Lead Software Engineer

The Walt Disney Company; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 166,000 - 224,000; Full time

Job summary

The Walt Disney Company seeks a Lead Software Engineer to enhance streaming experiences for platforms like Hulu. You will lead the development of cross-platform video playback technologies, requiring strong skills in C/C++ and Rust, along with a commitment to quality and innovation in technology.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 7 years of related work experience.
• Fluent in C/C++ or Rust with multi-threaded application experience.
• Experience with Xbox and Windows development.

Responsibilities

• Port and optimize the Rust and C/C++ player for streaming.
• Collaborate with application and services engineering teams.
• Lead in testing strategies and develop continuous integration systems.

Skills

C

C++

Rust

Multi-threaded applications

Git

Communication

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science

Tools

Microsoft Media Foundation

CMake

Jenkins

Docker

Job description

Lead Software Engineer

Apply Now Apply Later Job ID 10122148 Location San Francisco, California, United States Business Disney Entertainment and ESPN Product & Technology Date postedJun. 18, 2025

Job Summary:

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.

Product Engineering

• 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.

Our team is seeking a Lead Software Engineer to help us deliver excellent streaming experiences for Hulu, migrating apps to our new unified player to improve native playback experience on PlayStation, Xbox, Android, and other platforms. Our team is responsible for native playback across several devices including gaming consoles, mobile devices, and set top boxes. You will have the opportunity to lead in new playback feature development for Hulu, and the integration of our cross-platform C/C++ and Rust player that runs across Disney brands and apps.

We’re looking for an experienced C/C++ and/or Rust engineer who has low level video player and cross platform development experience with an emphasis on Xbox and Windows UWP development. You should have a passion for coding and debugging hard problems, and an eagerness to help us deliver seamless video to our subscribers. As a lead engineer, you will get to own large features, lead the technical direction of our work, and mentor and provide technical expertise to other engineers. You will work closely with other technical teams in the application layer and backend video services to deliver features.

This opening is for a USA based employee, within commuting distance to our offices in San Francisco, CA.

Responsibilities and Duties of the Role:

• Port and optimize the Rust and C/C++ player that drives our streaming experience to Xbox and other platforms

• Collaborate with application development teams, services engineering teams and product management to help understand and explain device limitations and requirements

• Ensure that the latest audio and video standards like Dolby Vision, Dolby ATMOS, HDR10+, and more are delivered with full fidelity.

• Lead in strategies to ensure the quality and stability of our deployments, including testing strategies and telemetry approaches

• Lead in strategies to ensure the quality and stability of our deployments, including testing strategies and telemetry approaches

• Develop our project’s build system and continuous integration system as needed

• Provide technical expertise or mentoring to developers on our teamHold our team accountable to high development standards

Required Education, Experience/Skills/Training:

• Minimum of 7 years of related work experience

• Long record of full software development lifecycle experience

• Fluent in C and C++ or Rust

• Strong understanding of Git and branching strategies

• Willing to learn Rust

• Experience with Windows and Xbox development

• Experience developing and optimizing multi-threaded applications

• Experience using build runners / compilation tools for multi-platform projects

• Strong individual contributor with a drive to learn and patience to teach others

• Great communication and collaboration skills and a strong teamwork ethic

• Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Software, Electrical or Electronics Engineering, or comparable field of study, and/or equivalent work experience

Preferred:

• Rust

• Experience with Microsoft Media Foundation (MF)

• Experience in Streaming technologies, including:

  • HLS (preferred) or DASH

  • DRM technologies like Playready or Widevine

  • Adaptive Bitrate Streaming Algorithms

  • Caption and subtitle formats such as CEA-608 / 708

  • Codecs AVC, HEVC, AAC, EAC3

• Embedded and Cross-Platform Development

• Experience with one or more of CMake, Cargo, Gradle, MSBuild

• Experience using Jenkins, Docker and Artifactory

• Embedded operating system experience

• Experience developing for other gaming consoles (e.g. Playstation, Switch), and/or Android devices (e.g.FireTV), or similar

The hiring range for this position in San Francisco, CA is $166,800 to $223,600 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 Entertainment and ESPN Product & Technology:

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 Disney Streaming Technology LLC , which is part of a business we call Disney Entertainment and ESPN Product & Technology .

Disney Streaming 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.

• Senior Product Manager II Santa Monica, California, United States / San Francisco, California, United States / New York, New York, United States / Seattle, Washington, United States

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.

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