Lead Software Engineer

ESPN; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 166,000 - 222,000; Full time

Job summary

Disney Entertainment and ESPN Product & Technology seeks a Lead Software Engineer focused on observability tooling and data integrations. You will guide design and delivery of multi-component systems for collecting and analyzing critical system data, working with engineers across teams to improve visibility, deployment, and performance.

You will leverage AI tools to enhance workflows and drive adoption across the engineering lifecycle, evaluating emerging technologies in practical ways for

Qualifications

• 7+ years of professional software development experience.
• Architecting, building, and maintaining production apps with modern languages and frameworks.
• Strong problem-solving skills with ability to lead others through complex technical problems.
• Experience with modern development practices and CI/CD.

Responsibilities

• Own and lead the development of multi-component observability tools and data pipelines.
• Set architectural direction and collaborate across teams to improve monitoring and data analysis.
• Establish AI-assisted development practices to improve engineering efficiency.
• Document requirements for engineering data models and integrations for parallel execution.
• Lead issue resolution and perform root-cause analysis affecting related systems.
• Deliver data-driven insights to improve system performance and reliability.
• Mentor senior engineers and reinforce code quality and processes.

Skills

Golang

TypeScript

Python

Java

C++

Rust

React

Angular

Education

BS/MS in Computer Science or Engineering

Tools

GitHub

Kubernetes

Terraform

CloudFormation

Job description

Job Requirements

Disney Entertainment and ESPN Product & Technology

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.

Disney Entertainment and ESPN Product & Technology

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 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 Observability & Insights group ensures that Disney Streaming’s distributed systems are reliable, performant, and transparent. We build the telemetry, dashboards, alerting, insights pipelines, and developer experience tooling that enable engineers across the organization to understand system health and take action quickly.

Job Summary

We are seeking a Lead Software Engineer who is passionate about observability tooling, data, and integrations. In this role, you will own and lead the design and delivery of multi-component systems that support how engineering teams collect, analyze, and act on critical system data. You will set architectural direction and partner with engineers across teams to deliver solutions that enhance visibility into systems, support the development lifecycle, and improve reliability and performance.

This role is expected to leverage modern AI tools to enhance development workflows and productivity, and to drive their adoption across the team. We are looking for engineers who can evaluate and apply emerging technologies in practical ways across the engineering lifecycle.

If you’re passionate about observability, analytics, and leading teams through complex technical problems, we’d love to hear from you.

Responsibilities And Duties Of The Role

• Own and lead the development of multi-component solutions that support observability tools, data pipelines, and engineering systems.
• Set architectural direction and drive cross-team collaboration to deliver large-scope solutions that improve system monitoring, data collection, and analysis.
• Establish and champion practices for AI-assisted development that improve engineering efficiency and workflow productivity across teams.
• Plan, break down, and document technical and operational requirements for engineering data models and integrations, enabling parallel execution across multiple teams.
• Lead the resolution of critical issues and root cause analysis, accounting for the implications of design and implementation decisions on interconnected systems.
• Own the delivery of data-driven insights that measurably improve system performance and reliability against customer and operational objectives.
• Influence and enforce operational standards for code quality, documentation, and team processes, and proactively mentor senior engineers and peers.

Required Education, Experience/Skills/Training

Basic Qualifications

• Minimum 7 years of professional experience in software development.
• Experience architecting, building, and maintaining production applications using modern programming languages (e.g., Golang, TypeScript, Python, Java, C++, Rust) and frameworks (e.g., React, Angular).
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with a track record of leading others through complex technical problems.
• Deep experience with modern development practices, including version control (e.g., GitHub) and CI/CD or configuration-based deployments (e.g., Kubernetes, Terraform, CloudFormation).

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience leading implementations on observability platforms (e.g., Datadog, Splunk, New Relic).
• Hands-on experience with data platforms and databases such as Databricks, Snowflake, MySQL, or PostgreSQL.
• Experience delivering projects that span multiple teams in large-scale engineering environments.
• Experience with distributed systems or streaming platforms; strong understanding of client-server architecture is a plus.
• Experience using data or observability tools to drive engineering improvements across an organization.

Education

• BS or MS in a quantitative field (Computer Science, Engineering, Math/Statistics, or similar).

Disclaimer

PAY TRANSPARENCY

The hiring range for this position in Glendale, CA is $158,100 - $211,900 per year and in Seattle/NYC is $165,600 - $222,000 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.

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

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.