Lead Software Engineer, Machine Learning - Ad Platforms

Job ID 10105526 Location Santa Monica, California, United States / San Francisco, California, United States / Seattle, Washington, United States Business Disney Entertainment & ESPN Technology Date posted Nov. 14, 2024

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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.

Ad Platforms organization within Disney Entertainment and ESPN Technology is fully responsible for building, enhancing and maintaining the high-performance, distributed, microservice-based Advertising Platform across all of Disney online properties, including Hulu and ESPN+. We build and maintain proprietary technology, ranging from ad serving and ad delivery, campaign management, reporting as well as all the integrations internal and external that come with evolving and maintaining a best-in-class video advertising business.

The Ad Platform Decisioning and Machine Learning Platform team is under Ad Platforms and its mission is to enhance advertising and Disney's ad platform with machine learning and AI. We build solutions to find and decide every bit of potential for better advertising results. Our tenant is a strong cross-domain team to deliver E2E solutions covering tech areas ranging from machine learning, big data processing to microservices. Our team is seeking a Lead Software Engineer who will be a core team member for our advertising machine learning platform, which focus on prediction and optimization engines for Disney’s addressable ad platforms. The right person for this role should be experienced in machine learning technologies as well as solid in backend services. If you are someone who is proactive, inquisitive, and innovative in these domains, this is a phenomenal role for you!

WHAT YOU’LL DO

Lead to build components of machine learning platform to enhance every aspect of advertising, including inventory forecasting, ad experience, ad pacing, pricing, targeting, and efficient ad delivery to fit evolving business needs

Lead to build next-gen platform to apply state-of-the-art AI based solutions for complicated ad challenges and to further enhance business performance

Develop scalable and efficient approaches for large scale data analysis and model development

Collaborate with researchers to productize cutting edge innovations at scale

Balance architectural and design considerations such as performance, scalability, reusability and flexibility issues

Advocate the best engineering practices, including the use of design patterns, CI/CD, code review and automated test

Collaborate with researchers, program managers, product managers, and SDET in an open and innovative environment

Mentor and guide the professional and technical development of your team members

WHAT TO BRING

Bachelors Degree in computer science or related field of study

7+ years of professional programming and design experience in Java, Python, Scala, etc.

Strong experience for ML technologies with technical stacks like TensorFlow, Kubeflow, PyTorch, Databricks, AWS SageMaker, etc.

Experience of building industry level high available and scalable micro-service

Experience with big data processing and bigdata technologies

Strong knowledge of system / application design and architecture

Passionate about understanding the ad business, and seeking innovation opportunities to enhance business effectiveness.

Passionate about technology, and open to interdisciplinary collaborations

A proven track record of thriving in a fast-paced, data-driven, and collaborative work environment is required.

NICE-TO-HAVES

Domain knowledge about advertising

Experience with GenAI technologies and LLMs

Experience with feature store, audience segmentation and MLOps

The hiring range for this position in Los Angeles, CA is $152,000 - $204,100 per year, in Seattle, WA is $159,500-$213,900, and in San Francisco, CA is $166,800-$223,600. 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 & ESPN Technology:

Disney Entertainment and ESPN Technology (DE&E Technology) provides the technological backbone and product development for Disney’s two media business units, while helping to keep the company at the vanguard of innovation – enabling the Company to continuously leverage technology to enhance storytelling and creativity, while delivering scalability, flexibility, and efficiency for its businesses.

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 & ESPN Technology.

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, email Candidate.Accommodations@Disney.com with your request. This email address is not for general employment inquiries or correspondence. 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 Santa Monica, CA

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