#31 Shailin Saraiya: Leading Global Engineering Teams at Roku with AI, Culture, and Impact

Shailin Saraiya, Sr. Engineering Manager at Roku, joins us to explore what it really takes to lead globally distributed engineering teams at scale. With over a decade of experience at Roku, Sony, and more, Shailin shares how he manages time zone complexity, builds a unified culture, and ensures product quality with AI-driven systems.We dive into his leadership philosophy, hiring practices across regions, and how his globally diverse teams have shipped high-impact features like the Media QC Platform. From building scalable systems for millions of users to creating safe spaces for communication and collaboration, Shailin offers real, actionable insights.We also talk about the power of demos, OKRs, and coaching local leaders to scale sustainably—and how AI and ML are transforming content workflows at Roku.Learn more about Shailin:https://www.linkedin.com/in/shailinsaraiya/About Federico Ramallo:Software Engineering Manager | Founder of DensityLabs.io & PreVetted.ai | Connecting U.S. teams with top nearshore LATAM engineers.- 💼 https://www.linkedin.com/in/framallo/- 🌐 https://densitylabs.io- ✅ https://prevetted.aiPreVetted Podcast:- 🎙 https://prevetted.ai/podcastCHAPTERS00:00 Introduction to Global Team Management01:30 Challenges of Time Zone Overlap02:58 Building a Unified Team Culture05:02 Navigating Cultural Communication Styles09:54 Hiring for Global Teams17:12 Facilitating Seamless Collaboration Across Time Zones26:18 Evolving Leadership Styles in Global Teams27:02 The Importance of Context in Communication31:45 Building Local Leaders and Trust38:19 Aligning and Motivating a Global Team42:58 The Impact of Managing Global Teams47:55 Advice for Scaling Teams Internationally49:06 Leveraging AI in Content Management