Senior Software Engineer - Activation

The Walt Disney Company; Santa Monica, New York, San Francisco, Seattle (CA, NY, CA, WA); On-site; USD 138,000 - 178,000; Full time

Job summary

Join a dynamic team at a leading entertainment company where technology meets creativity. As a Senior Software Engineer, you'll develop and maintain data products that power media and advertising initiatives. Collaborate with talented engineers to build scalable, fault-tolerant systems that enhance storytelling and drive innovation. This role offers a unique opportunity to influence the future of media technology while working in an inclusive and forward-thinking environment. If you are passionate about technology and eager to make an impact, this position is perfect for you.

Benefits

Medical Benefits

401(k) Plan

Paid Time Off

Flexible Work Hours

Employee Discounts

Qualifications

• 5+ years of software development experience required.
• Strong experience in Python, Scala, or Java needed.
• Experience with Spark and complex SQL development.

Responsibilities

• Deliver high-value projects as part of the big data team.
• Build components for real-time and batch processing.
• Mentor junior engineers and advocate best practices.

Skills

Python

Scala

Java

SQL

Big Data

Software Design Principles

Mentoring

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science

Tools

AWS

Databricks

Snowflake

Airflow

Docker

Spark

Job description

Senior Software Engineer - Activation

Apply Now Apply Later Job ID 10119441 Location Santa Monica, California, United States / San Francisco, California, United States / New York, New York, United States / Seattle, Washington, United States Business Disney Entertainment Date postedApr. 29, 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

Commerce, Data & Identity provides the core product management functions for areas crucial to Disney’s media businesses. These include initiatives and products that power digital commerce, identity, and growth, as well as those that reach uniquely across The Walt Disney Company enterprise, such as messaging and privacy, among others. Additionally, it is responsible for the data engineering, science, and products for Disney Entertainment & ESPN, along with their interconnection with other parts of The Walt Disney Company.

Our Activation team is seeking a highly motivated Senior Software Engineer with a strong technical background who is passionate about building systems to process data at scale that unlocks capabilities across software and data disciplines. This role involves building and maintaining our Activation Data products which serve as the data sharing platform. The role requires expert knowledge of building scalable, fault-tolerant data products to ensure the reliable delivery of both real-time and batch data. Our tech stack includes AWS, Databricks, Snowflake, Airflow, Spark, and languages include Scala, Python, SQL, and Java.

Responsibilities

• Be a part of a team of big data and backend engineers to deliver high value projects

• Participate in organization-wide large-scale programs representing the team and our stakeholders

• Build components of large-scale data platform for real-time and batch processing, and own features of big data applications to fit evolving business needs

• Participate in building next generation service platform on cloud-based big data infrastructure for batch and streaming data applications, and continuously improve performance, scalability and availability

• Participate in code reviews and evangelize best practices.

• Advocate the best engineering practices, including the use of design patterns, CI/CD, code review and automated test

• Mentor and guide the professional and technical development of junior team members

• Collaborate with program managers, product managers, SDET, and researchers in an open and innovative environment

Basic Qualifications

• Minimum of 5 years of related software development experience

• Minimum 5 years’ experience with Python, Scala, or Java.

• Minimum 2 years’ experience with Spark

• Strong experience with complex SQL development related to extract, transform, and load processes.

• Familiar with Docker and/or containerization technologies.

• Familiar with Airflow or equivalent schedulers.

• Strong software design principles

• Experience mentoring and leading junior engineers.

• Experience collaborating with product managers and program managers across the organization.

• Experience with testing tools, such as pytest, junit, or equivalent.

• Experience with QA or QE is a plus

Required Education

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, software engineering, or comparable field of study, and/or equivalent work experience.

Additional Information

#DISNEYTECH

The hiring range for this position in Santa Monica, CA is $138,200 to $177,300 per year, in Seattle, WA is $145,400 to $195,000 per year, San Francisco is $152,100 - $203,900 nd in New York, NY is $145,400 to $195,00 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:

At Disney Corporate you can see how the businesses behind the Company’s powerful brands come together to create the most innovative, far-reaching and admired entertainment company in the world. As a member of a corporate team, you’ll work with world-class leaders driving the strategies that keep The Walt Disney Company at the leading edge of entertainment. See and be seen by other innovative thinkers as you enable the greatest storytellers in the world to create memories for millions of families around the globe.

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 Services LLC , which is part of a business we call Disney Entertainment .

Disney Streaming Services 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.

• Principal Software Engineer New York, New York, United States / Seattle, Washington, United States / Morrisville, North Carolina, United States / Santa Monica, California, United States / Glendale, California, United States
• Software Engineer - Identity New York, New York, United States / Santa Monica, California, United States / San Francisco, California, United States / Seattle, Washington, United States / Morrisville, North Carolina, United States
• Sr Software Engineer New York, New York, United States / Bristol, Connecticut, United States / Santa Monica, California, United States / San Francisco, California, 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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