Frontend Web TV Developer (Smart TVs) [Cambridge]

Philo: TV on the Internet (TVoIP)

At Philo, we’re a group of technology and product people who set out to build the future of television, marrying the best in modern technology with the most compelling medium ever invented — in short, we’re building the TV experience that we’ve always wanted for ourselves. In practice, this means leveraging cloud delivery, modern tech stacks, machine learning, and hand-crafted native app experiences on all of our platforms. We aim to deliver a rock solid experience on the streaming basics, while cooking up next generation multi-screen and multi-user playback experiences.

Smart TVs at Philo

The small but growing Smart TV team at Philo is responsible for building our product experience on various Smart TV platforms, beginning with Samsung (Tizen) and Vizio Smart TVs. The majority of minutes watched on the Philo service are on our “10-foot” platforms, and Smart TVs are an important and growing part of that ecosystem. Philo’s first 10-foot platform was our Roku app, and in the years since we’ve expanded that to include Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV and Chromecast. The Samsung effort is our newest 10’ platform and we’re excited to add more native experiences to our service.

We’re a small autonomous team building apps with high engagement, which collectively are responsible for a huge fraction of the billions of minutes watched on Philo each year. We are passionate about crafting the best possible UX to connect our users with the content they love, providing a seamless viewing experience while surprising them with new features and capabilities. We’re highly focused on optimizing the 10-foot experience and you will directly contribute to that effort. By joining the Smart TV team, you will make a large impact on Philo product design and development.

About you

Are you ready to grow your UI skills beyond the browser and into the living room? If you are a frontend developer looking for a new challenge, join Philo to help us build our Smart TV apps! No previous TV app experience is required -- our Samsung app is built directly on modern web technologies (TypeScript + React), and even our Roku app is built on an in-house React BS framework (recently open sourced!) that leverages React and Redux architecture patterns. If you’re a React hacker who cares deeply about writing quality code, using the latest tools and technologies to push the envelope of what’s possible, then you share the same background as our entire Smart TV dev team and will ramp up quickly in our codebase. We would love to talk to you!

As a Smart TV engineer, you will be responsible for:

• Building the Philo experience on Smart TV devices
• Contributing to UX design decisions using your domain expertise
• Helping the Philo set-top box team grow
• Helping expand Philo’s 10-Foot experience to other platforms

We are looking for candidates who have:

• Experience with React/Redux UI design concepts and modern frontend development practices
• 8+ years of frontend or UI experience
• 2+ years of React experience

A strong candidate might also have one or more of these:

• Experience with Samsung Tizen, Vizio, LG, or other Smart TV development
• Experience with React Native, Flutter, or using web technologies on any non-browser platform
• Experience with Redux, TypeScript, GraphQL/Apollo
• Experience with focus management frameworks
• Experience with BrightScript, SceneGraph, or other Roku APIs and ecosystem
• Development experience with video playback, cross-device interoperability (e.g. casting), or other 10-foot, connected TV platforms in general (e.g. Roku, Fire TV, Android TV or Apple TV)

More about Philo

We strive to build engaging and easy to use streaming apps across a large number of platforms (Android mobile, Android tablets, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Roku, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, and web), while delivering a large variety of content to our users. 

Today there are over 70 channels included in our basic package -- our lineup includes many popular cable networks, like A&E, Accuweather, Animal Planet, AXS TV, BBC America, BET, Cheddar News, Comedy Central, CMT, Discovery Channel, Food Network, Game Show Network, Hallmark, HGTV, IFC, INSP, Lifetime, MTV, Nickelodeon, OWN, Paramount Network, Sundance, TV One, Vice and VH1. We also offer premium add-on channels from Starz and Epix, and we’re always adding more content!

We’re a company that puts people first — both our subscribers and our team. At Philo, our philosophy is to empower our colleagues to do their best work while supporting each other in pursuing shared goals. We value pragmatism, pride in our work, and passion. We believe in having transparency and openness across all parts of the company. We are committed to diversity and inclusion as we grow the Philo team and shape the future of TV -- we believe that a diverse set of voices and perspectives on our team enables us to innovate faster and create the best experience for our subscribers.

Philo is headquartered in San Francisco, with additional offices in New York and Cambridge, MA. Our leadership team includes a cofounder of Facebook as well as alums of Meraki and HBO. Philo is backed by NEA and industry partners including Discovery, Viacom, AMC, and A&E.

Status: Full-time
Location: Cambridge, MA or remote
Compensation: Includes annual salary between $138K - $210K depending on experience and location, company stock options and health benefits

We value a diverse and inclusive workplace and we welcome people of different backgrounds, experiences, skills, and perspectives. Philo is an equal opportunity employer. We believe that everyone does their best work when they are supported by each other and the company, and we offer a generous set of benefits to make sure the Philo team is happy and healthy. Here is a sampling of the benefits we offer our team:

• Full health, dental and vision coverage for you and your family
• 401(k) plan with employer contributions (we match 100% of deferrals up to 3% of pay and 50% of the next 2% of pay)
  
• Flexible working hours
• Up to 20 weeks of fully paid parental leave
• Unlimited paid time off for vacation and sick leave
• $2,000 annual vacation bonus (we pay you to take a two week vacation)
• $5,250 annually for professional development and educational assistance
• $1,250 annual home office + TV stipend during first year of employment ($250 annually thereafter)
• $500/month ($6,000/year) bonus for employees who commit to working at least 3 days per week in our offices
• Free Gympass subscription — an all-in-one corporate benefit that gives employees the largest selection of gyms, studios, classes, training and wellness apps
• Dog-friendly office
• And much more!

For California Residents: Philo’s CCPA Notice at Collection – Employees, Applicants, Owners, Directors, Officers and Contractors