Principal Software Engineer - Activation

Disneyland Hong Kong; New York, San Francisco, Santa Monica, Seattle (NY, CA, CA, WA); On-site; USD 130,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Join a forward-thinking company where you can shape the future of media technology. As a Principal Software Engineer, you will design and build scalable data systems that enhance user experiences across beloved platforms like Disney+. Your expertise in Python, Scala, and cloud technologies will help drive innovation and maintain high-quality standards in a collaborative environment. This role offers the chance to lead impactful projects and mentor junior engineers, all while contributing to a team dedicated to delivering magical experiences to millions worldwide. If you are passionate about technology and eager to make a difference, this opportunity is for you.

Benefits

Comprehensive benefits

Potential bonuses

Long-term incentives

Qualifications

• 10+ years of software development experience with medium to large teams.
• Proven experience with Snowflake & Databricks and strong SQL skills.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with big data and backend engineers to deliver high-impact projects.
• Develop components of a large-scale data platform for real-time and batch processing.

Skills

Python

Scala

Java

Spark

SQL

Terraform

Docker

Airflow

Networking Fundamentals

Cloud Environments (AWS)

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science

Master’s Degree or certifications

Tools

Databricks

Snowflake

Docker

Airflow

Job description

Principal Software Engineer - Activation

On any given day at Disney Entertainment & ESPN Product & Technology, we’re reimagining ways to create magical viewing experiences for the world’s most beloved stories while also transforming Disney’s media business for the future. Whether that’s evolving our streaming and digital products in new and immersive ways, powering worldwide advertising and distribution to maximize flexibility and efficiency, or delivering Disney’s unmatched entertainment and sports content, every day is a moment to make a difference to partners and to hundreds of millions of people around the world.

The Product & Data Engineering team is responsible for end-to-end development for Disney’s world-class consumer-facing products, including streaming platforms Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+, and digital products & experiences across ESPN, Marvel, Disney Studios, NatGeo, and ABC News. The team drives innovation at scale for millions of consumers worldwide across various devices, powering core experiences like personalization, search, messaging, and data.

A few reasons why you’d love working for Disney Entertainment & ESPN Product & Technology:

Building the future of Disney’s media business: Our technologists are designing and building infrastructure that will power Disney’s media, advertising, and distribution businesses for years to come.

Reach & Scale: The products and platforms we build serve millions of consumers daily, including Disney+, Hulu, ABC News, ESPN, and more.

Innovation: We develop groundbreaking products and techniques that shape industry standards and enhance audience experiences in sports, entertainment, and news.

Our Activation team seeks a highly motivated Principal Software Engineer with a strong technical background passionate about designing and building scalable data systems that enable cross-disciplinary capabilities. This role involves maintaining our Activation Data products, serving as a data sharing platform. It requires expertise in building fault-tolerant, scalable data products for reliable real-time and batch data delivery. Our tech stack includes AWS, Databricks, Snowflake, Airflow, Spark, with languages such as Scala, Python, SQL, and Java.

Responsibilities:

• Collaborate with big data and backend engineers to deliver high-impact projects
• Lead organization-wide large-scale programs representing the team and stakeholders
• Develop components of a large-scale data platform for real-time and batch processing, owning features of big data applications
• Build and improve a cloud-based big data service platform for batch and streaming data, enhancing performance, scalability, and availability
• Address architectural considerations such as performance, scalability, reusability, and flexibility
• Promote best engineering practices including design patterns, CI/CD, code reviews, and automated testing
• Mentor and guide team members’ professional and technical growth
• Collaborate with program managers, product managers, SDET, and researchers in an innovative environment

Basic Qualifications:

• 10+ years of software development experience with medium to large teams
• 10+ years of experience with Python, Scala, and/or Java
• 5+ years experience with Spark
• Proven experience with Snowflake & Databricks
• Strong SQL development skills for ETL processes
• 5+ years experience with Terraform, CDK, or similar tools
• Expertise in Docker and containerization technologies
• Experience with Airflow or similar schedulers
• Knowledge of networking fundamentals and cloud environments (AWS, etc.)
• Experience with major MPP databases like Delta, Redshift, or BigQuery
• Experience with testing tools such as pytest, junit, etc.
• Strong software design principles, especially functional programming
• Leadership experience mentoring junior engineers
• Ability to collaborate across teams including product and program managers
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Software Engineering, Electrical/Electronics Engineering, or equivalent work experience

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master’s Degree or certifications in related fields
• Experience with NoSQL or other alternative datastores like Timeseries or Graph databases
• Experience with real-time event-driven architectures
• Knowledge of integration patterns and microservices architecture, including Kubernetes

#DISNEYTECH

The salary range varies by location, with specific figures provided for Seattle, NY, LA, and SF. Compensation includes base salary, potential bonuses, long-term incentives, and comprehensive benefits.