
Principal Machine Learning Engineer
The Walt Disney Company
full-time
Posted on:
Location Type: Remote
Location: United States
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Salary
💰 $197,300 - $265,000 per year
Job Level
About the role
- Define architecture and long-range technical strategy for ML systems and enabling platforms (training/inference orchestration, feature foundations, serving patterns, interoperability layers) across the measurement ecosystem
- Lead development and productionization of next-generation ML approaches for identity resolution, audience modeling, and cross-platform measurement; translate advanced algorithms into scalable, production-quality implementations
- Guide major data engineering and platform investments required for ML: distributed processing patterns, data routing/storage strategies, data integrity controls, and automation across internal/external data sources
- Establish enterprise-grade MLOps, governance, and assurance processes: CI/CD standards, automated evaluation, model versioning/registry practices, drift detection, monitoring, and operational excellence
- Lead cross-organization technical decision-making: align stakeholders, define success metrics, and drive complex trade-offs to deliver durable, scalable ML solutions
- Coach and develop senior technical talent: mentor Staff/Senior engineers, set engineering standards, and build communities of practice
- Champion privacy, security, and responsible AI: ensure privacy-by-design, PII safeguards, and audit readiness (GDPR/CCPA) for ML and data workflows
Requirements
- Must have 10+ years of professional experience delivering production ML systems at scale, including significant ownership of architecture and platform strategy
- Must have expert coding skills in Python and strong SQL; proven software engineering maturity (testing, CI/CD, design reviews, documentation)
- Demonstrated ability to apply ML techniques in code to build predictive systems at scale (including deep learning where appropriate)
- Proven ability to influence across teams and drive organizational standards for data/ML reliability, governance, and interoperability
- Deep experience with distributed compute/data platforms and performance optimization
- 12+ years total experience, with hands-on work in media, advertising technology, or cross-platform audience measurement
- Flagship production experience with deep-learning, genAI, or retrieval-augmented systems (PyTorch, vector databases) and real-time data pipelines (Kafka, Pub/Sub, Kinesis)
- Strong understanding with modern MLOps stacks (e.g., MLflow, Kubeflow, Vertex AI, SageMaker) and model-governance practices (metadata, lineage, drift detection)
- Certifications such as Google Professional Machine Learning Engineer, AWS Certified Machine Learning – Specialty, or equivalent cloud/data credentials
- Contributions to open-source ML or data-engineering projects, conference presentations, or peer-reviewed publications
- Experience in media/ad tech, identity graphs, audience measurement, or interoperability layers
- Experience with modern MLOps platforms (MLflow, Kubeflow, Vertex AI, SageMaker) and model governance practices
Benefits
- A bonus and/or long-term incentive units may be provided as part of the compensation package
- Full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the level and position offered
Applicant Tracking System Keywords
Tip: use these terms in your resume and cover letter to boost ATS matches.
Hard Skills & Tools
PythonSQLmachine learningdeep learningMLOpsdata engineeringdistributed processingautomationmodel versioningdata integrity
Soft Skills
leadershipmentoringstakeholder alignmentinfluencedecision-makingcoachingorganizational standardscommunicationcollaborationtechnical guidance
Certifications
Google Professional Machine Learning EngineerAWS Certified Machine Learning – Specialty