Principal Software Engineer

Disney Entertainment & ESPN Technology

On any given day at Disney Entertainment & ESPN Technology, we’re reimagining ways to create magical viewing experiences for the world’s most beloved stories while also transforming Disney’s media business for the future. Whether that’s evolving our streaming and digital products in new and immersive ways, powering worldwide advertising and distribution to maximize flexibility and efficiency, or delivering Disney’s unmatched entertainment and sports content, every day is a moment to make a difference to partners and to hundreds of millions of people around the world.

A few reasons why we think you’d love working for Disney Entertainment & ESPN Technology

• Building the future of Disney’s media business: DE&E Technologists are designing and building the infrastructure that will power Disney’s media, advertising, and distribution businesses for years to come.
• Reach & Scale: The products and platforms this group builds and operates delight millions of consumers every minute of every day – from Disney+ and Hulu, to ABC News and Entertainment, to ESPN and ESPN+, and much more.
• Innovation: We develop and execute groundbreaking products and techniques that shape industry norms and enhance how audiences experience sports, entertainment & news.

As part of the Emerging Technnology team, you will be crucial to the success of major projects across DE&ET, applying your skills to help us deliver! You’ll be part of the team that builds our Direct-to-Consumer client apps, such as ESPN, SC4U, as well as automating and using AI to create content.

Job Summary:

This is a hands-on engineering position working with engineers across the organization. Based on your experience, you will apply technical expertise to manage individual project priorities, deadlines and deliverables and will design, develop, test, deploy, maintain, and enhance software solutions. You will architect reusable solutions that are shared across all Disney/ESPN products. You may lead others to solve complex problems and provide oversight and direction to other software engineers.

Responsibilities and Duties of the Role:

• Work with teams from around Disney to architect, develop and integrate business critical features
• Oversee the design of complex technical projects which are typically company-wide initiatives. Oversee multiple products or services conception, design, and initial specifications and help define the technology strategy to be implemented by multiple domains.
• Contributes to product and solution designs to address critical and strategic issues and complex problems spanning multiple product groups
• Develop technology strategy in response to company-wide strategy and initiatives in support of the needs of key business segments and stakeholders.
• Sets technical direction, strategy and drives technology innovation within multiple product segments across the company.
• Produces technical designs and informs product strategies that anticipate, as best as possible, the needs of the business for years to come

Required Education, Experience/Skills/Training:

Basic Qualifications:

• BS, BA, or advanced degree in computer science, engineering or its equivalent
• 10+ years hands-on professional experience with Backend development
• Experience working a significant consumer product that is currently available
• Comprehensive knowledge of Java, Spring, and Server-Side Technologies
• C++ and render engine knowledge is a plus
• Ability to collaborate in a small, productive development team as well as the larger engineering organization
• Motivated self-starter with the ability to learn and adapt to new technologies
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills; can effectively articulate complex ideas and influence others through well-reasoned explanations
• Write efficient, reliable, and maintainable code whether implementing architectural improvements, user-facing features, or fixing defects
• Troubleshoot and resolve issues, problems, and errors encountered across our various platforms
• Analyze and optimize application code for efficiency, reliability, and performance
• Understand product architecture, assisting other Software Architects as necessary
• Manage multiple competing priorities in a fast-paced, deadline-oriented environment
• Work with minimal technical supervision and supplemental engineering support
• Embrace a highly collaborative team that rewards quality code and effective communication
• Operate as an expert resource to other Software Engineers, providing an open learning environment for cross-team knowledge sharing
• Often regarded as an expert in their field
• Solves unique and complex problems that have a broad impact on the business.
• Contributes to the development of functional strategy
• Leads project teams to achieve milestones and objectives
• Consistently involved in major work efforts of strategic importance, working directly with senior levels, often multidisciplinary in nature

The hiring range for this position in Seattle and NYC is $193,100 to $258,900 per year and Glendale is $184,300 to $247,100 per year and San Francisco is $201,900 to $270,700 per year. The base pay actually offered will take into account internal equity and also may vary depending on the candidate’s geographic region, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience among other factors. A bonus and/or long-term incentive units may be provided as part of the compensation package, in addition to the full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the level and position offered.