Lead, Software Engineer
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.
As a Lead Software Engineer at Disney Entertainment and ESPN Product & Technology, you'll be part of a unified team responsible for the engineering of Disney Entertainment & ESPN digital and streaming products and platforms. This role focuses on building and maintaining tools used by operator teams for quality control of highly visible live and video-on-demand media workflows.
You'll be implementing new features for our custom-built player, maintaining the QC player stack, collaborating on API design with both backend and frontend teams, and ensuring seamless integration of operator tooling. The role requires deep expertise in media streaming technologies, playback systems, and modern software development practices.
Key technical areas include working with streaming formats (HLS, CMAF, MPEG-DASH), subtitle formats (WebVTT, TTML), and various platform-specific technologies (Swift/AVFoundation, Kotlin/ExoPlayer, BrightScript). You'll also be responsible for leading development standards, mentoring team members, and ensuring the quality and stability of deployments.
The ideal candidate brings 5+ years of experience building production-grade playback systems, strong technical leadership skills, and a passion for solving complex media delivery challenges. This is an opportunity to work at the intersection of technology and entertainment, helping shape how millions of people worldwide consume Disney's content.
Working at Disney means being part of a team that values innovation, creativity, and technical excellence. You'll contribute to projects that directly impact the viewer experience across Disney's digital platforms while working in a collaborative environment that encourages both technical growth and leadership development.
The role offers the excitement of working with cutting-edge streaming technologies while being part of Disney's rich legacy of entertainment innovation. Join us in building the future of digital media delivery at one of the world's most beloved entertainment companies.
Responsibilities For Lead, Software Engineer
- Implement new developmental features on our purposely built player
- Maintain our QC player stack used by operator team
- Collaborative API design with peer teams
- Unblock issues blocking testing and release of VOD content
- Maintain strong understanding of code to identify, research and address issues
- Lead strategies to ensure quality and stability of deployments
- Develop project's build system and continuous integration system
- Provide technical expertise or mentoring to developers
- Hold team accountable to high development standards
- Provide on-call rotational support as needed
Requirements For Lead, Software Engineer
- 5+ years of experience building production-grade playback systems across platforms
- Deep knowledge of media streaming formats (HLS, CMAF, MPEG-DASH)
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Software, Electrical or Electronics Engineering
- Advanced level of English
- Experience with Swift, AVFoundation, FairPlay integration, Kotlin/Java, ExoPlayer
- Understanding of async programming models and threading/concurrency
- Experience with build and deployment technologies
- Experience with messaging technologies
- Solid understanding of web accessibility fundamentals
Benefits For Lead, Software Engineer
- Career development opportunities
- Global work environment
- Innovative technology stack
- Collaborative team environment
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