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Principal Software Engineer

Job ID 10117566 Location San Francisco, California, United States / Seattle, Washington, United States / New York, New York, United States / Santa Monica, California, United States Business Disney Entertainment Date posted Apr. 03, 2025
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Job Summary:

Disney Entertainment and ESPN Product & Technology

Technology is at the heart of Disney’s past, present, and future. Disney Entertainment and ESPN Product & Technology is a global organization of engineers, product developers, designers, technologists, data scientists, and more – all working to build and advance the technological backbone for Disney’s media business globally.

The team marries technology with creativity to build world-class products, enhance storytelling, and drive velocity, innovation, and scalability for our businesses. We are Storytellers and Innovators. Creators and Builders. Entertainers and Engineers. We work with every part of The Walt Disney Company’s media portfolio to advance the technological foundation and consumer media touch points serving millions of people around the world. 

Here are a few reasons why we think you’d love working here:

  • Building the future of Disney’s media: Our Technologists are designing and building the products and platforms that will power our media, advertising, and distribution businesses for years to come.

  • Reach, Scale & Impact: More than ever, Disney’s technology and products serve as a signature doorway for fans' connections with the company’s brands and stories. Disney+. Hulu. ESPN. ABC. ABC News…and many more. These products and brands – and the unmatched stories, storytellers, and events they carry – matter to millions of people globally. 

  • Innovation: We develop and implement groundbreaking products and techniques that shape industry norms, and solve complex and distinctive technical problems.

Product Engineering is a unified team responsible for the engineering of Disney Entertainment & ESPN digital and streaming products and platforms. This includes product engineering, media engineering, quality assurance, engineering behind personalization, commerce, lifecycle, and identity.

Our teams build systems that power all the Commerce workflows within Disney Entertainment and ESPN Product & Technology. We implement reliable, high-request services that power user experiences across web, mobile, and living room devices. We are looking for a Principal Software Engineer who wants to build and operate these critical services that support all our users!

We're a fast-paced, dynamic, collaborative, and fun team, and we're looking forward to learning more about you!

Responsibilities:

  • Work with a distributed team of engineers across multiple organizations building software collaboratively. 

  • Identity patterns that can help the teams scale, create proposals, and drive adoption of those patterns

  • Challenge current architectural choices while collaborating to solve problems in innovative ways.

  • Drive adoption of consistent technical frameworks across the organization

  • Drive best engineering practices to write well-constructed and easy-to-maintain code, defensive and robust tests.

  • Lead through metrics - understand application performance and costs and push for better results.

Minimum Qualifications:

  • 10+ years of related experience crafting large-scale, highly available Java, Scala, etc. services utilizing various database and messaging technologies. Strong programming skills in Java and other object-oriented languages and a strong grasp of computer science fundamentals (data structures, algorithms, databases, etc.)

  • Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Software, Electrical or Electronics Engineering, or a comparable field of study.

  • Experience using source control systems and CI/CD pipelines.

  • An ability to work both independently and collaboratively.

  • Champion cross-team projects.

  • Coach and mentor other specialists on the team to ensure that all software utilizes industry best practices. Collaborate efficiently with product management, technical program management, operations, and other engineering teams to capture requirements, drive implementation, and provide transparency.

  • A broad perspective on problem-solving.

  • Strong communication skills and a desire to share your knowledge with team members and others.

Preferred Qualifications

  • Experience directly managing and mentoring a team.


The hiring range for this position in Los Angeles is $184,300 to $247,100 per year, in New York or Seattle is $193,100 to $258,900 per year, and in 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.

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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.

Having technical issues? View the FAQs for help.

Hiring Process

  • Where Does Your Story Begin?

    Explore Disney Careers and the Life at Disney blog to learn about all the amazing opportunities waiting to be discovered at The Walt Disney Company.

  • Be Part of the Story

    There are many different brands and businesses to explore. Once you've found the opportunity that is right for you, take the next step by completing your application.

  • The Next Chapter

    Once you've applied, you will receive an email allowing you to access your candidate dashboard. Create your login and make sure to check your dashboard often to see your application progress.

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.

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