Lead Software Engineer - Full Stack

Job ID 10126107 Location Seattle, Washington, United States / San Francisco, California, United States / New York, New York, United States / Los Angeles, California, United States / Burbank, California, United States Business Disney Entertainment and ESPN Product & Technology Date posted Jul. 24, 2025

Apply Now

Job Summary:

**This is an onsite position must sit four (4) days a week in one of our technology offices listed above***

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 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.

The Personalization & Recommendations team builds systems that provide individualized experiences to viewers of our streaming products. We use Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence to power discovery across web, mobile, and living room devices. We are looking for a software engineer who wants to help us design and develop these critical systems!

We're a fast-paced, dynamic, collaborative and fun team, and looking forward to finding out more about you!

We are seeking a passionate and innovative Lead Software Engineer to join our Personalization team. In this pivotal role, you will spearhead the development of critical internal tools that empower our team to build and refine the best possible content discovery experience for our users. You will own the full-stack development of these tools, from a user-friendly interface for previewing recommendations to the essential backend components that integrate with our core services to facilitate evaluation and feedback.

This is a unique opportunity for a versatile engineer with a passion for building exceptional user experiences and a deep understanding of the full web stack. You will work at the intersection of machine learning and software engineering, creating the tooling that allows us to understand, debug, and enhance the quality of our recommendations. If you are excited by the prospect of building modern applications and have a keen interest in the rapidly evolving world of AI, we encourage you to apply.

What You'll Do:

Lead the development of our internal personalization toolkit. You will be responsible for the end-to-end design, implementation, and maintenance of our suite of internal web applications.

Build intuitive user interfaces. You will create front-end components that allow for the seamless preview and analysis of personalized recommendations, ensuring a smooth and informative user experience for our internal teams.

Develop the application backend. You will design, build, and maintain the supplemental backend components and services required for the internal tooling platform.

Collaborate with core service teams. You will partner closely with the engineering teams who own the large-scale backend and machine learning services to define requirements, integrate via APIs, and ensure seamless data flow to your tools.

Facilitate algorithm evaluation and feedback. Your work will be instrumental in enabling our team to effectively assess the performance of our recommendation models and gather valuable feedback from internal stakeholders.

Champion modern development practices. You will leverage your expertise in modern web technologies and AI-powered coding assistants to drive efficiency and innovation within the team.

What You’ll Bring:

Basic Qualifications

Minimum of 7+ years of related experience.

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Software, Electrical or Electronics Engineering, or comparable field of study, and/or equivalent work experience.

You have extensive experience in full-stack web development, with a proven track record of building and deploying complex applications.

You are proficient in modern web technologies, including a strong command of a contemporary JavaScript / TypeScript framework (e.g., React, Vue, or Svelte).

You are experienced in Python and have experience with at least one JVM language (e.g., Java, Scala, or Kotlin).

You have a keen interest in and hands-on experience with AI coding agents (e.g., GitHub Copilot) and are passionate about leveraging them to accelerate development.

You possess a strong understanding of how to consume, and in some cases, build APIs and backend services.

You are an excellent communicator and collaborator, with a history of successfully working with cross-functional teams to integrate complex systems.

Preferred Qualifications

You are a product-minded engineer who is driven to build tools that are not only functional but also a pleasure to use.

#DISNEYTECH

The hiring range for this position in Seattle, WA and New York, NY is $159,500 to $213,900 per year and in San Francisco, CA is $166,800 to $223,600 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.

Apply Now

About Disney Entertainment and ESPN Product & Technology:

At Disney Entertainment and ESPN Product & Technology, we’re blending imagination and innovation to reimagine the ways people experience and engage with the world’s most beloved stories and products. Our work is wide-ranging and deeply sophisticated. We create amazing experiences, transform the future of media, and build products and platforms that enable the connection between people everywhere and the stories and sports they love.

Disney’s ability to marry world-class technology with one-of-a-kind creativity makes us unique. It is at the heart of our past, present, and future. We are Storytellers and Innovators. Creators and Builders. Entertainers and Engineers.

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 Technology LLC, which is part of a business we call Disney Entertainment and ESPN Product & Technology.

Disney Streaming Technology 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.

We will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories consistent with applicable law.

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, visit the Disney candidate disability accommodations FAQs. We will only respond to those requests that are related to the accessibility of the online application system due to a disability.

Having technical issues? View the FAQs for help.

Hiring Process

Where Does Your Story Begin?

Explore Disney Careers and the Life at Disney blog to learn about all the amazing opportunities waiting to be discovered at The Walt Disney Company.
Be Part of the Story

There are many different brands and businesses to explore. Once you've found the opportunity that is right for you, take the next step by completing your application.
The Next Chapter

Once you've applied, you will receive an email allowing you to access your candidate dashboard. Create your login and make sure to check your dashboard often to see your application progress.

Explore this Location Seattle, WA

With a thriving food-and-drink scene, eclectic neighborhoods and a stunning coastal setting, Seattle is a dynamic urban enclave nestled in the Pacific Northwest. The city is bounded by Lake Washington in the east and Puget Sound to the west, an ideal location for water recreation and sight-seeing cruises.