Principal Software Engineer

The Walt Disney Company

Principal Software Engineer focusing on building Disney’s media technology backbone. Leading architectural solutions for streaming workflows across Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN platforms.

Posted 5/19/2026full-timeNew York City • California, New York • 🇺🇸 United StatesLead💰 $197,400 - $264,700 per yearWebsite

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

AWSCloudDistributed SystemsDynamoDBJavaKafkaMicroservicesPython

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Define and drive end-to-end solution architecture across Live, Linear, and VOD streaming workflows
Establish architectural patterns that unify media ingest, processing, metadata, ads, distribution, and playback ecosystems
Lead cross-domain design for integrations with Ad platforms, metadata services, rights systems, and client applications
Contribute to long-term technical strategy, ensuring scalability, resiliency, and cost efficiency across the media supply chain
Partner with Engineering, Product, Program Management, and stakeholders teams to deliver cohesive platform solutions
Influence technical direction across multiple teams and organizations without direct authority
Lead architecture reviews, drive alignment, and resolve complex cross-system challenges
Design and document high-scale, distributed systems supporting millions of concurrent streams and global content distribution
Contribute to implementation where necessary, including prototyping, coding, and validating architectural decisions
Author clear architectural artifacts including solution designs, system diagrams, and technical proposals
Champion best practices in observability, reliability, performance optimization, and cost management
Guide teams in building resilient systems with strong SLAs/SLOs
Use metrics and data to continuously improve system performance and user experience
Challenge existing architectures and introduce modern approaches to evolving platform capabilities
Stay ahead of industry trends in streaming technologies, ad tech, and media workflows
Drive iterative improvements across systems, workflows, and developer experience

Requirements

What you’ll need

10+ years of experience in software engineering, with significant time in architecture and distributed systems design
Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Software, Electrical or Electronics Engineering, or comparable field of study, and/or equivalent work experience
Proven experience designing and scaling high-throughput, low-latency systems in a cloud environment
Strong proficiency in one or more languages such as Java, Python, or similar
Deep understanding of microservices architecture, event-driven systems, and API design
Experience with AWS or similar cloud platforms, including services such as S3, DynamoDB, Kinesis, SNS/SQS, or Kafka
Strong foundation in data modeling, system design, and performance optimization
Ability to write production-quality code and contribute hands-on when needed
Excellent communication skills with the ability to influence senior stakeholders and cross-functional teams

Benefits

Comp & perks

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

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills & Tools

solution architecturedistributed systems designmicroservices architectureevent-driven systemsAPI designdata modelingperformance optimizationproduction-quality codescalabilityresiliency

Soft Skills

communication skillsinfluenceleadershipcollaborationproblem-solvingtechnical directioncross-functional teamworkdocumentationmentorshipstrategic thinking

Certifications

Bachelor’s degree in Computer ScienceBachelor’s degree in Information SystemsBachelor’s degree in Software EngineeringBachelor’s degree in Electrical EngineeringBachelor’s degree in Electronics Engineering