Lead Software Engineer

Job ID 10101589 Location Seattle, Washington, United States / Bristol, Connecticut, United States / Glendale, California, United States / New York, New York, United States Business Disney Entertainment Date posted Jan. 14, 2025

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Job Summary:

On any given day at Disney Entertainment & ESPN Technology, we are 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 is 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 here:

Building the future of Disney’s Streaming, Sports, and Entertainment business: DE&E Technologists are designing and building the backend systems, API’s and mobile applications that will power Disney’s media, advertising, and distribution businesses.
Reach and 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.
About the Organization

Engineering Services designs, builds, and sustains technology that powers DE&E Technology’s worldwide content production and distribution platforms. In doing so, they contribute to a series of cross-functional services and technologies, including Quality Engineering, Data Analytics, Software Development, Broadcast Infrastructure, and Networking & Security. The Quality Engineering team validates all work before production, including web, mobile, living room applications, media, services, non-consumer-facing products and more.

We are committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace. The Walt Disney Company is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate based on race, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, protected veteran status, disability, age, or other legally protected status

Job Summary:

As Lead Software Engineer, within DE&E, you will touch the lives of Disney fans around the world, working on innovative digital products and platforms from Disney, ESPN, National Geographic, ABC, Marvel, Star Wars and more. You will be a senior leader on the Quality Engineering team, whose primary goal is continually improving the quality of the products that Disney is known for while decreasing time-to-market and enabling innovation. This role makes you a stakeholder in every digital property developed and released by the DE&E Technology group, as well as the platforms and enterprise applications that power them.

As an experienced software engineering leader who has a passion for leading engineers that drive quality and productivity into world-class applications and services, you will lead a small group of talented and driven software engineers dedicated to building test automation, tools, reports, and services that enable product delivery teams to deliver all Disney digital applications with the quality and reliability expected by our guests.

As a member of our team, you will strive to accomplish the following goals:

Contributing to the successful implementation of solutions for complex technical problems with DE&E engineering teams
Owning the development and maintenance of the architecture for frameworks, execution environments, build systems and tooling used across multiple products
Providing strategic input on future initiatives with stakeholders and other engineers
Define high level project architecture. Communicate architecture decisions to all members of the team
Contributing and defining Key Performance Indicators to be used for defining project statuses and effectiveness
Manage engineers to Check-in valuable, clean code daily that adds new features and capabilities
Becoming a core member of our Quality Engineering team, leading engineers to help others increase productivity through innovation, automated test creation, curiousity and thoughtful debate.

Responsibilities and Duties of the Role:

Developing and supporting test automation, execution environments and reporting tools
Writing code that establishes and enhances test automation and design proof of concepts.
Coordination of complex tasks with external teams & stakeholders
Leading and Mentoring junior developers and providing in-depth code reviews and technical analysis
Providing end-user and developer training on automation tool sets.
Prioritize, estimate, and define complex projects and tools
Coordinating scheduling, updates, and communications with internal and external teams
Contributing and defining Key Performance Indicators to be used for defining project statuses and effectiveness
Providing strategic input on future initiatives with stakeholders and other engineers
Investigating and resolving any test automation, tooling or execution of environmental issues affecting our services
Serving as an advanced resource for other software engineers on the team. Collaboration with immediate teams and peers to design complex solutions, peer review code, and suggest optimization
Leading a small group of 1-3 motivated software engineers.

Required Education, Experience/Skills/Training:

Bachelor’s degree or the foreign equivalent in Computer Science or a closely related field
7+ years of progressive experience in a software development (SDET) occupation, including automated testing of front end and backend services
Proficient in object-oriented design and expertise with one of the following programming languages: Python, Java, Node/JavaScript
4+ years of experience with test automation and unit testing frameworks
3+ year of experience with leading teams of 2 or more
Experience working with high-performing teams using Agile and Lean methodologies and frameworks
Experience in modern design patterns and techniques and have led the design of small to large products
Experience in deriving and gathering quality KPI’s to give insight into product’s health and progress
Excellent problem-solving and analytical skills
Organized, detail-oriented and able to deliver project tasks on time
Strong verbal and written communication skills. Highly motivated, self-starting individual

Preferred Qualifications

Experience shipping a production Python, Flask, Django, React or Node.js application
Experience in mobile application development and testing
Experience with developing applications in cloud platforms (e.g. AWS)
Experience working with Agile methodologies
Working knowledge of web accessibility fundamentals
Experience with Kafka, Amazon SQS, and Kinesis
Experience with Docker, Kubernetes, Spinnaker, and continuous integration/delivery systems
Experience writing Gherkin Syntax to facilitate the development of automated test scenarios
Experience developing advanced mocking mechanisms (e.g., rule-based proxies and dummy-services)
Experience with test suite/case/run management tools (e.g., JIRA Xray, etc.)

The hiring range for this position in Santa Monica, CA is $152,200 - $204,100 per year and in Seattle, WA and New York, NY is $159,500 - $213,900 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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