Lead Product Designer (Ad Platforms)

ESPN; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Disney Entertainment & Sports LLC is seeking a Lead Product Designer for the Ad Platforms team. You will shape the design strategy, mentor designers, and partner with engineering and product to ship high‑impact, high‑craft flows that power Disney’s streaming and advertising platforms.

As a leadership IC, you will define roadmaps, raise design standards, and advocate for user‑centered design while using data to inform decisions and align with business goals.

Qualifications

• Portfolio demonstrating strong product design for enterprise or business tooling.
• 7+ years of relevant industry experience.
• Experience designing for business tooling; CTV context is a bonus.
• Able to ship features and collaborate with senior leaders.
• Expert knowledge of design tools (Figma) and related software.

Responsibilities

• Lead design projects of broad or ambiguous scope.
• Set goals and direction for the team, while building influential partnerships with cross‑functional peers.
• Solve foggy design problems with product thinking and prototyping, introducing new patterns when needed.
• Communicate work clearly to executives and cross‑functional forums.
• Mentor junior designers and participate in team initiatives.

Skills

Product design

Leadership

Cross-functional

Figma

User-centered design

Executive communication

Mentoring

Data-informed design

Education

BA/BS or equivalent

Tools

Figma

Job description

Job Requirements

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.

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:

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.

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.

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

Design is centrally responsible for the design supporting all consumer-facing and business products and tooling for the Disney Entertainment & ESPN portfolio, including sports, entertainment, enterprise, UX, creative services and design research.

About The Role

Disney’s technology organization is growing our team of passionate product designers on a mission to entertain, inform and inspire people around the globe through the power of unparalleled storytelling. As the group that develops Disney Plus, Hulu, ESPN+, and dozens of other Disney apps and enterprise products, we are builders with a relentless dedication to adding a little magic to people’s lives – whether they are streaming a Pixar movie or using the tools that power our business.

We are seeking an exceptional Lead Product Designer to fill a leadership IC role in our Ad Platforms team. As a key member of a growing design team driving high-priority initiatives, this person will have a unique opportunity to shape the future of Disney’s thriving streaming business. In addition to driving your own projects, you will work closely with cross‑functional partners to define the roadmap, mentor other designers and uplevel the team’s design work. If you are passionate about shipping high‑utility flows that are also high‑craft, bringing simplicity to complex processes, leveraging AI for efficiency, and seeing your work have a direct impact on the bottom line, we’d love to hear from you.

This person will play a key part in shaping the strategy, design vision, and product capabilities in our evolving and growing advertising platform. Key initial areas of focus include innovative format design, componentized feature integration, test and learn platforms, and integration of formats into composer tools. In addition to shipping high‑caliber work, we are equally committed to a design culture that is inspiring, collaborative, and fun – and this person will have leadership opportunities to improve how we work.

Key Responsibilities

Lead Product Designers at Disney are resourceful problem solvers and IC leaders who collaborate with engineering, product management, and stakeholder leadership throughout the design process – in service of shipping impactful work. In this role, you will work independently to drive complex projects, identify new opportunities for impact, and ship work that sets the standard for the organization.

Specifically, the person in this role will be expected to:

• Take the lead and deliver projects of broad and/or ambiguous scope.
• Play a role in setting goals and direction for the team, while building influential partnerships with cross‑functional peers.
• Solve foggy design problems, leveraging expert product thinking, interaction design, craft and prototyping – while introducing new patterns and standards when needed.
• Succinctly and effectively communicate their work, and represent their product team to executive leadership or in cross‑functional forums.
• Actively mentor junior designers, strengthen culture, and participate in design‑team‑wide initiatives like recruiting, process improvement, standards development.

Qualifications

As an applicant to this role, we ask that your portfolio demonstrates:

Work Experience

• 7+ years of relevant industry experience
• Experience in designing for business or enterprise tooling; CTV context is a bonus
• Experience shipping product design features, collaborating with development teams and product teams.
• Deep understanding of user‑centered design principles and best practices
• Ability to communicate complex concepts clearly and persuasively, and to collaborate effectively with sr leaders and stakeholders
• Hunger for innovation, fluidity with ideas, eagerness to challenge the status quo
• Strong interest in and aptitude for leveraging data to inform design, and learning new technologies
• Motivated to design solutions that solve business problems and deliver impact and with the ability to lead complex projects independently
• Expert knowledge of Figma and other design tools
• BA/BS or equivalent experience required

Disclaimer

PAY TRANSPARENCY

This position is with Disney Entertainment & Sports LLC, which is part of a business we call Disney Entertainment and ESPN Product & Technology.

To learn more about Disney's guidelines on the use of AI for candidates, click here.

Disney Entertainment & Sports LLC 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 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, visit the Disney candidate disability accommodations FAQs. We will only respond to those requests that are related to the accessibility of the online application system due to a disability.

Having technical issues? View the FAQs for help.