Sr Software Engineer

The Walt Disney Company • New York, NY

2d • Onsite

About The Position

Disney Entertainment and ESPN Product & Technology is a global organization focused on building and advancing the technological backbone for Disney’s media business. The team combines technology with creativity to develop world-class products, enhance storytelling, and drive innovation and scalability. Content Platforms & Operations is responsible for the development and advancement of technical and operational functions for the worldwide distribution and monetization of Disney’s linear networks and theatrical content. This includes Disney’s media supply chain, storage, network and theatrical distribution operations, media localization, and network transmission and origination. The Real-Time and Event-Driven Systems team develops and supports real-time, event-driven systems that ingest, process, and distribute data used across ABC News, ESPN, and Disney platforms during live broadcasts and special events. Engineers work on modern web applications, APIs, and data services that require high scalability, performance, and reliability in production environments where accuracy and availability are critical. These systems support both internal editorial tools and on-air and digital experiences seen by millions of viewers.

Requirements

• 5+ years of professional software development experience, including designing and supporting production systems and backend services in an enterprise environment.
• Experience leading technical efforts or owning features/systems through the full development lifecycle.
• Experience designing and implementing backend services or APIs using Java and Spring Boot or similar enterprise backend frameworks.
• Experience working with relational databases and writing SQL queries.
• Experience working with source control systems such as Git in a collaborative development environment.
• Experience working in Agile development environments and participating in standard Agile ceremonies.
• Experience leveraging AI-assisted development tools or AI agent technologies (such as GitHub Copilot, Claude Code, or similar) to improve development productivity and software quality across the software development lifecycle.
• Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to work in a fast-paced, collaborative environment.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to work effectively with technical and non-technical teams.
• Ability to diagnose and resolve complex technical issues across multiple interconnected systems.
• Experience mentoring or providing technical guidance to other engineers.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent experience)

Nice To Haves

• Experience working with event-driven or messaging systems such as Kafka or similar technologies.
• Experience working with NoSQL databases such as MongoDB.
• Experience building or supporting real-time or data-driven systems.
• Experience supporting production systems in a live or time-sensitive environment.
• Experience using AI-assisted development tools, such as GitHub Copilot, to improve productivity, code quality, testing, and documentation.
• Experience working with external data providers or integrating third-party data services.
• Experience developing internal web applications using React or similar modern JavaScript frameworks.
• Experience modernizing or migrating legacy applications to modern architectures.
• Experience with cloud platforms and containerized deployments (AWS, Docker, Kubernetes).
• Experience working on systems where data accuracy, reliability, and timeliness are critical.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and maintain backend services and APIs using Java/Spring Boot and related technologies to power data-driven applications that support real-time systems used across ABC News and Disney platforms.
• Design and build event-driven services and data pipelines that ingest, process, and distribute data from external providers using technologies such as Kafka and related messaging systems.
• Develop and optimize data tiers and processing logic using SQL Server and NoSQL data stores such as MongoDB.
• Lead troubleshooting and resolution of technical issues across multiple systems, including data ingest services, APIs, databases, and user interfaces.
• Own and support production systems by investigating bugs, data issues, and performance bottlenecks, and implementing reliable fixes and improvements.
• Lead or participate in live event preparation and support, including system testing, simulations, and rehearsals for high-profile events.
• Help drive the modernization of legacy systems by migrating functionality to modern service-based architecture.
• Collaborate with product owners, QA, operations, and other engineering teams in an Agile development environment.
• Lead and participate in code reviews and contribute to development standards, best practices, and technical documentation.
• Identify and drive improvements in system performance, monitoring, logging, and reliability through continuous improvement and automation.
• Leverage AI-assisted development tools and AI agent technologies to improve overall SDLC efficiency.
• Support CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, and deployment processes in coordination with DevOps and QA teams.
• Work with internal teams and external data providers to support data integration, validation, and issue resolution.

Benefits

• 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.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior