Senior Software Engineer

Disney Entertainment and ESPN Product & Technology

Technology is at the heart of Disney’s past, present, and future. Disney Entertainment and ESPN Product & Technology is a global organization of engineers, product developers, designers, technologists, data scientists, and more – all working to build and advance the technological backbone for Disney’s media business globally.

The team marries technology with creativity to build world‑class products, enhance storytelling, and drive velocity, innovation, and scalability for our businesses. We are storytellers and innovators, creators and builders, entertainers and engineers, working across The Walt Disney Company’s media portfolio to advance the technological foundation and consumer media touch points for millions worldwide.

Building the future of Disney’s media: Our technologists are designing and building the products and platforms that will power our media, advertising, and distribution businesses for years to come.

Reach, Scale & Impact: Disney’s technology and products serve as a signature doorway for fans’ connections with the company’s brands and stories – Disney+, Hulu, ESPN, ABC, ABC News, and many more. These products and brands matter to millions globally.

Innovation: We develop and implement groundbreaking products and techniques that shape industry norms and solve complex, distinctive technical problems.

Media Engineering: Builds the software and systems that prepare media content and metadata for the Disney Streaming platform – providing the best possible playback experience to our viewers.

Our team is seeking a Senior Software Engineer to help deliver excellent streaming experiences for Hulu, Disney+, and ESPN+ as a developer of our web‑based JavaScript player. You will lead the design and implementation of a cross‑platform JavaScript player that runs on browsers, televisions, gaming consoles, and set‑top boxes, owning large features, mentoring peers, and driving technical direction.

• Develop and maintain our JavaScript player that drives our streaming experience.
• Optimize the player to perform well for resource‑constrained platforms.
• Create and review architecture and technical designs.
• Maintain a strong understanding of our code to identify, research, and address issues.
• Collaborate with application development teams, services engineering teams, and product management to explain device limitations and requirements.
• Lead strategies to ensure the quality and stability of our deployments, including testing strategies and telemetry approaches.
• Develop our project’s build system and continuous integration system as needed.
• Provide technical expertise or mentor developers on our team.
• Drive high development standards.

• 5+ years of full software development lifecycle experience.
• Highly fluent in JavaScript and web technologies.
• Experience developing for web browsers and other web‑based client devices.
• Experience in streaming technologies such as HLS (preferred) or DASH, DRM technologies like Play Ready or Widevine, adaptive‑bitrate streaming algorithms, caption and subtitle formats such as CEA‑608/708, and codecs AVC, HEVC, AAC, EAC
  3.
• Experience developing and optimizing high‑performance client‑side media applications.
• Experience using build runners / compilation tools for multi‑platform projects.
• Strong individual contributor with a drive to learn and patience to teach others.
• Great communication and collaboration skills and a strong teamwork ethic.
• Experience using AI‑assisted development tools effectively.
• BS or BA in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent experience).

• Experience developing for living‑room devices such as Samsung, LG, Hisense, Vizio.
• Experience developing for gaming consoles (e.g. Play Station, Switch), Android devices (e.g., FireTV), or similar devices.

Hiring range:
Seattle, WA – $148,700 to $199,400 per year. Base pay will consider internal equity and may vary based on geography, knowledge, skills, and experience. Bonus and/or long‑term incentive units may be provided, along with a full range of benefits.

The Walt Disney Company and its affiliated companies are Equal Employment Opportunity employers and welcome all job seekers including individuals with disabilities and veterans with disabilities. If you have a disability and believe you need a reasonable accommodation, visit the Disney candidate disability accommodations FAQs. We will only respond to requests related to the accessibility of the online application system.