Lead Software Engineer

Job ID 10111493 Location San Francisco, California, United States / Bristol, Connecticut, United States / Santa Monica, California, United States / New York, New York, United States / Seattle, Washington, United States Business Disney Entertainment Date posted Mar. 14, 2025

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Job Summary:

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.

Consumer Software Engineering

Consumer Software Engineering is all about the end user. This team manages all front-end development for the consumer-facing apps that house Disney’s portfolio of brands. For example, if you’re watching Disney+ on your Apple TV – and the interface is engaging, responsive, and seamless – you have this team to thank. The list of platforms this team manages includes: iOS & Android; Smart TVs like Samsung, LG, Chromecast, Roku, & Amazon; game consoles like Xbox and PlayStation; and desktop & mobile web browsers.

Job Summary:

As a Lead Software Engineer for the Customer Software Engineering, Apple Client SDK Engineering Team, you will help us push the boundaries of what is possible on some of the most interesting 10-foot devices in the marketplace! You’ll be part of the team that builds our Direct-to-Consumer apps through a critical component to help enable client-server interactions in our apps, such as Disney+, Star+, ESPN+, and Hulu on Apple devices. Best of all, you’ll get to build this in Swift!

We’re looking for an engineer who has substantial experience in Swift, who knows how to consider cross platform design, is familiar with sound architectural patterns and can collaborate with others working on other platforms to provide the best app experiences for our developers and users on devices across the varying spectrum from iPhones, iPads, and Apple TV.

What will the future of streaming look like; and are you ready to be a part of it?

Responsibilities and Duties of the Role:

Help define the design and architecture of the client SDK in a small team setting while collaborating across the organization.
Write code and multi-platform specifications that establish and improve the way our applications interact with the Disney services.
Building on code quality through test-driven development and unit testing.
Collaborate closely with other engineering, product, design, and marketing teams to help define product requirements.
Be able to lead new initiatives by building consensus and unblocking development for others across multiple teams.
Infrequently but occasionally help support significant releases during non-standard business hours.

Required Education, Experience/Skills/Training:

Basic Qualifications

7+ years of experience building highly scalable and performant production level applications.
Strong experience in Swift development.
Proven architectural skills and ability to communicate about software processes, architectures and design patterns.
Experience collaborating with team members.
Experience mentoring junior level team members.
Experience with source control.
Experience with RxSwift
Experience with Swift Package Manager

Preferred Qualifications

Experience building reusable frameworks and SDK’s for other application developers.
Experience building apps on mobile and connected devices.
Video streaming technologies including HLS and DRM.
Experience with GraphQL.
JavaScript DevOps tooling and test frameworks including Gulp, Jenkins, and Mocha.
Familiarity with Git for source control.
Experience reading specifications written in OpenAPI.
Experience writing and maintaining technical documentation and specifications.
Experience in using scripting languages for task automation.

Required Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field, or equivalent training or work experience.

The hiring range for this position in San Francisco, CA is $166,800.00 to $223,600.00 per year, in New York, NY and Seattle, WA is $159,500.00 to $213,900.00 per year, and in Santa Monica, CA and Bristol, CT is $152,200.00 to $204,100.00 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.

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About Disney Entertainment:

At Disney Corporate you can see how the businesses behind the Company’s powerful brands come together to create the most innovative, far-reaching and admired entertainment company in the world. As a member of a corporate team, you’ll work with world-class leaders driving the strategies that keep The Walt Disney Company at the leading edge of entertainment. See and be seen by other innovative thinkers as you enable the greatest storytellers in the world to create memories for millions of families around the globe.

About The Walt Disney Company:

The Walt Disney Company, together with its subsidiaries and affiliates, is a leading diversified international family entertainment and media enterprise that includes three core business segments: Disney Entertainment, ESPN, and Disney Experiences. From humble beginnings as a cartoon studio in the 1920s to its preeminent name in the entertainment industry today, Disney proudly continues its legacy of creating world-class stories and experiences for every member of the family. Disney’s stories, characters and experiences reach consumers and guests from every corner of the globe. With operations in more than 40 countries, our employees and cast members work together to create entertainment experiences that are both universally and locally cherished.

This position is with Disney Streaming Technology LLC, which is part of a business we call Disney Entertainment.

Disney Streaming Technology LLC is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, military or veteran status, medical condition, genetic information or disability, or any other basis prohibited by federal, state or local law. Disney champions a business environment where ideas and decisions from all people help us grow, innovate, create the best stories and be relevant in a constantly evolving world.

DISABILITY ACCOMMODATION FOR EMPLOYMENT APPLICATIONS

The Walt Disney Company and its Affiliated Companies are Equal Employment Opportunity employers and welcome all job seekers including individuals with disabilities and veterans with disabilities. If you have a disability and believe you need a reasonable accommodation in order to search for a job opening or apply for a position, visit the Disney candidate disability accommodations FAQs. We will only respond to those requests that are related to the accessibility of the online application system due to a disability.

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Explore this Location San Francisco, CA

Famous for grand-dame Victorians, cable cars, a dynamic waterfront, and a soaring golden bridge, San Francisco truly has it all. With trend-defining cuisine ranging from Michelin-starred dining to outrageous food trucks; world-renowned symphony, ballet, theater, and opera; plus almost boundless outdoor adventures, San Francisco justifiably stands out as one of the ultimate must-visit cities on any traveler’s wish list.