Lead Software Engineer

“We Power the Magic!” That’s our motto at Disney Experiences (DX). Our team creates world-class immersive digital experiences for the Company’s premier vacation brands including Disney’s Parks & Resorts worldwide, Disney Cruise Line, Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa, and Disney Vacation Club.

We are responsible for the end-to-end digital and physical Guest experience for all technology & digital-led initiatives across the Attractions & Entertainment, Food & Beverage, Resorts & Transportation and Merchandise lines of business as well as other initiatives including MyDisneyExperience and Hey, Disney!

This role sits in the Disney Signature Experience organization within Technology & Digital for Disney Experiences. It works closely with Adventures by Disney and National Geographic Expeditions (A&E). 

The lead software engineer will report to the James Girtman.

About The Role & Team:

• The Lead Software Engineer will be responsible for leading the development and implementation of custom and commercial software projects to enable an eCommerce experience powered by real-time, live inventory on A&E websites that enables guests to book, modify, or cancel owned-and-operated travel products at any time.  
• They will be responsible for facilitating the translation of functional business requirements into technical specifications for the development teams and work along with Business Analysts, Product Owners, and Project Managers to ensure the delivery of a best-in-class solution for our business stakeholders.

What You’ll Do:

• Own the analysis, design, program, debugging, and modifications of software improvements and/or new products used in local, networked, cloud-based, or Internet-related computer programs
• Lead projects that may be used in commercial and end-user applications or focus on software and tools supporting infrastructure and technology platforms
• Facilitates decision making by engaging the appropriate resources and driving to closure.
• Collaborates with other tech leads on best practices, integration requirements to ensure
• Collaborates with Business Analyst, Product Managers, and Project Managers to develop business cases, in particular ensuring benefits align to strategic and tactical business objectives. 
• Provides advice and recommendations on emerging trends which will be useful to both the business and internal IT resources in the delivery of the projects.
• Proactively raise concerns to management when a technical blocker puts the project at risk.
• Takes a lead role in developing best in class practices and processes for the organization.
• Mentors team members on software development best practices and standards. 
• Recommends improvements to processes and technology that improve the effectiveness of the team.
• Develops and drives the strategic technology roadmap.
• Work typically involves large or highly sophisticated software programs and systems
• Possess an in-depth knowledge of current programming language and technologies, with strong skills in writing code and completing programming tasks
• May perform or lead testing and debugging of applications, identifying innovative solutions
• Conceive, design, develop, test, and implement software components, fixes, improvements, and/or new systems and applications
• Interact with users to define system requirements and/or necessary modifications
• Works with the business analyst and product team to clarify and document requirements (both functional and non-functional).
• Defines technical stories from business requirements and ensure they have all details needed to be ready for development prior to review by the development team/ sprint planning.
• Ensures all business requirements implementation passed to developers are clear and concise, documented correctly in Jira.
• Architects and Software Engineers to design and implement appropriate solutions and documentation (including UML diagrams).
• Help engage around the estimation and planning of highly sophisticated scalable projects and their budget allocations
• You will be expected to stay up to date with emerging technologies so you can make informed recommendations
• Provides leadership for all onshore and offshore technology resources.
• Partners with Tech Leads, Architects and development team to follow Disney Reference Architecture best practices and share learnings across initiatives.
• Mentors’ development team by setting an example and providing guidance on coding standards, agile practices, and team culture.
• Participates in individual mentorship sessions with senior developers.
• Owns the final product, by reviewing code to ensure the quality of the product being delivered.
• Define coding patterns and practices to be used on a project and enforce conformity to the best practices.
• Identifies technical debt and ensure that stories are added real-time to the backlog.
• Strategically identify technical dependencies and lead times on stories so that leadership and project managers can coordinate the project plan accordingly.
• Assists in creation of the Application Infrastructure Diagram with System Engineering, and the project Architect.
• Pilots the development of current and future large or complex custom projects.
• Identifies high level solution options for the business and presents these to stakeholders for review.
• Works with Architects to ensure business processes are aligned with technology and business goals.
• Coordinate with management and Solution Engineering to ensure the right balance of Time, Quality, and Cost is met on all deliverables.
• Reviews, and signs off on solution designs.

Required Qualifications:

• Minimum 7 years of related work experience
• Comfortable working in an agile environment
• A visionary who motivates teams to excel and fosters creativity, consistently driving excellence in all endeavors
• An advocate for a diverse and inclusive culture that encourages innovation and ensures every team member feels a sense of belonging
• Strong ability to clearly communicate thoughts and ideas to development and leadership teams
• Strong problem solving and analysis skills
• Organized, detail-oriented and able to deliver tasks on time
• Experience with Java, Spring Core, Spring Boot, Maven, Tomcat, REST, SOAP, GIT, GITHub, GITLab, Junit
• Experience with JavaScript, TypeScript, NodeJS, Angular, React
• Experience with Docker, Kubernetes and continuous integration/delivery systems
• Experience with monitoring tools like Splunk, AppDynamics,  Open Telemetry, etc.
• Expertise with relational databases, writing and optimizing queries
• Experience with Microservices
• Expertise creating UML diagrams to document technical implementation
• Strong understanding of Object-Oriented Programming
• Experience with Jira including reviewing and updating requirements and user stories

Preferred Qualifications: 

• Minimum 10 years of related work experience developing large scale enterprise solutions.
• Experience with Versonix Seaware suite of applications
• Experience with Oracle and Maria DB databases
• Experience with Adobe Experience Manager
• Familiar with AWS technologies like ECS, EC2, S3, Lambda, RDS, Redis, CloudWatch, Kinesis, AWS Gateway and AWS Console
• Experience with or exposure to Centralized Accounting Platform (CAP) and/or Adaptive Payment Platform (APP) integration

Required Education:

• Bachelor's or foreign equivalent Degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Software, Electrical or Electronics Engineering, or comparable field of study, and/or equivalent work experience

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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 with the following business segments: media networks, parks and resorts, studio entertainment, consumer products, and interactive media. 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 special 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 loved.

This position is with Disney Worldwide Services, Inc., which is part of a business we call The Walt Disney Company (Corporate).

Disney Worldwide Services, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or protected veteran status. Disney cultivates a business culture where ideas and decisions from all people help us grow, innovate, create the best stories, and be relevant in a constantly evolving world.

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, perform essential job functions, and receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request an accommodation.