Senior Software Engineer

ESPN; Glendale (CA); On-site; USD 141,900 - 199,400; Full time

Job summary

ESPN Senior Software Engineer is sought to design and implement a next‑gen temporal and descriptive metadata tagging platform. You will develop backend solutions in a dynamic environment, partnering with product managers and team leads to deliver scalable, robust products for Disney’s media ecosystem.

You will guide peers, contribute code, review standards, and mentor junior engineers while ensuring performance and reliability across distributed teams.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 5 years of related software development experience.
• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Software, Electrical or Electronics Engineering, or comparable field of study, and/or equivalent work experience.
• Motivated self-starter with the ability to learn and adapt to new technologies.
• Can effectively articulate complex ideas and influence others through well reasoning explanations.
• Enjoy working within a team setting of engineers of varying experience.
• Strong communication skills and attention to detail.
• Comfortable working in a geographically distributed team.

Responsibilities

• Develop, test, & deploy high quality application code.
• Provide technical guidance and evangelize best practices.
• Contribute and review code, set standards, and work with engineers to ensure product and design specifications are met.
• Responsible for fundamental platform performance, scalability, and resiliency.
• Partner with stakeholders to refine requirements, and propose solutions to problems that span multiple teams.
• Mentor junior engineers on the team.

Skills

Communication skills

Attention to detail

Team collaboration

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in Computer Science / Information Systems / Software / Electrical or Electronics Engineering

Job description

Senior Software Engineer

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.

Content Platforms & Operations is responsible for the development and ongoing advancement of the technical and operational functions driving the worldwide distribution and monetization of Disney’s linear networks and theatrical content. This includes Disney’s media supply chain and storage, network and theatrical distribution operations, media localization, network transmission and origination, and more. The global team also plays a critical role as the primary collaboration point for Product & Technology with Disney’s EMEA, APAC, and LATAM regional business teams.

Job Summary

The Content Product & Operations team is looking for a Senior Software Engineer that will drive the design and implementation of our next generation temporal and descriptive metadata tagging platform.

As a Senior Software Engineer, you will be expected to develop backend solutions in a dynamic, rapidly changing environment using your technical skill sets, working with product managers and team leads to deliver high quality products that are scalable and robust. You will be expected to work closely on solutions with peers in a cross‑functional environment to ensure we are delivering high quality products that align to the larger business initiatives within the digital media supply chain that support Disney’s TV, broadcast, theatrical, and direct‑to‑consumer lines of business.

Responsibilities

• Develop, test, & deploy high quality application code.
• Provide technical guidance and evangelize best practices.
• Contribute and review code, set standards, and work with engineers to ensure product and design specifications are met.
• Responsible for fundamental platform performance, scalability, and resiliency.
• Partner with stakeholders to refine requirements, and propose solutions to problems that span multiple teams.
• Mentor junior engineers on the team.

Basic Qualifications

• Minimum of 5 years of related software development experience.
• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Software, Electrical or Electronics Engineering, or comparable field of study, and/or equivalent work experience.
• Motivated self‑starter with the ability to learn and adapt to new technologies.
• Can effectively articulate complex ideas and influence others through well reasoning explanations.
• Enjoy working within a team setting of engineers of varying experience.
• Strong communication skills and attention to detail.
• Comfortable working in a geographically distributed team.

Preferred Qualifications

• Previous work experience in temporal and descriptive video tagging/ad marking.
• Knowledge of performance testing, application profiling, Java heap and thread dump analysis.
• Knowledge of video, audio, and subtitle formats, codecs, wrappers, and usages.
• Knowledge of media standards and specifications such as SMPTE.

Compensation and Benefits

The hiring range for this position in Los Angeles, CA and Bristol, CT is $141,900 to $190,300 per year, and in New York, NY is $148,700 to $199,400 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.