Senior Project Engineer (Project Hire/Internal Assignment)

Disney Cruise Line - The Walt Disney Company; Lake Buena Vista (FL); On-site; Confidential; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus potential

Long-term incentive units

Medical benefits

Job summary

Disney Cruise Line - The Walt Disney Company is seeking a Sr. Project Engineer to lead design and integration of distributed recording systems linking camera networks with local storage across parks.

You will architect high-performance, secure platforms enabling on-site review of security events and rapid footage retrieval with operations teams. You will work cross-functionally with engineering leads, vendors, and parks teams, ensure reliability at scale, and drive engineering standards while

Qualifications

• 4+ years in software engineering and project delivery with systems design.
• Experience designing distributed systems across locations or environments.
• Experience managing scope, timeline, and budget with cross-functional and vendor stakeholders.
• Strong understanding of performance and reliability at scale, including load and latency considerations.
• Experience developing software for deployment on edge hardware, including Docker and Kubernetes.
• Working knowledge of Linux, networking, and video/data recording pipelines.
• Proficiency in Python.
• Excellent written and verbal communication; able to explain complex designs.
• Ability to work independently and manage competing priorities; travel as needed.

Responsibilities

• Recording architecture: Lead end-to-end design and integration of distributed recording systems.
• Solution ownership: Own architecture and performance of systems for on-site review and fast footage recovery.
• Project delivery: Manage scope, timeline, and budget across teams and vendors.
• Edge deployment coordination: Develop, deploy and maintain software on local park hardware.
• Performance at scale: Design for speed and reliability as sites grow.
• Technical leadership: Drive architectural decisions and engineering standards.
• Cross-team collaboration: Align designs with deployment environments and operations.
• System reliability: Implement monitoring, alerting, and recovery capabilities.
• Documentation and knowledge sharing: Produce technical docs and onboarding material.
• Vendor and tool evaluation: Assess third-party tools balancing capability and cost.
• Security and data handling: Ensure secure recording systems with proper access controls.

Skills

Distributed systems design

Python

Docker

Kubernetes

Linux

Edge deployment

Project management

Communication

Backend languages (Go/C++/Java)

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field

Master's degree preferred

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

Linux

Job description

About The Role

The Sr. Project Engineer is a key technical leader on our Data Platforms team, responsible for the end-to-end design and integration of recording systems that connect camera networks with local storage across Disney Parks worldwide. You will be the solution architect for delivering reliable, high-performance systems that allow operations teams to quickly review and respond to security events directly at the attraction level. You will also play a hands-on role developing software, partnering with engineering teams and vendors to ensure computer vision systems are successfully deployed and integrated on-site at our parks.

This role sits at the intersection of systems design, project delivery, and operational scale. You will work closely with engineering leads, program managers, and operations teams to ensure the platforms you build are robust, maintainable, and ready to grow across new sites and use cases.

You will report to the Manager, Data Platforms.

This is a Project Hire/Internal Assignment with no guarantee of permanent placement with an estimated end date of 9/30/2028.

Responsibilities/You Will:

• Recording architecture: Lead end-to-end technical design and integration of a distributed recording system that connects camera networks with local recording infrastructure across multiple park locations
• Solution ownership: Own the overall architecture and performance of systems that enable on-site teams to review security alerts and recover footage quickly and reliably
• Project delivery: Manage project scope, timeline, and budget across engineering, vendor, and stakeholder teams to ensure on-time, on-budget delivery
• Edge deployment coordination: Partner with engineering teams to develop, deploy, and maintain software on local hardware at park locations to support computer vision systems running in real time
• Performance at scale: Design systems that maintain speed and reliability as they grow across new sites, ensuring that response times and data availability meet operational requirements
• Technical leadership: Drive architectural decisions, define engineering standards, and provide guidance to other engineers contributing to shared platform components
• Cross-team collaboration: Partner with infrastructure, operations, and program teams to align technical designs with real-world deployment environments and operational needs
• System reliability: Oversee the development of monitoring, alerting, and recovery capabilities into systems so that issues can be detected and resolved quickly with minimal disruption to park operations
• Documentation and knowledge sharing: Produce clear technical documentation and share architectural context with teammates to support onboarding, maintenance, and future development
• Vendor and tool evaluation: Assess third-party tools and platforms as needed, recommending solutions that balance capability, cost, and long-term maintainability
• Security and data handling: Ensure that recording systems handle sensitive operational data responsibly, following established security standards and access controls

Basic Qualifications/You Have:

• 4+ years of experience in software engineering and project delivery, with a focus on systems design, infrastructure software, or real-time applications, and a track record of leading complex technical projects
• Demonstrated experience designing and building distributed systems or recording architectures that operate across multiple locations or environments
• Experience managing engineering project scope, timeline, and budget across cross-functional and vendor stakeholders
• Strong understanding of how to architect for performance and reliability at scale, including experience with load, latency, and failure mode considerations
• Experience developing software for deployment on local (edge) hardware, including familiarity with containerized environments using Docker and Kubernetes
• Working knowledge of Linux systems, networking fundamentals, and system-level interactions relevant to video or data recording pipelines
• Technical proficiency in Python
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to explain complex technical designs to both engineering teammates and non-technical stakeholders
• Ability to operate independently, manage competing priorities and project timelines, and make sound technical decisions with limited oversight
• Flexibility to travel occasionally to domestic and international park locations to support on-site deployment, validation, and stakeholder alignment

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience working with computer vision systems, including integrating model inference into production software pipelines
• Background in physical security systems, access control platforms, or video management software
• Proficiency in one or more backend languages such as Go, C++, or Java; comfort working across multiple layers of a software stack
• Familiarity with streaming protocols or media handling (e.g., RTSP, RTMP, HLS) in the context of camera or recording systems
• Experience building systems that support human review workflows, such as alerting dashboards or event playback tools
• Track record of delivering platform-level software that supports operational teams in high-stakes, real-time environments
• Experience integrating camera systems or similar hardware-adjacent software
• PMP or similar project management certification, or equivalent experience leading cross-functional engineering projects

Education:

Required - Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Engineering Management, or a related technical field

Preferred - Master’s degree in computer science, Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Engineering Management, or a related technical field

The hiring range for this position in Lake Buena Vista, FL is $100,100 - $134,200 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.