Lead Software Engineer

The Walt Disney Company•Vista, FL

17h•Hybrid

About The Position

The Lead Software Engineer role is within the Retail, Restaurant & Supply Chain Technology organization at Disney Experiences (DX). This team is responsible for creating world-class digital experiences for Disney's vacation brands, covering technology and digital-led initiatives across various lines of business. The role involves working closely with a diverse team of engineers, business stakeholders, and service owners. The Lead Software Engineer will report to the Manager, Software Engineering.

Requirements

7+ years of experience building large-scale software systems and web applications.
Experience leading engineering teams and projects.
Hands-on experience in solution and application architecture.
Expertise with enterprise architecture repository tools (e.g., BlueDolphin or LeanIX).
Demonstrated ability to lead cross-domain architectural initiatives and guide decision processes.
Experience developing and managing architecture taxonomies, patterns, and standards.
Proven ability to align architecture with strategic objectives, OKRs, and scorecards.
Hands-on familiarity with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP), API-led integration, security-by-design, and data architecture principles.
Strong hands-on skills in Java 21+, Spring, microservices, and RESTful APIs.
Deep experience with AWS, databases (DynamoDB, Aurora, MongoDB), Kafka, Docker, and CI/CD pipelines.
Solid understanding of object-oriented design, coding best practices, and Agile/Test-Driven Development.
Experience running and monitoring distributed production systems, including tools like Splunk, Grafana, or AppDynamics.
Knowledge of inventory optimization and preventing overbooking-type issues.
Hands-on experience using AI-powered coding tools (Copilot, Cursor, Amazon Q, Claude, etc.) to accelerate development.
Ability to lead complex projects independently, setting direction, solving problems, and guiding testing and debugging.
Comfortable managing multiple projects at once and making fast decisions under pressure.
Experience working with distributed/remote teams.
Strong mentoring skills.
Good communicator who can work well with product owners, UI/UX teams, and other technical and business stakeholders.
Adaptable, thrives in fast-changing, sometimes ambiguous environments.
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.

Nice To Haves

Experience in Disney, Food & Beverage, Attractions & Entertainment domain

Responsibilities

Lead and personally build scalable, well-documented software systems, applications, APIs, and RESTful services using Java, AWS/cloud-native patterns, relational and NoSQL databases, messaging, and orchestration technologies.
Champion AI-driven development and architecture, embedding AI-powered tools across the software lifecycle to accelerate delivery and elevate quality.
Set architectural direction by translating complex requirements into solution architecture, coordinating with stakeholders, evaluating technology choices, and developing proof-of-concepts and roadmaps.
Own dining and bookable experience reservation systems, maintaining deep expertise in inventory, availability, offers, and reservations, and proactively preventing overbooking issues.
Integrate and support complex systems across databases, messaging, and orchestration platforms, and manage AWS infrastructure.
Drive engineering quality and continuous improvement through code and design reviews, automated testing, troubleshooting, and root-cause analysis.
Collaborate cross-functionally with product owners, engineering partners, delivery managers, business analysts, and other architecture teams to align solutions with business needs, estimate delivery, and communicate value.
Mentor junior engineers, guiding their work and providing reviews.