Skip to main content

Senior Software Engineer

Apply Now
Job ID 10083795 Location Seattle, Washington, United States / Bristol, Connecticut, United States / Santa Monica, California, United States / Glendale, California, United States / New York, New York, United States Business Disney Entertainment & ESPN Technology Date posted Mar. 22, 2024

Job Summary:

On any given day at Disney Entertainment & ESPN Technology, we’re reimagining ways to create magical viewing experiences for the world’s most beloved stories while also transforming our media business for the future. Whether that’s evolving our streaming and digital products in new and immersive ways, powering worldwide advertising and distribution to enhance flexibility and efficiency, or delivering Disney’s unmatched entertainment and sports content, every day is a moment to make a difference to partners and to hundreds of millions of people around the world. 

A few reasons why we think you’d love working here:

  • Building the future of Disney’s media: DE&E Technologists are designing and building the infrastructure that will power our media, advertising, and distribution businesses for years to come.

  • Reach & Scale: The products and platforms this group builds and operates delight millions of consumers every minute of every day – from Disney+ and Hulu, to ABC News and Entertainment, to ESPN and ESPN+, and much more.

  • Innovation: We develop and implement groundbreaking products and techniques that shape industry norms and enhance how audiences experience sports, entertainment & news.

Media Engineering is an innovative organization that is focused on providing the best possible video playback experience, art, and metadata to customers around the world, powered by exceptional technology. This strategic work requires streamlining and repurposing technology across different business and distribution channels – including streaming, linear, and theatrical – so that technology can ebb and flow across the needs of the business.

Job Summary

Our team is seeking a Senior Software Engineer to help us deliver excellent streaming experiences for Hulu, Disney+ and ESPN as a developer of our client player. Our team is responsible for playback across several devices including gaming consoles and set top boxes. You will have the opportunity to lead in the design and implementation of our cross-platform C/C++ and Rust player that runs Disney+, Hulu, ESPN and more on these devices.

We’re looking for an experienced C/C++ or Rust engineer who has video player and cross platform development experience. You will be collaborating deeply with client teams to help produce a best in class API that integrates with the video player as well as helping build and improve the features that power video playback on a variety of Disney streaming products.  You should have a passion for coding and debugging hard problems, and an eagerness to help us deliver seamless video to our subscribers.  As a senior engineer, you will get to own large features, lead the technical direction of our work, and provide technical expertise to other engineers. You will work closely with other technical teams in the application layer and backend video services to deliver features.

Responsibilities

  • Develop and maintain our Rust and C/C++ player and the API layer connecting various Disney brand clients that drives our streaming experience

  • Optimize our player to perform well for resource constrained platforms

  • Create and review architecture and designs for our team’s projects

  • Own large and complex features

  • Maintain a strong understanding of our code to identify, research and address issues

  • Collaborate with application development teams, services engineering teams and product management to help understand and explain device limitations and requirements

  • Lead in strategies to ensure the quality and stability of our deployments, including testing strategies and telemetry approaches

  • Develop our project’s build system and continuous integration system as needed

  • Provide technical expertise to developers on our team

  • Hold our team accountable to high development standards

Basic Qualifications

  • Minimum of 5 years of related work experience

  • Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Software, Electrical or Electronics Engineering, or comparable field of study.

  • Long record of full software development lifecycle experience

  • Fluent in C and C++ or Rust

  • Willing to learn Rust

  • Experience developing and optimizing multi-threaded applications

  • Experience using build runners / compilation tools for multi-platform projects

  • Strong individual contributor with a drive to learn and patience to teach others

  • Great communication and collaboration skills and a strong teamwork ethic

  • BS or BA in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field or equivalent experience

Preferred Qualifications

  • Rust

  • Experience in Streaming technologies, including:

    • HLS (preferred) or DASH

    • DRM technologies like Playready or Widevine

    • Adaptive Bitrate Streaming Algorithms

    • Caption and subtitle formats such as CEA-608 / 708

    • Codecs AVC, HEVC, AAC, EAC3

  • Cross-Platform Development

  • Embedded operating system experience

  • Experience developing for gaming consoles (e.g. Playstation, Switch), Android devices (e.g.FireTV), or similar devices

  • Familiarity with set-top box development and specialized SoCs from manufacturers like Broadcom, MediaTek, etc.

#disneytech

The hiring range for this position in California is $136,100 to $182,400 per year, in New York and Washington is $142,600 to $191,100 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.


The hiring range for this position in California is $136,100 to $182,400 per year and in New York and Washington is $142,600 to $191,100 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.

