Skip to main content
BE YOU. BE HERE. BE PART OF THE STORY.

Principal Software Engineer

Job ID 10094561 Location Santa Monica, California, United States / San Francisco, California, United States / Seattle, Washington, United States Business Disney Entertainment & ESPN Technology Date posted Oct. 25, 2024
Apply Now

Job Summary:

Department/Group Overview:

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.

User Foundations

The User Foundations team builds critical User Capabilities that are shared across all experiences on the streaming services: Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+ and Star+. We implement reliable, high-throughput services and pipelines for gathering information about our users,and delivering personalized experiences. We're a fast-paced, dynamic, collaborative and fun team, and are looking for someone who can slot right in and start delivering from day 1.

Job Summary:

We are looking for a Principal Software Engineer who is passionate about developing high performance platforms.

To be successful in this role, you need effective communication and collaboration skills, a passion for learning and trying new things, and a strong foundational understanding of programming and computer science.

As a member of our team, you will apply your knowledge and skills to help us deliver scalable, performant, maintainable, and testable software.

On a daily basis you should bring:

  • A willingness and desire to effectively communicate and collaborate across teams and systems.
  • A sense of ownership of the projects delivered by your team and department
  • A passion for mentoring, learning, and adapting to a very dynamic and fast paced environment
  • An understanding of how to define technical and operational metrics to measure system health and to manage risk.
  • A keen eye for potential optimizations and enhancements to our services
  • Kindness and pragmatic optimism.
  • Your unique view and experience

What to bring

  • 10+ years of related experience crafting large-scale, highly available Java 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.)
  • 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 Hulu and industry best practices for data persistence and real-time streaming applications.

Responsibilities and Duties of the Role:

  • Develop software designs and specifications
  • Develops and writes code to meet design specifications
  • Test, document and deploy code
  • Provide technical mentorship, and code quality assurance
  • Support, maintain and break-fix production products
  • Work with a team to design solutions to various interesting and challenging problems
  • Be a champion for engineering excellence
  • Become and stay an expert in current and emerging technologies and tools

Required Education, Experience/Skills/Training:

Basic Qualifications

  • 10+ years of software engineering experience
  • Understanding of message based distributed, scalable, and resilient systems
  • Desire to work in a start-up, fast-growth, or rapid-change environment
  • Experience working on diverse teams
  • Problem-solving skills to identify the root cause and implement the fix.
  • Solid communication skills – written, and oral
  • Ability to be flexible, adapting to changing priorities
  • Fluent in multiple programming languages and an expert in at least one of: JavaScript, Python, Java
  • Experience transforming requirements into software design, documentation and software.
  • Ability to coach teammates to become better engineers
  • Ability to lead technical projects

Experience with:

  • SpringBoot and related Spring projects
  • Non-relational database technologies e.g. DynamoDB
  • Redis and/or MemCache
  • Apache Kafka and/or Kinesis
  • Terraform, Docker and Kubernetes
  • Expert with at least one of: AWS, Azure, GCP
  • Experience building, testing, and tuning distributed systems

Required Education  

  • Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Software, Electrical or Electronics Engineering, or comparable field of study, and/or equivalent work experience
  • 10+ years experience


The hiring range for this position in Santa Monica, CA is $180,700 - $242,300, for San Francisco, CA is $217,900 - $292,200, and for Seattle, WA is $189300- $253,800. 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.

Apply Now

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 Hulu, LLC, which is part of a business we call Disney Entertainment & ESPN Technology.

Hulu, 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.

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 Santa Monica, CA

Basking in sunshine 280 days of the year and located just 20 minutes west of Downtown Los Angeles, Santa Monica is a walkable oasis teeming with outdoor adventures, luxury wellness spas and opportunities to kick back under blue skies and awe-inspiring sunsets.

OUR CULTURE

Related Content

  • Executive Leadership

    Our senior executives bring tremendous experience, visionary thinking and a shared commitment to excellence, creativity and innovation to the day to day operation of the company.

    Learn more 
  • Social Responsibility

    Explore our commitments and our work to create a better world through our stories, experiences, operations, and philanthropy.

    Learn more 
  • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

    At Disney, we are committed to creating a better world. A world of belonging where each person feels seen, heard, and understood. A world filled with hope and promise.

    Learn more 
  • Heroes Work Here

    Heroes Work Here reflects the long history of respect and appreciation Disney has for the U.S. Armed Services. We recognize the commitment and dedication it takes to serve your country, both as military personnel and military spouses, and value the leadership skills and sense of purpose it has instilled in you.

    Learn more 

Sign Up for Job Alerts

Get the latest job opportunities as they become available.

Watch Our Jobs

An asterisk indicates a required field.

Interested InSelect a job category from the list of options. Select a location from the list of options. Finally, click “Add” to create your job alert.

By clicking "Submit", you agree to our Terms of Use (opens in new window) and acknowledge that you have read our Privacy Policy (opens in new window).

By clicking "Submit", you agree to our Terms of Use (opens in new window) and acknowledge that you have read our Privacy Policy (opens in new window). If I have elected to receive marketing messages or newsletters, I may withdraw my consent for these marketing messages at any time.

By clicking "Submit", you agree to our Terms of Use (opens in new window) and acknowledge that you have read our Privacy Policy (opens in new window), Cookies Policy (opens in new window) and EU Privacy Rights (opens in new window).

How we use your personal information and your rights:

  1. Your personal information is controlled by The Walt Disney Company Limited of 3 Queen Caroline Street, London, W6 9PE, United Kingdom.
  2. When you visit or shop with Disney or use any Disney product, service or mobile application, other members of The Walt Disney Company Family of Companies may also use your information to provide you these services, personalise your experience and send you service related updates and communications.
  3. You have a number of rights including the right to request access to, change, or remove your personal information, or to change your marketing preferences (including withdrawing your consent at any time.) Please see our Privacy Policy (opens in new window) to learn more about managing your marketing preferences or deleting your account.
  4. Our Data Protection Officer can be contacted by emailing: dataprotection@disney.co.uk.
  5. You have a right to lodge a complaint with the UK Information Commissioner's Office: https://ico.org.uk/ (opens in new window).
  6. For more information about Disney's data collection and use practices please read Disney's Privacy Policy (opens in new window).

By clicking "Submit", you agree to our Terms of Use (opens in new window) and acknowledge that you have read our Privacy Policy (opens in new window) and Collection Statement (opens in new window).

For more information about our general data collection, use, and practices, including how to manage your preferences, please read our Privacy Policy (opens in new window). I have read and agree to the Terms of Use (opens in new window).

Privacy Policy Agreement

Privacy Policy Agreement

Privacy Policy Agreement

Privacy Policy Agreement

Privacy Policy Agreement