Principal Software Development Engineer in Test

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:  

• 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 engineering, and the engineering behind personalization, commerce, lifecycle, and identity.  

Job Summary:

The DEEP & Technology team is seeking a visionary Principal Software Development Engineer in Test (SDET) to spearhead quality engineering across our streaming, data and advertising systems. As a trusted engineering leader and technical authority, you will set the strategic direction for automation, quality practices, and test architectures organization-wide. You will partner cross-functionally to align quality strategy with company objectives, lead innovation in automated testing processes, and ensure our systems robustly deliver relevant and reliable products to all viewers. Your decisions and leadership will have a substantial impact on revenue, user experience, and operational efficiency.

Ideal candidates are highly proactive, influential, and passionate about transforming quality engineering through cutting-edge technology and thought leadership.

Responsibilities:

Strategic Quality Leadership

• Define and drive the vision, strategy, and roadmap for test automation and quality engineering across multiple business units and product lines.
• Influence organizational decisions regarding test architecture, process improvements, and adoption of modern testing paradigms (shift-left, CI/CD, observability, etc.).
• Establish and maintain enterprise-wide standards for quality, automation, and operational excellence in collaboration with executive stakeholders.
• Own the end-to-end quality strategy for large-scale, business-critical projects, including test metrics, release criteria, and automation objectives.

Architecture & Technical Authority

• Lead the architecture of scalable, resilient, and cloud-native test automation solutions that empower teams and improve defect prevention.
• Make high-impact technical decisions on frameworks, toolsets, and integrations to enable richer and more effective testing.
• Oversee technical reviews, mentorship, and hands-on guidance in complex areas such as distributed systems, data pipelines, and ad technologies.
• Partner with Platform Architects and DevOps to ensure seamless integration of quality gates and automated validation throughout deployment pipelines

Cross-Functional Influence & Mentorship

• Serve as a coaching resource to SDETs, engineers, and leadership, regularly conducting technical deep-dives, training, and knowledge-sharing sessions.
• Build consensus across product teams for standardization of test tools, frameworks, and reusable components.
• Facilitate root cause analysis for high-severity incidents, drive preventative and corrective actions, and communicate technical findings to senior leadership.
• Represent DEEP & Technology quality interests within company-wide engineering and business forums.

Program Management & Delivery Excellence

• Lead delivery of multiple concurrent, cross-team testing initiatives in fast-paced Agile environments.
• Manage test budgets, resource allocation, roadmap goals, and risk mitigation strategies across programs.
• Ensure rigorous governance over traceability, compliance, and test reporting, supporting company-wide accountability.
• Continuously identify bottlenecks and drive organization-wide solutions to improve efficiency, coverage, and reliability.

Innovation & Continuous Improvement

• Champion research and adoption of emerging technologies (AI/ML in testing, autonomous testing, advanced observability, etc.) to keep test practices ahead of industry standards.
• Define and track advanced quality metrics (escape rates, flakiness, system reliability), implementing data-driven improvements.
• Lead efforts to mature organization’s quality posture in performance, security, and reliability engineering.
• Inspire a culture of innovation, experiment with new tools and practices, and help set the direction for the future of engineering quality.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Minimum of 10 years experience in quality engineering, automation, or software development, with recent leadership responsibilities in large, complex engineering environments
• Passion around driving best practices in the testing space
• Knowledge of software engineering practices and agile approaches
• Strong desire for establishing and improving product quality
• Proven expertise architecting and scaling test automation for distributed, cloud-native systems
• Track record of influencing enterprise strategy and leading transformation initiatives
• Advanced proficiency with Python or modern OO languages; experience with ad-tech or large-scale systems is a plus
• Willingness to take challenges head on while being part of a team
• Strong communication, stakeholder management, and mentoring skills
• Bachelor's degree, preferably in Computer Science or related field (or equivalent work experience)
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The hiring range for this position in California is $171,600 - $230,100 per year and in New York is $179,700 - $241,000 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.