Director Software Engineering bei Disney

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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. We work with every part of The Walt Disney Company’s media portfolio to advance the technological foundation and consumer media touch points serving millions of people around the world. 

Here are a few reasons why we think you’d love working here:

• 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: More than ever, 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 – and the unmatched stories, storytellers, and events they carry – matter to millions of people globally. 
• Innovation: We develop and implement groundbreaking products and techniques that shape industry norms, and solve complex and distinctive technical problems.

Ad Platforms is responsible for Disney’s industry-leading ad technology and products – driving advertising performance, innovation, and value in Disney’s sports, news, and entertainment content, across all media platforms.

Job Summary:

As Director of Software Engineering for the Ads Platforms organization, you will lead two critical areas including front-end and back-end software engineering for Ad Sales, and Ad Platform operations including infrastructure, DevOps, DBA, and data pipelines.  You will translate strategic vision into actionable plans, guiding teams to deliver scalable, secure, and high-performing systems.  Based in Bangalore, this role requires a global mindset and local execution, bridging time zones and cultures to ensure seamless collaboration with U.S.-based stakeholders.  You will champion asynchronous communication, foster autonomy and innovation within the team, and build a strong culture of excellence that owns delivery end-to-end.  Your impact will be felt through strategic leadership, operational excellence, talent development, and cultural stewardship - driving long-term growth and alignment across geographies.

Responsibilities and Duties of the Role:

• Set and execute engineering strategy across software development and platform operations, aligning with business goals and Ads Platforms priorities, in collaboration with U.S. leaders
• Lead cross-functional collaboration with product, architecture, operations, and engineering teams to deliver innovative advertising solutions and ensure platform reliability
• Oversee the design, development, deployment, and support of scalable, secure, and resilient software systems that drive billions in Ad Sales revenue
• Drive infrastructure and DevOps excellence, including CI/CD, observability, cloud architecture, and disaster recovery planning
• Ensure data platform integrity and performance, managing database operations, data pipelines, and proactive vulnerability remediation
• Support and enforce engineering best practices, including security standards, compliance automation, and non-functional requirements
• Foster a culture of innovation and continuous improvement, optimizing Agile methodologies and team processes for productivity and quality
• Mentor, retain and grow engineering talent, including senior managers and their teams, with a focus on leadership development and career progression
• Promote autonomy and ownership, empowering offshore teams to lead delivery and technical decision-making end-to-end
• Bridge global collaboration gaps, facilitating asynchronous communication and cultural alignment between India-based teams and U.S. stakeholders

Required Education, Experience/Skills/Training:

Basic Qualifications

• 12+ years of experience in software engineering, data engineering and cloud engineering
• 7+ years of experience in software/data/cloud engineering management, managing teams that deliver high-quality software/data/infrastructure
• Strategic communicator and partner, able to articulate vision, strategy, and technical concepts to diverse stakeholders across engineering, product, and operations
• Proven decision-maker in ambiguity, thriving in fast-paced environments with evolving business needs and priorities
• Experienced people leader, with a track record of managing managers and teams of 10+ engineers across software and infrastructure domains
• Cross-functional collaborator, fostering alignment and continuous improvement across engineering, DevOps, data, and business teams
• Global team builder, with success in recruiting, mentoring, and retaining distributed software and infrastructure talent
• Technical leader in scalable systems, with deep expertise in building high-throughput, mission-critical consumer-facing platforms
• Architectural influencer, guiding design decisions and technical direction across software engineering and platform operations
• Agile and DevOps champion, proficient in applying CI/CD and agile practices across both software development and infrastructure operations
• Operational excellence advocate, ensuring reliability, security, and performance across infrastructure, DevOps, and data pipelines
• Culture carrier and mentor, promoting a growth mindset, innovation, and leadership development across engineering teams
• Platform ownership mindset, driving accountability and autonomy across software delivery and platform operations
• Results-driven leader, focused on delivering measurable business impact through technology and team performance

Preferred Qualifications

• Leadership experience in Ad Tech and Big Data platforms, with a strong understanding of Ad Serving systems and data pipeline operations
• Proven ability to drive complex systems and features from concept through production across software and infrastructure domains
• Strategic contributor to long-term technical roadmaps, aligning engineering execution with business and platform evolution
• Demonstrated success in cross-functional collaboration, especially in global or matrixed organizations
• Strong curiosity and alignment with Disney’s mission, with a passion for delivering innovative, high-impact technology

Experience with:

• Expertise in modern software stacks, including .NET Core, C#, ASP.NET Core, Spring Boot, Java, and REST APIs
• Deep experience with cloud-native platforms, including Azure, AWS, Kubernetes (AKS/EKS), and cloud storage solutions like S3 and Azure Storage
• Strong data architecture and modeling skills, with proficiency in relational and NoSQL databases (SQL Server, Oracle, Aurora, Redis, ElasticSearch, DynamoDB, RavenDB)
• Hands-on experience with data streaming technologies, especially Kafka, for scalable pipeline operations
• Proficiency in observability and monitoring tools, such as Splunk, Datadog, and Grafana, to ensure platform reliability and performance
• Solid foundation in object-oriented programming and dependency injection, supporting maintainable and scalable codebases
• Experience guiding platform-wide architectural modernization, including evaluation and adoption of new technologies and tools
• Strong understanding of data governance and security, including access controls, encryption, and compliance best practices
• Skilled in unit testing and CI/CD practices, with tools like NUnit/JUnit and strategies for continuous integration across software and infrastructure teams

Required Education

• Bachelor's in Computer Science, Information Technology, Data Science, or a related field
• Master’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Data Engineering, or a related technical discipline

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