Manager Product Software Engineering (Glendale)

Overview

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 touchpoints 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 design and build the products and platforms that will power our media, advertising, and distribution businesses for years to come.
• Reach, Scale & Impact: 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.

Content Platforms & Operations

This team is responsible for the development and ongoing advancement of the technical and operational functions driving worldwide distribution and monetization of Disney’s linear networks and theatrical content. This includes Disney’s media supply chain and storage, network and theatrical distribution operations, media localization, network transmission and origination, and more. The global team also plays a critical role as the primary collaboration point for Product & Technology with Disney’s EMEA, APAC, and LATAM regional business teams.

Job Summary

We are the Content Platforms team with a mission to “reimagine the technical ecosystem that empowers The Walt Disney Company to harness its unparalleled storytelling and distribute it around the world.” Content Platforms is part of the Disney Entertainment & ESPN Technology (DEET) segment responsible for The Walt Disney Company’s direct‑to‑consumer businesses globally, including the ESPN+ sports streaming service, Disney+, global advertising sales and ad technology for all of Disney’s media properties, Hotstar, and the Company’s majority ownership stake in Hulu.

As the Manager of Software Engineering on our team, you will lead several teams of developers across varying projects to build Disney’s media supply chain. You will mentor, guide, and assist in tactical execution, while maintaining deep technical expertise. You will participate in code reviews, architectural decision‑making, and manage the operations of your teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead software engineering across Asset Inventory Management (ingest, metadata, storage, discovery, and core asset/inventory lifecycle).
• Lead software engineering across Asset Delivery and Platform Services (integrations, external APIs, pipelines, streaming, delivery workflows, and infrastructure).
• Help with mid‑level CapEx projects and estimate budget planning and associated vendor contracts.
• Accountable for performance and results of multiple engineering teams globally.
• Make decisions and provide leadership in high‑pressure, time‑sensitive situations guided by resource availability and functional objectives.
• Facilitate communication and healthy collaboration between teams and product, design, marketing, QA, and business stakeholders.
• Use expert knowledge to analyze complex technical challenges, stay informed of industry innovations, and provide new perspectives on existing solutions.
• Report on status and team health, and identify gaps and needs.
• Work with project management to manage timelines and resourcing.
• Mentor and grow careers of managers and senior engineers.
• Help design, review, and approve software architecture and development plans for new and complex products and features.
• Help recruit and hire for your team.
• Perform any other duties required to achieve business objectives.

Minimum Qualifications

• Passion for leadership and relationship building across cross‑functional teams.
• Hands‑on experience with Java or Node backend systems.
• Experience delivering platform services in cloud environments using open‑source technologies.
• Ability to decide on technical best practices and operational processes.
• Practical and personable with strong communication and writing skills.
• Good understanding of agile software development methodologies.
• Experience building multiple concurrent projects of high technical complexity.
• Minimum eight years of experience building complex platform applications at scale or other relevant experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Eight or more years of experience leading teams of software engineers building complex applications at scale.
• Industry experience with Asset Management, CMS, or DAM ecosystems.
• Experience with Media Management or Workflows.
• Experience with media security, application security.
• Full‑stack or front‑end development experience a plus in addition to backend architecture design.

Required Education

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, engineering, or related field, or equivalent experience demonstrating an expert level understanding of software development and infrastructure.

Compensation

The hiring range for this position in Glendale, CA & Bristol, CT is $171,600 - $230,100. The base pay will consider internal equity and 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 well as medical, financial, and other benefits, depending on the level and position offered.