Principal Software Engineer - C++ Embedded Web Engine

Job ID 10103493 Location Glendale, California, United States / Santa Monica, California, United States / San Francisco, California, United States / New York, New York, United States / Seattle, Washington, United States Business Disney Entertainment and ESPN Product & Technology Date posted Jun. 24, 2025

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Job Summary:

On any given day at Disney Entertainment & ESPN Technology, we’re reimagining ways to create magical viewing experiences for the world’s most beloved stories while also transforming Disney’s media business for the future. Whether that’s evolving our streaming and digital products in new and immersive ways, powering worldwide advertising and distribution to maximize flexibility and efficiency, or delivering Disney’s unmatched entertainment and sports content, every day is a moment to make a difference to partners and to hundreds of millions of people around the world.

A few reasons why we think you’d love working for Disney Entertainment & ESPN Technology

Building the future of Disney’s media business: DE&E Technologists are designing and building the infrastructure that will power Disney’s media, advertising, and distribution businesses for years to come.
Reach & Scale: The products and platforms this group builds and operates delight millions of consumers every minute of every day – from Disney+ and Hulu, to ABC News and Entertainment, to ESPN and ESPN+, and much more.
Innovation: We develop and execute groundbreaking products and techniques that shape industry norms and enhance how audiences experience sports, entertainment & news.

The Product & Data Engineering team is responsible for end to end development for Disney’s world-class consumer-facing products, including streaming platforms Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+, and digital products & experiences across ESPN, Marvel, Disney Studios, NatGeo, and ABC News. The team drives innovation at scale for millions of consumers around the world across Apple, Android, Smart TVs, game consoles, and the web, with our platforms powering core experiences like personalization, search, messaging and data.

Job Summary:

The Hulu Client Engineering team is looking for a Principal Embedded Web Engine Engineer who can help architect, design and build our next generation Native Client Platform that will be used to power Hulu across a wide range of living room devices, while supporting our existing native tech stacks. As part of this team, you will have a unique opportunity to set the long-term vision for a technical strategy on how we can push the boundaries of what is possible on some of the most interesting 10-foot devices in the marketplace!

We’re looking for a principal engineer/architect who is an expert writing cross platform code, understands the challenges of supporting multiple client platforms using web standards, and is ready to push the boundaries of UX on our custom in-house runtime to provide the best app experiences for our viewers on devices across the varying spectrum from set-top boxes to modern game consoles. This role requires tenacity and resilience, being able to be self-directed and thriving in a fast-paced environment with minimal or ambiguous direction.

Responsibilities:

Bring advanced native client engineering skills to be a critical member of a team of engineers responsible for designing and building our Native Client Platform.
Define a long-term roadmap for the underlying browser-based Native Client Platforms that power Hulu across all living room devices.
Design and build functionality at the core of our shared frameworks.
Lead high-level architecture discussions and planning sessions.
Develop and executed hands-on a maintenance and support strategy for existing frameworks to ensure continued high performance and qualify of the user experience
Work with hardware manufacturing partners to vet new hardware from a client application perspective.
Collaborate closely with our Native Client Platform Core engineering team, services engineering teams and product owners to help understand and explain device limitations and requirements.

Basic Qualifications:

Candidates should have 10+ years of C/C++ experience on embedded systems and/or writing portable multi-platform code, on resource constrained platforms.
Expertise with web standards and tech stacks, including JavaScript, CSS, HTML5
Deep understanding of internals of browser technology such as WebKit, Chromium, Cobalt
Expertise with React and React Native frameworks
Experience with porting open-source web browsers on embedded systems with many resources constraints (memory, CPU, GPU), such as Chromecast, WebKit, Cobalt, etc
Experience porting web engines on embedded connected devices such as Smart TVs, smart appliances, consumer media devices, etc
Expertise working on user interface-level code in React with knowledge of common patterns, architectures and approaches to present a data driven UX to viewers.
Understanding of various chip architectures and what features they support.
Experience using build runners / compilation tools for multi-platform projects.
Hands-on Debugging and profiling skills, especially with memory management

Preferred Qualifications:

Graphics experience with OpenGL/EGL, OpenGL ES, Vulkan, Metal, etc.
Understanding of cross device dependency management
Knowledge of Game engines and game engine technologies
Experience with streaming video (DASH or HLS protocol), codecs, and DRM

Required Education:

Bachelor’s degree or better in Computer Science or a related technical field or equivalent job experience.

The hiring range for this position in Seattle, WA and in New York City, NY is $193,100 to $258,900 per year, in Santa Monica/Burbank/Glendale/L.A., California is $184,300 to $247,100 per year, and in San Francisco, California is $201,900 to $270,700 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.

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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.

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