Staff Software Engineer (Emerging Tech & AI Automation) Project Hire

The Walt Disney Company•Burbank, CA

18h

About The Position

At Disney, we’re storytellers. We make the impossible, possible. The Walt Disney Company (TWDC) is a world-class entertainment and technological leader. Walt’s passion was to continuously envision new ways to move audiences around the world—a passion that remains our touchstone in an enterprise that stretches from theme parks, resorts and a cruise line to sports, news, movies and a variety of other businesses. Uniting each endeavor is a commitment to creating and delivering unforgettable experiences — and we’re constantly looking for new ways to enhance these exciting experiences. The Enterprise Technology mission is to deliver technology solutions that align to business strategies while enabling enterprise efficiency and promoting cross-company collaborative innovation. Our group drives competitive advantage by enhancing our consumer experiences, enabling business growth, and advancing operational excellence. The Emerging Technologies and AI Automation team focuses on amplifying business impact through innovation. We are part of the Technology Transformation team, working on driving measurable improvements in productivity, agility and employee satisfaction by automating the mundane, streamlining workflows and freeing people to do what they do best. We are seeking a hands-on Staff Software Engineer to drive high-impact initiatives at the forefront of emerging technologies to unlock enterprise-wide capabilities. In this role, you’ll lead rapid prototyping efforts, build scalable proofs-of-concept, and shape the technical foundation that accelerates enterprise-wide transformation. You’ll work across a nimble, action-oriented team to explore AI-assisted development tools, experiment with new technologies, and translate abstract concepts into elegant, real-world solutions. Ideal candidates thrive in ambiguity, balance pragmatism with curiosity, and bring deep technical expertise paired with strong communication skills. This is a unique opportunity to shape the future of technology at Disney.

Requirements

7 + years of full-stack software engineering experience with a strong coding background in languages such as Python, TypeScript, Node.js, Go or similar
Proven ability to write clear, concise technical documentation and create professional system architecture diagrams using tools like Lucidchart, Mermaid, or PlantUML
Hands-on experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure or GCP), microservices architecture, CI/CD pipelines, test, development and deployment approaches, including containerization (Docker, Kubernetes), A/B testing, etc
Proficiency with AI/ML development tools, and experience integrating LLM-based APIs, AI agents, or prompt-based workflows
Experience working with large-scale databases (SQL/NoSQL, Object, Graph, etc)
A passion for innovation, emerging technologies, and driving continuous improvement
Demonstrated expertise in systems architecture, platform thinking, and technical leadership
Ability to navigate conflict, build trust, and foster alignment across cross-functional teams; able to explain complex systems and tradeoffs to engineers, product managers, and stakeholders alike
Proven ability to navigate organizational complexity and deliver outcomes aligned with strategic objectives.
Experience with agile methodologies such as Scrum or Kanban
Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Information Systems, Software, Electrical or Electronics Engineering, or comparable field of study and/or equivalent work experience

Nice To Haves

Passion for Disney's mission and values
AWS, GCP or Azure certification
Experience with emerging technologies
A track record of success in automation and developer productivity initiatives
Demonstrated experience building prototypes or experimental software in ambiguous or early-stage environment

Responsibilities

Stay at the forefront of emerging technologies by actively engaging with keynotes, articles, and technical content, and translate those insights into impactful blog posts, workshops, demos, and talks that educate and inspire others.
Explore and validate new ideas through hands‑on experimentation, tinkering, and rapid prototyping.
Actively participate in—and often lead—hackathons, design thinking workshops, demo days, and other forums that promote creativity and knowledge sharing.
Tackle complex problems using first‑principles mindset and a natural inclination toward developing simple, elegant solutions.
Be an exceptional communicator—equally effective in writing and speaking—and skilled at translating complex ideas into clear, actionable insights for both technical and non-technical audiences.
Mentor and partner with other engineers to share best practices, amplify impact, and accelerate the adoption of emerging technologies.
Tackle ambiguity by building thin, end-to-end implementations that touch all major components of a system to evaluate the feasibility of emerging technologies and early prototypes to explore unknowns, validate assumptions, and help unblock teams.
Embrace rapid iteration—prioritize speed and learning by delivering minimum lovable products and evolving them through continuous feedback.
Support project planning and execution—help prioritize work, communicate effectively with stakeholders, and ensure timely delivery of high-quality code.
Collaborate with engineers and business partners to align priorities, define goals, and deliver impactful outcomes.
Continuously refine engineering practices and champion improvements that elevate team performance and product excellence.