Lead Software Engineer

Job Summary

At Disney Entertainment & ESPN Technology (DE&ET), we’re reimagining the viewing experiences of some of the world’s most beloved stories, transforming Disney’s media business for a new era. From evolving streaming products with immersive technology to supporting global advertising and distribution, our work is impactful, reaching millions every day and shaping the future of entertainment and sports.

Why You’ll Love Working at Disney Entertainment & ESPN Technology (DE&ET):

• Shape the Future of Media: Join DE&ET’s engineering team in building the infrastructure that powers Disney’s media, advertising, and distribution businesses for years to come.

• Massive Reach & Scale: The products this team builds engage millions worldwide, including Disney+, Hulu, ABC News, and ESPN+.

• Innovative Work: Help develop groundbreaking products and techniques that redefine how audiences experience sports, entertainment, and news

About the CGI Organization

The Commerce, Growth & Identity (CGI) team is pivotal to Disney’s transformation, developing cutting-edge solutions to drive subscriptions, engagement, and monetization across our streaming and digital platforms. Our mission spans customer acquisition, retention, partnerships, pricing, and identity management, always striving to deliver the best value for Disney customers across all digital products.

About the Commerce & Growth Experiences (CGX) Team

The CGX Team is a newly established group dedicated to continually innovating our commerce and growth experiences. Using experimentation and data-informed decision-making, we advance Disney’s product experiences to add value for both customers and the business. We collaborate closely with Product Management, Design, and Engineering teams to design experiences that drive engagement and growth.

Role Overview

As a Lead Software Engineer on the CGX Team, you will focus on designing and executing impactful growth and commerce features across Disney’s flagship brands, including Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+. You will bring a product-centric and business-focused perspective, collaborating with Product Managers, Designers, Researchers, and Engineers to shape and execute the product roadmap. In this role, you will contribute your technical expertise and directly influence customer experience and business success.

Key Responsibilities

• Feature Development: Design and implement impactful, customer-facing features with a focus on performance and reliability.

• Experimentation: Execute experiments (e.g., A/B tests) in collaboration with cross-functional partners to optimize the product experience.

• System Abstractions: Contribute to identifying and implementing system abstractions that enhance scalability and stability.

• Technical Guidance: Provide guidance to less experienced engineers and support team members on technical challenges.

• Reliability and Resilience: Develop reliable systems with a focus on stability, supporting on-call responsibilities as needed.

• Collaboration: Communicate effectively across teams to align on goals and ensure smooth delivery of solutions.

• Documentation and Quality: Architect, debug, test, and document code that meets high standards of quality and maintainability.

• Cross-Functional Communication: Actively engage with cross-functional partners to align on objectives, resolve ambiguities, and drive shared understanding in complex or high-impact initiatives

Minimum Qualifications

• 7+ years of engineering experience.

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related field.

• Proven experience delivering consumer-facing features at scale.

• Significant experience with A/B testing and experimentation-driven development.

• Demonstrated ownership of projects, with attention to quality, scalability, and reliability.

• Proficiency in Java or Scala.

• Expertise in building large-scale, highly available distributed applications on AWS (or other cloud providers).

What It Takes to Succeed in This Role

• Adaptability: You thrive in dynamic environments, bringing structure and clarity to complex or ambiguous challenges.

• Multiply Team Impact: You support fellow developers, take ownership, and implement solutions that enhance team effectiveness.

• First Principles Thinking: You approach complex problems with a structured, analytical mindset, looking for innovative solutions to existing issues.

What Sets You Apart

• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

• Previous experience in Growth and/or Commerce.

• Full Stack development experience.

• Knowledge of server-driven UI architectures.

• Passionate about product development and bring thoughtful opinions about our offerings.

The hiring range for this position in San Francisco is $163,500 - $219,200 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.