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Alpha/Beta Programme Technical Specialist at Roku · Cambridge
Job Description
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 is the role?
Roku is looking for an Alpha/Beta Programme Technical Specialist with Quality Assurance and Programme Management experience, along with direct experience working with people, to run a large-scale pre-release validation programme covering dozens of products and hundreds of testers. This is a highly people-facing role where you will manage a large pool of Alpha and Beta testers day-to-day, setting expectations, guiding them through each testing phase, and keeping them engaged and motivated throughout. Strong written and spoken communication skills are essential, as you will be writing clear instructions for testers, translating their feedback for engineering teams, and communicating progress to leadership, often all in the same day. You will also need excellent organisational skills, strong self-motivation, curiosity, and the ability to work closely with engineering delivery teams. You should be comfortable managing high volumes of data and multiple complex initiatives running in parallel, using AI tools to build workflows that organise and analyse feedback and surface actionable insights. This role sits at the intersection of technical understanding and people skills, requiring someone who can conduct internal acceptance testing, reproduce and triage bugs, and build strong relationships across the organisation to keep the team moving forward.
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?
- Lead concurrent Alpha/Beta technical programmes for devices and software features, with a high level of detail and organisation
- Kick off each programme and set guidelines and expectations with the core team, clarifying roles, defining entry and exit criteria, and tracking progress from start to finish while managing risks
- Recruit Alpha and Beta testers across multiple demographics and experience levels to meet the test profile of each feature or product, and encourage regular feedback
- Guide testers through each pre-release testing phase, keeping them engaged and motivated
- Use AI to build the tools needed to organise and analyse feedback and data, surfacing common themes, suggestions, and issues, and share insights with stakeholders early
- Collaborate with Engineering and Product Management on the workflows to be tested, prepare detailed test instructions, and provide first-level triage, including attempting to reproduce bugs reported by testers before escalating to engineering
- Conduct internal acceptance testing before releasing software to Alpha/Beta testers, acting as the final quality gate before builds or features reach the tester population
- Coordinate the procurement and distribution of devices to the tester population
- Conduct periodic tester surveys, analyse test data, and generate reports to inform product launch decisions, using automation tools where needed
- Facilitate communication across the company to ensure transparency on progress and risks, maintain the plan of record, and provide timely updates
- Work closely with external vendors and partners to drive related activities
- Lead customer validation by engaging with external testers to build confidence ahead of launch
- Build strong relationships across the organisation, connecting the right people to keep the team moving forward
- Close the loop for each project by producing metrics, building the tools to measure and report on them, and feeding insights back into product development and design
What experience would help someone be successful in this role at Roku?
- Bachelor's or Master's degree in a relevant field, or equivalent experience
- 5+ years of Programme Management experience, along with 2+ years of Quality Assurance, technical specialist, or engineering experience, enough to be comfortable reproducing and triaging bugs reported by testers
- Direct experience running an Alpha/Beta or other pre-release testing programme working with external testers; a background in technical support that interfaces directly with customers and requires debugging skills or technical domain knowledge; or an engineering background paired with direct experience working with users or testers
- Familiarity with software testing methodologies, including test case creation and execution
- Familiarity with the software development lifecycle from a programme management perspective, including understanding of build, test, and release stages
- Experience delivering new products and features in the consumer electronics or streaming media industries
- Demonstrated experience building AI tools others use, such as templates, automations, or workflows adopted by the team, not just one-off personal use
- Designs for quality by default, structuring work so AI errors are caught by design rather than just reviewed afterward, and understanding where AI tends to go wrong on programme data
- AI-first approach with deliberate tool selection, using AI as the default across planning, status, and risk tracking, and picking the right tool for each task rather than forcing one to do everything
- Comfortable exploring and analysing data to identify trends, using BI tools and AI to help build queries, reports, and dashboards
- Ability to give constructive, data-backed feedback in writing and in person, to both technical and non-technical audiences
- Extensive experience with Atlassian tools (Jira, Confluence) and other project management software; working experience with data-centric tools and Centercode is a plus
- Strong analytical, problem-solving, negotiation, and organisational skills
- Excellent attention to detail and the ability to work independently
- Familiarity with streaming devices, smart TV platforms, and home connectivity technologies such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and casting preferred
- Ability to lift and move TVs up to 50 inches in size, and comfortable using basic tools such as a cordless screwdriver to open or set up devices as needed
#LI-AM3
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 EmployeeRelations@Roku.com.
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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