problems and deploy production-ready solutions
• Contribute to the technical vision of the Data Science team and the broader research agenda across causal inference, predictive modeling, and experimentation

Qualifications

• PhD in Economics, Econometrics, Statistics, or a closely related quantitative field with a strong emphasis on causal inference
• 10+ years of experience applying causal inference and machine learning methods to real-world problems, with a demonstrated track record of measurable impact
• Deep expertise in observational causal methods such as propensity score matching, Double Machine Learning, doubly robust estimation, instrumental variables, and difference-in-differences
• Experience building reusable causal inference tools or platforms beyond one-off analyses
• Proficiency with Spark, Ray, SQL, Python, and ML frameworks such as scikit-learn, XGBoost, and LightGBM
• Experience with terabyte- or petabyte-scale datasets in distributed computing environments
• Strong communication skills with the ability to translate econometric findings into clear business recommendations

Technology industry experience

• Connected TV, streaming, or advertising experience is a plus

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.

Benefits

• Comprehensive benefits including global access to mental health and financial wellness support and resources
• Local benefits such as healthcare (medical, dental, and vision), life, accident, disability, commuter, and retirement options (401(k)/pension)
• Support for time off and personal needs

Accommodations

Roku welcomes applicants of all backgrounds and provides reasonable accommodations and adjustments in accordance with applicable law.

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.