Lead Java Engineer: AI-Driven Platform & Microservices

The Walt Disney Company; Orlando (FL); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

The Walt Disney Company in Orlando is seeking a senior software leader to design and deliver scalable, AI-enabled platforms for merchandise and publishing. You will guide architecture, mentor engineers, and work across licensing, product, and infrastructure teams.

Bring 7+ years building large-scale systems with Java/Spring, Node.js, Angular, AWS, and data stores. Drive AI tooling, ensure reliability, and partner with vendors to advance Disney's digital experiences.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience building large-scale software systems and leading engineering teams.
• Strong hands-on experience with Java, Spring, microservices, and RESTful APIs.
• Hands-on Node.js for service development.
• Proficiency with Angular and frontend/backend integration.
• Experience with DynamoDB, Aurora, MySQL, Kafka, Docker and CI/CD pipelines.
• Proven use of AI coding assistants and agents with measurable impact.
• Experience integrating LLMs into apps with retrieval and tooling.
• Knowledge of AWS, security-by-design, and data architecture.
• Strong leadership, mentoring, and cross-team collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Lead and build scalable, secure apps and APIs for Merchandise and Publishing using Java, Node.js, Angular, AWS, databases, and messaging.
• Drive AI-first engineering with Copilot, Cursor, Amazon Q, Claude, and Kiro; set prompts and standards.
• Build AI-enabled capabilities and evaluate build-vs-buy for LLM platforms and orchestration frameworks.
• Improve incident triage and automation; leverage JIRA history for root-cause analysis.
• Translate requirements into architecture; guide roadmaps with stakeholders.
• Ensure reliability with observability, on-call, and risk management.
• Set expectations with vendors and monitor delivery quality.
• Lead code/design reviews and automated testing for quality.
• Collaborate with product owners and licensing stakeholders to align solutions.
• Mentor engineers in AI-assisted development and scale practices.

Skills

Java & Spring

Node.js

Angular

AI tooling

LLM integration

AWS & security by design

Microservices

RESTful APIs

Distributed systems

Mentoring

Stakeholder communication

Agile/TDD

Architectural leadership

Tools

DynamoDB

Aurora

MySQL

Kafka

Docker

CI/CD

Splunk

Grafana

AppDynamics

BlueDolphin

AWS

Jira

Job description

The Walt Disney Company in Orlando is seeking a senior software leader to design and deliver scalable, AI-enabled platforms for merchandise and publishing. You will guide architecture, mentor engineers, and work across licensing, product, and infrastructure teams.

Bring 7+ years building large-scale systems with Java/Spring, Node.js, Angular, AWS, and data stores. Drive AI tooling, ensure reliability, and partner with vendors to advance Disney's digital experiences.