Principal Software Engineer

The Walt Disney Company•Celebration, FL

About The Position

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.

Requirements

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
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

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

Responsibilities

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