Senior Software Engineer - Java

5014 Disney Entertainment & Sports LLC; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 149,000 - 199,000; Full time

Job summary

Disney Entertainment & ESPN Technology in New York, NY is seeking a Senior Software Engineer to design and build Java-based backend services for Growth & Commerce platforms. You will develop API layers, review contracts, and participate in end-to-end lifecycle—from design through testing and deployment—with a focus on scale and performance.

The role emphasizes collaboration with Product, Business teams, and service partners, plus experience with modern Java frameworks, microservices, and cloud

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Software, Electrical or Electronics Engineering, or comparable field of study, and/or equivalent work experience
• Minimum of 5 years of related work experience
• Strong code design and architectural skills
• API design experience (authoring and providing feedback) with stakeholders
• Strong programming experience in Java server side development
• Experience working at scale and high RPS throughput
• Familiarity with SQL
• Outstanding communication, collaboration skills, and a strong ethic of teamwork
• Quality-first demeanor with a focus on test automation and CI/CD
• Strong analytical skills

Responsibilities

• Work alongside the Product and Business teams to understand the business implications and user flows for sign-up and user account management
• Contribute to designs and develop a future proof API layer that exposes the commerce lifecycle platform capabilities to various clients
• Review and develop robust API contracts and scalable microservices for internal clients
• Assist in creating technical proposals to illustrate the high-level design and system flow between clients and backend systems
• Understand key dependencies such as the core subscription, billing, and payment systems and how they will affect clients
• Contribute to the end-to-end software development lifecycle for our systems: conceptualize, design, build, code review, test, load test, launch, and measure performance
• Collaborate with the Product team to translate requirements into well-defined technical implementation

Skills

Java backend

API design

SQL

CI/CD

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/related field

Tools

Kubernetes

Spring WebFlux

GraphQL

gRPC

AWS

Terraform

Job description

Job Posting Title: Senior Software Engineer - Java Req ID: 10149378 Job Description: 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 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.

As a Software Engineer, you will join Disney Entertainment & ESPN Technology's Growth & Commerce Platform Growth Life Orchestration Team. Disney has been investing tremendously in modernizing its platform by developing a platform layer that exposes the commerce system’s capabilities to our front-end device clients (Web, mobile, living room devices) and our service partners like the customer service platform.

The team's primary objective is to abstract away the core commerce domains from client teams and centralize all of the Growth & Commerce Platform capabilities into one shared layer. Another objective of the team is to decouple these core commerce systems to allow for faster feature delivery.

Responsibilities

• Work alongside the Product and Business teams to understand the business implications and user flows for sign-up and user account management.
• Contribute to designs and develop a future proof API layer that exposes the commerce lifecycle platform capabilities to various clients.
• Review and develop robust API contracts and scalable microservices for internal clients.
• Assist in creating technical proposals to illustrate the high-level design and system flow between clients and backend systems.
• Understand key dependencies such as the core subscription, billing, and payment systems and how they will affect clients.
• Contribute to the end-to-end software development lifecycle for our systems: conceptualize, design, build, code review, test, load test, launch, and measure performance.
• Collaborate with the Product team to translate requirements into well-defined technical implementation.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Software, Electrical or Electronics Engineering, or comparable field of study, and/or equivalent work experience
• Minimum of 5 years of related work experience
• Strong code design and architectural skills
• API design experience (authoring and providing feedback) with stakeholders
• Strong programming experience in Java server side development
• Experience working at scale and high RPS throughput
• Familiarity with SQL
• Outstanding communication, collaboration skills, and a strong ethic of teamwork
• Quality-first demeanor with a focus on test automation and CI/CD
• Strong analytical skills

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working with AI tooling such as Claude Code or Cursor
• Experience with Spinnaker and Kubernetes
• Experience with Spring WebFlux or Reactive programming in Java
• Experience with GraphQL (implementation and integration)
• Experience with gRPCExperience with AWS, Terraform

About Disney Entertainment & ESPN Technology

We are responsible for developing and operating The Walt Disney Company’s direct-to-consumer video businesses globally, including Disney+, ESPN+, and Hulu. Our core mission is to deliver global audiences the freedom to access content on their terms across any connected device, time, or location. We serve consumers by bringing the world’s most beloved characters, timeless stories, legendary athletes, and epic sporting events to global audiences through outstanding direct-to-consumer video services. We strive daily to challenge convention with innovative technology that excites our customers creatively.

About The Walt Disney Company

We are a leading diversified international family entertainment and media enterprise with the following business segments: media networks, parks and resorts, studio entertainment, consumer products, and interactive media. 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 crafting outstanding stories and experiences for every member of the family. Disney’s stories, characters, and experiences reach consumers and guests from around the globe. With operations in more than 40 countries, our employees and cast members work together to build universally and locally-loved entertainment experiences. Just like the best ensemble casts of our favorite shows, we embrace diversity and are an inclusive environment. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, sexual stereotypes, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, genetic information, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories following applicable federal, state, and local law. We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants if needed during the interview process. We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer.

The hiring range for this position in New York City is $148,700 - $199,400. 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.

Job Posting Segment: Product Engineering Job Posting Primary Business: PE - Growth, Commerce & Identity Primary Job Posting Category: Software Engineer Employment Type: Full time Primary City, State, Region, Postal Code: New York, NY, USA Alternate City, State, Region, Postal Code: Date Posted: 2026-05-13

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