Job Posting Title:
Sr Product Software EngineerReq ID:
10145062Job Description:
Disney Entertainment and ESPN Product & Technology
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:
1.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.
2.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.
3.Innovation: We develop and implement groundbreaking products and techniques that shape industry norms, and solve complex and distinctive technical problems.
The Work:
We build and operate Disney’s end-to-end media platform - acquisition, processing, metadata, and delivery readiness. When someone hits play on Disney+, Hulu, or ESPN+, our systems make it happen. Fast, reliable, at scale.
This isn’t a greenfield project where you’ll spend months in planning meetings. We have real traffic, real constraints, and real problems to solve. You’ll ship code that matters.
What You’ll Actually Do:
Design and build backend services that process and serve media at scale
Write code, review code, debug production issues—the usual engineering loop
Work on systems handling video pipelines across multiple streaming platforms
Collaborate with other teams when our work intersects (it often does)
Help teammates grow—share knowledge, give honest feedback, be someone others can learn from.
What We’re Looking For:
5+ years of backend engineering experience building production systems
Strong JVM fundamentals – we recently moved to JDK 25 (Java or Scala, ideally both)
Real experience with distributed systems—not just “I read about it”
Solid understanding of AWS services (DynamoDB, SNS/SQS, S3), PostgreSQL
Proficiency with AI-assisted development tools (Cursor, Claude, Kiro, or similar)—we use them every day and expect engineers to leverage AI to move faster
You can debug across service boundaries and actually enjoy figuring out why something broke
You communicate clearly—in code, in docs, in conversation
Good to have:
Experience with Kafka or similar event streaming platforms
Background in media/video processing pipelines
Hands-on Kubernetes experience (deploying, scaling, debugging workloads)
Familiarity with observability tooling (distributed tracing, metrics, logging)
You’ve operated what you’ve built and care about how it runs in production
What We’re Not Looking For:
Engineers who need detailed specs for every task
People who throw code over the wall and hope someone else deals with production
Anyone who thinks “that’s not my job” when something’s broken
Why This Might Be Interesting:
You’d be working on infrastructure that powers some of the biggest streaming platforms in the world. The scale is real. The problems are interesting. And you’d be joining a team that actually ships.
Our new NYC office is pretty great too.
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If this sounds like your kind of work, let’s talk.
The hiring range for this position in New York is $145,400 to $195,000 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.Job Posting Segment:
PE - Media EngineeringJob Posting Primary Business:
PE - Media Platform - Media Processing & Metadata PlatformPrimary Job Posting Category:
Product Software EngineeringEmployment Type:
Full timePrimary City, State, Region, Postal Code:
New York, NY, USAAlternate City, State, Region, Postal Code:
Date Posted:
2026-03-19Skills Required
- 5+ years of backend engineering experience building production systems
- Strong JVM fundamentals, with Java or Scala; ideally both
- Practical experience with distributed systems
- Solid understanding of AWS services including DynamoDB, SNS/SQS, and S3
- Experience with PostgreSQL
- Proficiency with AI-assisted development tools such as Cursor, Claude, Kiro, or similar
- Ability to debug across service boundaries
- Clear communication in code, documentation, and conversation
- Experience with Kafka or similar event-streaming platforms
- Background in media or video-processing pipelines
- Hands-on Kubernetes experience deploying, scaling, and debugging workloads
- Familiarity with observability tooling, including distributed tracing, metrics, and logging
- Experience operating systems in production
The Walt Disney Company Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about The Walt Disney Company and has not been reviewed or approved by The Walt Disney Company.
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Pay Growth & Progression — Recent union agreements raised wage floors for large groups of park cast members—e.g., Disneyland’s $24/hour minimum rising to $26 over the contract and Walt Disney World’s path from $18 toward about $20–$20.50 by 2026—signaling upward movement in hourly pay. These steps are described as meaningful improvements for many frontline roles.
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Healthcare Strength — Company materials outline medical, dental, and vision coverage for many full‑time roles, wellness resources, and (in Central Florida) access to Centers for Living Well clinics and pharmacy. References to mental‑health support and paid time off reinforce a strong core health offering.
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Wellbeing & Lifestyle Benefits — Complimentary theme‑park admission and discounts on hotels, dining, merchandise, and recreation are positioned as signature perks. Education support through Disney Aspire adds notable lifestyle value for eligible hourly employees.
The Walt Disney Company Insights
What We Do
The Walt Disney Company is a leading diversified international family entertainment and media enterprise that operates through segments including entertainment, sports, and experiences.