About Disney Entertainment & ESPN Technology:

Disney Entertainment and ESPN Technology (DE&E Technology) provides the technological backbone and product development for Disney’s two media business units, while helping to keep the company at the vanguard of innovation – enabling the Company to continuously leverage technology to enhance storytelling and creativity, while delivering scalability, flexibility, and efficiency for its businesses.

About The Walt Disney Company:

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 Disney Streaming Technology LLC, which is part of a business we call Disney Entertainment & ESPN Technology.

Disney Streaming Technology LLC is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, protected veteran status or any other basis prohibited by federal, state or local law. Disney fosters a business culture where ideas and decisions from all people help us grow, innovate, create the best stories and be relevant in a rapidly changing world.

DISABILITY ACCOMMODATION FOR EMPLOYMENT APPLICATIONS

The Walt Disney Company and its Affiliated Companies are Equal Employment Opportunity employers and welcome all job seekers including individuals with disabilities and veterans with disabilities. If you have a disability and believe you need a reasonable accommodation in order to search for a job opening or apply for a position, email Candidate.Accommodations@Disney.com with your request. This email address is not for general employment inquiries or correspondence. We will only respond to those requests that are related to the accessibility of the online application system due to a disability.

Sign up to receive the latest news and company information

Be you. Be here. Be part of story.

Global Opportunities

US & Canada

The Walt Disney Company entertains, informs and inspires people around the globe through the power of unparalleled storytelling, reflecting the iconic brands, creative minds and innovative technologies that make ours the world’s premier entertainment company.

Search All US & Canada Jobs

LATAM

The Walt Disney Company Latin America is the leading family entertainment company in Latin America and has been present in the region since the 1940’s when Walt Disney traveled to Brazil, Argentina and Peru.

Search All Latin America Jobs

EMEA

Disney EMEA aims to drive growth, innovation and brand affinity across an extremely diverse collection of countries with a team of over 6,000 employees operating in 59 markets with offices in 29 countries.

Search All EMEA Jobs

India

The Walt Disney Company entertains, informs and inspires people around the globe through the power of unparalleled storytelling, reflecting the iconic brands, creative minds and innovative technologies that make ours the world’s premier entertainment company.

Search All India Jobs

APAC

For over 70 years, The Walt Disney Company has been entertaining consumers in Asia Pacific – and enriching people’s lives. Today’s consumer can discover new branded experiences in many ways and in many markets across the APAC region.

Search All APAC Jobs
nighttime view of the Spaceship Earth attraction at Walt Disney World in Florida

The Walt Disney Company is a global community of unparalleled storytellers, creative minds, and innovative technologies, with offices located across the globe.

Sign Up for Job Alerts

Get the latest job opportunities as they become available.

Watch Our Jobs

Sign up to receive the latest news and company information based on your preferences. An asterisk indicates a required field.

Interested InSelect a job category from the list of options. Select a location from the list of options. Finally, click “Add” to create your job alert.

By clicking "Submit", you agree to our Terms of Use (opens in new window) and acknowledge that you have read our Privacy Policy (opens in new window).

By clicking "Submit", you agree to our Terms of Use (opens in new window) and acknowledge that you have read our Privacy Policy (opens in new window). If I have elected to receive marketing messages or newsletters, I may withdraw my consent for these marketing messages at any time.

By clicking "Submit", you agree to our Terms of Use (opens in new window) and acknowledge that you have read our Privacy Policy (opens in new window), Cookies Policy (opens in new window) and EU Privacy Rights (opens in new window).

How we use your personal information and your rights:

  1. Your personal information is controlled by The Walt Disney Company Limited of 3 Queen Caroline Street, London, W6 9PE, United Kingdom.
  2. When you visit or shop with Disney or use any Disney product, service or mobile application, other members of The Walt Disney Company Family of Companies may also use your information to provide you these services, personalise your experience and send you service related updates and communications.
  3. You have a number of rights including the right to request access to, change, or remove your personal information, or to change your marketing preferences (including withdrawing your consent at any time.) Please see our Privacy Policy (opens in new window) to learn more about managing your marketing preferences or deleting your account.
  4. Our Data Protection Officer can be contacted by emailing: dataprotection@disney.co.uk.
  5. You have a right to lodge a complaint with the UK Information Commissioner's Office: https://ico.org.uk/ (opens in new window).
  6. For more information about Disney's data collection and use practices please read Disney's Privacy Policy (opens in new window).

By clicking "Submit", you agree to our Terms of Use (opens in new window) and acknowledge that you have read our Privacy Policy (opens in new window) and Collection Statement (opens in new window).

For more information about our general data collection, use, and practices, including how to manage your preferences, please read our Privacy Policy (opens in new window). I have read and agree to the Terms of Use (opens in new window).