Director, Software Engineering

The Walt Disney Company; Glendale, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 229,000 - 307,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus

Long-term incentives

Job summary

The Walt Disney Company in Glendale, CA / Orlando, FL seeks a Director of Software Engineering to lead AI enablement and strategy for Disney Experiences Technology. You will own the AI augmentation roadmap, define the operating model, and drive adoption across engineering and product teams to achieve measurable value.

Reporting to the VP of AI Augmentation Strategy, this role orchestrates cross-functional collaboration, ROI tracking, and investment prioritization for a large-scale,

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or higher in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, or related field.
• 12+ years of progressive experience in technology, including 5+ years in management or senior leadership roles.
• Demonstrated ability to design and run technology augmentation programs across complex, matrixed organizations with multiple concurrent workstreams.
• Experience defining and tracking technology ROI and value dashboards for senior leadership.
• Strong change management and organizational influence skills; track record of driving adoption and culture change without direct authority.
• Exceptional stakeholder management and communication skills, including senior executive engagement.
• Strong change management capability.

Responsibilities

• Lead multiple technical development teams in partnership across DXT to set technical direction to enable value generation.
• Establish and communicate the AI augmentation roadmap and operating model across DXT, translating strategic direction into a sequenced, resourced plan with clear owners and milestones.
• Own the AI Value Dashboard and ROI framework, attributing measurable improvements in KPIs, productivity, quality, and value stream velocity to specific augmentation initiatives; report outcomes to senior leadership and executive sponsors.
• Lead the portfolio view across all AI augmentation workstreams, managing dependencies, sequencing, risk, issue escalation, and investment prioritization across a complex, concurrent program.
• Partner with finance and portfolio management on AI investment forecasting, value capture modeling, and OKR/KPI definition.
• Influence and align senior stakeholders across Product, Engineering, Architecture, Project Management, Operations, Design, and Quality on AI augmentation priorities, accelerating decisions and resolving fragmentation that slows progress.
• Manage risk and issues across the augmentation workstreams, ensuring blockers surface and resolve without loss of momentum.
• Lead the culture shift toward AI fluency and an AI-native mindset, designing and scaling experimentation programs, developer fluency initiatives, and adoption pathways that meet cast where they are.
• Own adoption and sentiment tracking across DXT; use data to identify where adoption is accelerating, stalling, or at risk, and drive targeted interventions.
• Design and run structured change management across the AI augmentation program, partnering with change management resources and Gemstone AI to ensure practices are embraced and sustained.
• Communicate the
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Skills

Leadership

AI strategy

Stakeholder management

Change management

SDLC understanding

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/Engineering

Job description

Director, Software Engineering

Job ID 10157864 Location Glendale, California, United States / Orlando, Florida, United States Business Disney Experiences Date postedAug. 26, 2026

Job Summary:

About the Role

The Director, AI Enablement & Strategy is the augmentation portfolio owner and culture change leader for Disney Experiences Technology. Reporting to the VP of AI Augmentation Strategy, this role owns the DXT AI augmentation roadmap and operating model, from strategy and prioritization through adoption and scale, and drives the culture shift that moves engineering and product teams toward an AI-native mindset. This role is the primary face of the AI augmentation program to senior stakeholders across DXT.

Responsibilities

AI Vision & Operating Model (Value Generation)

• Lead multiple technical development teams in partnership across DXT to set technical direction to enable value generation.
• Establish and communicate the AI augmentation roadmap and operating model across DXT, translating strategic direction into a sequenced, resourced plan with clear owners and milestones.
• Own the AI Value Dashboard and ROI framework, attributing measurable improvements in KPIs, productivity, quality, and value stream velocity to specific augmentation initiatives; report outcomes to senior leadership and executive sponsors.
• Lead the portfolio view across all AI augmentation workstreams, managing dependencies, sequencing, risk, issue escalation, and investment prioritization across a complex, concurrent program.
• Partner with finance and portfolio management on AI investment forecasting, value capture modeling, and OKR/KPI definition.
• Influence and align senior stakeholders across Product, Engineering, Architecture, Project Management, Operations, Design, and Quality on AI augmentation priorities, accelerating decisions and resolving fragmentation that slows progress.
• Manage risk and issues across the augmentation workstreams, ensuring blockers surface and resolve without loss of momentum.

Culture Shift & Adoption (Culture Shift)

• Lead the culture shift toward AI fluency and an AI-native mindset, designing and scaling experimentation programs, developer fluency initiatives, and adoption pathways that meet cast where they are.
• Own adoption and sentiment tracking across DXT; use data to identify where adoption is accelerating, stalling, or at risk, and drive targeted interventions.
• Design and run structured change management across the AI augmentation program, partnering with change management resources and Gemstone AI to ensure practices are embraced and sustained.
• Communicate the "why" behind AI augmentation decisions clearly and compellingly, connecting teams to the bigger picture and promoting ownership for outcomes.

AI Process Re-Engineering (Cross-cutting)

• Reimagine end-to-end value stream workflows using AI, moving beyond tool adoption to redesign how software is planned, built, tested, and operated; lead value stream mapping, workflow design, and AI interaction SOPs.
• Partner with the AI Engineering Tools & Practice function and persona-based SMEs to ensure process redesign is grounded in available tooling and can scale to repeatable patterns.
• Leverage strong SDLC understanding and technical acumen to connect AI-enabled changes to engineering practices .

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or higher in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, or related field.
• 12+ years of progressive experience in technology, including 5+ years in management or senior leadership roles.
• Demonstrated ability to design and run technology augmentation programs across complex, matrixed organizations with multiple concurrent workstreams.
• Experience defining and tracking technology ROI and value dashboards for senior leadership.
• Strong change management and organizational influence skills; track record of driving adoption and culture change without direct authority.
• Exceptional stakeholder management and communication skills, including senior executive engagement.
• Strong change management capability.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience building developer fluency programs, AI adoption initiatives, or communities of practice at scale.
• Familiarity with value stream redesign, process re-engineering, and value stream mapping.
• Large-scale consumer-facing technology environment (theme parks, media, hospitality, or similar).
• Advanced degree or certifications in technology leadership, augmentation, or change management.

The hiring range for this position in Orlando, FL is $217,800 to $292,100 per year and in Glendale, CA is $228,700 to $306,700 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.

About Disney Experiences:

Disney Experiences brings the magic of Disney stories and franchises to life through theme parks, resorts, cruise ships, unique vacation experiences, products and more around the world. Disney shines in the travel industry with six resort destinations in the United States, Europe and Asia; a top-rated cruise line; a popular vacation ownership program; and an award-winning guided family adventure business. Plus, Disney's global consumer products operations include the world's leading licensing business; the world's largest children's publishing brands; one of the world's largest licensors of games across all platforms; and Disney store locations around the world and on the web.

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 Walt Disney Attractions Technology LLC , which is part of a business we call Disney Experiences .

Walt Disney Attractions 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, email [e-mail] 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.