Software Engineering Intern, Summer 2026

About the Role & Program:

Technology is at the heart of Disney’s past, present, and future. Disney Entertainment and ESPN Product & Technology is a global organization of engineers, product developers, designers, technologists, data scientists, and more – all working to build and advance the technological backbone for Disney’s media business globally.

The team marries technology with creativity to build world-class products, enhance storytelling, and drive velocity, innovation, and scalability for our businesses. We are Storytellers and Innovators. Creators and Builders. Entertainers and Engineers. We work with every part of The Walt Disney Company’s media portfolio to advance the technological foundation and consumer media touch points serving millions of people around the world.

Here are a few reasons why we think you’d love working here: 

1. Building the future of Disney’s media: Our Technologists are designing and building the products and platforms that will power our media, advertising, and distribution businesses for years to come. 

2. Reach, Scale & Impact: More than ever, Disney’s technology and products serve as a signature doorway for fans' connections with the company’s brands and stories. Disney+. Hulu. ESPN. ABC. ABC News…and many more. These products and brands – and the unmatched stories, storytellers, and events they carry – matter to millions of people globally.  

3. Innovation: We develop and implement groundbreaking products and techniques that shape industry norms, and solve complex and distinctive technical problems. 

Product Engineering is a unified team responsible for the engineering of Disney Entertainment & ESPN digital and streaming products and platforms. This includes product engineering, media engineering, quality assurance, engineering behind personalization, commerce, lifecycle, and identity.

The Personalization & Recommendations team builds and maintains critical services that provide individualized experiences to viewers of our streaming products. We use Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence to power discovery across web, mobile, and living room devices. We are looking for a Software Engineering Intern who wants to gain real world experience with globally distributed services. 

This is a unique opportunity to learn about implementing and maintaining distributed systems on a global scale. You will work at the intersection of machine learning and software engineering, improving services that personalize experiences for millions of daily viewers. If you are excited by the prospect of learning about and working on hot path distributed services and have a keen interest in the rapidly evolving world of AI, we encourage you to apply!

What You Will Do:

On any given day you might:

• Collaborate with the team and key stakeholders to develop and roll out personalized content to the world.

• Build and optimize hot path services that cater to millions of daily viewers.

• Write test code and perform load testing to ensure correctness and maintainability of our services.

• Learn to troubleshoot live application and service issues by leveraging our observability platforms.

• Perform code reviews for members of the team.

Required Qualifications & Skills:

• Strong grasp of computer science fundamentals (data structures, algorithms, databases, etc.).

• Proficiency developing software using an object-oriented programming language.

• Strong communication skills, both written and verbal.

Preferred Qualifications & Skills:

• Experience developing software using Java, Python, and/or Kotlin.

• An understanding of and/or passion for learning how large-scale, high-availability backend services work.

Education:

• Junior or Senior Preferred

• Currently enrolled undergraduate student in an accredited college/university, pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Management Information Systems, Information Technology or related field.

Eligibility Requirements & Program Information

Candidates for this opportunity MUST meet all of the below requirements:

• Be enrolled in an accredited college/university pursuing a degree taking at least one class in the semester/quarter (spring/fall) prior to participation in the internship program AND returning to school the semester/quarter following the internship OR currently participating in a Disney College Program or Disney Internship.

• Current Disney Interns, College, International, or Culinary Program Participants:  You may only work for ONE consecutive year (12 months) in any combination of an internship and/or program.  

• Be at least 18 years of age

• Possess unrestricted work authorization

Additional Information  

• Fully available from M-F, 40 hours each week for the entire program duration: May/June - August/September 2026 (12 weeks)

• Able to provide own housing for the duration internship program

• Able to provide/have reliable transportation to/from work

The pay rate for this role in Seattle, WA is $42.00 per hour. Select benefits may be provided as part of the compensation package, such as medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the level and position offered. To learn more about our benefits visit: https://jobs.disneycareers.com/benefits.