Principal Software Engineer

Principal Software Engineer

At Disney Experiences Technology, our team creates world-class immersive and digital experiences for the Company's vacation brands, Disney's Parks and Resorts worldwide, Disney Cruise Line, Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa, and Disney Vacation Club. The Disney Experiences Technology team is responsible for the end-to-end digital and physical Guest experience for all technology & digital-led initiatives across the Attractions & Entertainment, Food & Beverage, Resorts & Transportation, and Merchandise lines of business as well as other initiatives including the MyDisneyExperience app and Hey, Disney!

Our team creates world-class, secure, and scalable technology capabilities that enable financial insight, operational efficiency, and enterprise-wide value across Disney Experiences. The Finance Transformation Delivery Management Organization (DMO) partners closely with Product, Engineering, Finance, Security, and Operations leaders to modernize platforms, unlock data value, and accelerate delivery at scale.

The Principal Solution Architect – Finance Transformation is accountable for defining and guiding the end-to-end technical architecture of the Finance Transformation portfolio. This role operates as a senior technical advisor and strategic influencer, aligning business outcomes with modern, secure, and cloud-native solutions across enterprise data platforms, Enterprise Performance Management (EPM), and advanced analytics and AI enablement.

This role provides architectural leadership across data acceleration, EPM integration, international enablement, and platform modernization, while mentoring architects and influencing technology direction across multiple teams and initiatives. The position requires strong executive presence, deep technical expertise, and the ability to balance near-term delivery with long-term enterprise strategy.

The Principal Software Engineer – Solution Architecture will report to the Sr Mgr, Software Engineering.

What You'll Do:

• Own the analysis, design, program, debugging, and modifications of software improvements and/or new products used in local, networked, cloud-based, or Internet-related computer programs
• Lead projects that may be used in commercial and end-user applications or focus on software and tools supporting infrastructure and technology platforms
• Work typically involves large or highly sophisticated software programs and systems

Architecture & Strategic Influence:

• Serve as a senior technical and architectural advisor, aligning technology solutions with business and financial outcomes
• Define and guide end-to-end architecture for complex, enterprise-scale systems, ensuring scalability, resiliency, and security
• Establish and evolve architecture standards, patterns, and target-state designs to drive consistency, reuse, and long-term platform health
• Balance near-term delivery with long-term architectural strategy, managing trade-offs and technical debt across initiatives

Engineering Leadership & Delivery:

• Possess expertise in current programming languages and technologies, with strong skills in writing code and programming tasks
• Initiate the testing and debugging of applications, using conceptual and innovative thinking to drive sophisticated, highly scalable solutions throughout the organization
• Contribute to the conception, design, development, testing, and implementation of software components, fixes, improvements, and/or new systems and applications
• Lead and influence the direction and prioritization of the design and development of highly scalable software systems and applications

Enterprise & Cross-Functional Leadership:

• Influence enterprise technology direction through cross-functional collaboration across Product, Engineering, Security, Operations, and business stakeholders
• Drive platform modernization and integration across interconnected domains (e.g., commerce, payments, data, finance, and guest systems)
• Lead architecture activities across the lifecycle including design reviews, technical workshops, and proofs of concept

Execution, Planning & Communication:

• Exercise full autonomy to interact with users across diverse teams and levels to define system requirements and/or necessary modifications
• Engage in the estimation and planning of highly sophisticated scalable projects and their budget allocations
• Communicate complex technical concepts and architectural decisions in clear, business-relevant terms to executive stakeholders

Continuous Improvement & Innovation:

• Continuously monitor and evaluate emerging technologies within your area of expertise to drive informed decision-making and recommendations
• Continuously evaluate and improve system performance, scalability, observability, and security across platforms

People & Technical Leadership:

• Mentor and guide engineers and architects, fostering strong engineering practices and architectural discipline across teams
• Lead through influence in a highly matrixed environment, driving alignment without direct authority

Required Qualifications & Skills:

• Minimum 10 years of related work experience
• Demonstrated experience in software architecture and/or solution architecture for large-scale enterprise systems
• Excellent communication and leadership abilities, including executive-level communication and stakeholder engagement
• Proven ability to influence and collaborate across organizational boundaries and lead without formal authority
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills
• Experience delivering complex, high-impact technology programs at scale
• A visionary who motivates teams to excel and fosters creativity, consistently driving excellence in all endeavors
• An advocate for a diverse and inclusive culture that encourages innovation and ensures every team member feels a sense of belonging
• Authority in [add required technologies here], demonstrating deep expertise and knowledge in the field

Technical & Tooling Experience:

• Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure; GCP a plus)
• Strong understanding of DevOps practices and toolchains (e.g., Git, CI/CD pipelines, containerization, Kubernetes)
• Experience with observability and monitoring tools (e.g., AppDynamics, Splunk)
• Familiarity with Agile methodologies (Scrum, Kanban, TDD) and hybrid delivery models
• Experience with enterprise tools such as Jira, ServiceNow, Smartsheet, and Confluence

Preferred Qualifications & Skills:

• TOGAF certification or equivalent enterprise architecture experience
• Experience with scaled Agile frameworks (e.g., SAFe)
• Knowledge of modern data architectures (e.g., lakehouse, Snowflake)
• Experience working with third-party vendors and technology partners

Required Education:

• Bachelor's or foreign equivalent Degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Software, Electrical or Electronics Engineering, or comparable field of study, and/or equivalent work experience

Disney Experiences brings the magic of Disney stories and franchises to life through theme parks, resorts, cruise ships, unique vacation experiences, products and more around the world. Disney shines in the travel industry with six resort destinations in the United States, Europe and Asia; a top-rated cruise line; a popular vacation ownership program; and an award-winning guided family adventure business. Plus, Disney's global consumer products operations include the world's leading licensing business; the world's largest children's publishing brands; one of the world's largest licensors of games across all platforms; and Disney store locations around the world and on the web.

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 Walt Disney Attractions Technology LLC, which is part of a business we call Disney Experiences.

Walt Disney Attractions 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.