Manager, AI Solutions

Office of Technology Enablement (OTE)

The Office of Technology Enablement (OTE) AI Practice is Disney's AI acceleration team—transforming high-value opportunities into deployed capabilities across Studios, Parks, ESPN, and every Disney segment. We discover breakthrough AI applications, validate them through hands-on prototyping, and scale proven solutions company-wide.

The Role

We're looking for a Strategic Technical Leader who discovers high-value AI opportunities and validates them through hands-on prototyping. As a trusted leader reporting into the OTE Director of ML, you'll partner with segment executives to surface opportunities, build working prototypes to prove feasibility, and conduct technical diligence on vendors and startups—working closely within a team of Staff-level technical experts (Architect, Data Scientist, Engineers) who bring deep domain expertise.

You'll operate at the intersection of business strategy and technical execution: meeting with VPs to shape AI initiatives, building demos to validate concepts, evaluating startup claims through technical POCs, and turning ambiguous hunches into concrete roadmaps. This role requires someone who can present prototypes to senior leadership one day and code a POC the next.

If you're a hands-on builder with executive presence, can distinguish AI signal from hype, and thrive turning ambiguity into deployed solutions, we want to talk.

What Makes This Role Unique

• Executive partnership: Regular engagement with VP+ stakeholders across all Disney segments
• Hands-on technical work: You build many of the prototypes you present, partnering with technical colleagues on complex architectures
• Strategic impact: You discover and validate the opportunities that become Disney's AI portfolio
• Startup diligence: Represent Disney in technical evaluations of vendors and emerging tech
• Cross-segment scope: Work spans Studios to Parks to ESPN—see patterns others miss
• Director's proxy: Trusted to represent ML Architecture & Engineering in discovery work

Key Responsibilities

Technical Discovery, Validation & Prototyping (70%)

• Partner with segment executives and business leaders to surface high-value AI opportunities
• Partner deeply with target user groups to understand workflows, pain points, and adoption barriers—ensuring solutions address real business needs
• Maintain discovery and validation pipeline, surfacing high-value opportunities and technical insights
• Conduct rapid opportunity assessments—determine technical feasibility and business value
• Maintain prioritized discovery pipeline, routing 80% of inquiries to existing solutions
• Build working prototypes to validate business hypotheses and prove technical feasibility
• Lead hands-on POCs and vendor bake-offs using real Disney data and systems
• Present technical demonstrations to senior leadership, translating complexity into clarity
• Collaborate with Staff Architect to evaluate technical architectures for scalability, security, and Disney fit
• Conduct technical diligence on AI vendors—distinguish real capability from demos
• Partner with Staff Data Scientist and Engineers on complex validations requiring deep ML or infrastructure expertise
• Document validation outcomes as reusable blueprints for segment teams

Strategic Partnerships, Operations, and Enablement (30%)

• Build relationships across Legal, Privacy, Security, Procurement to accelerate discovery and validation initiatives
• Lead startup and vendor diligence calls, evaluating claims with both business and technical lens
• Partner with PMO to transition validated opportunities into scaled, cross-segment programs
• Map AI opportunities across Disney tech teams to identify synergies, prevent duplication, and amplify successful efforts
• Design engagement data structures and processes that enable PMO portfolio management as initiatives mature and scale
• Develop playbooks and templates that accelerate opportunity assessment
• Deliver executive updates translating portfolio health, opportunities, and risks into strategic recommendations
• Represent OTE in cross-segment strategic discussions
• Collaborate with AI Governance team to ensure validated solutions meet compliance and responsible AI standards
• Ensure all work meets Disney's Responsible AI standards

Required Qualifications

• 6–9 years in product, technical program management, or technology strategy roles with proven AI/ML impact
• Hands-on technical ability: Can build working prototypes, not just spec them—comfort with modern development tools, APIs, and rapid prototyping frameworks (you'll have technical peers for deep architectural work)
• Code literacy: Able to read and evaluate code, ask informed technical questions, and validate vendor claims with hands-on testing (formal CS degree not required)
• Proven track record translating ambiguous opportunities into shipped products or validated experiments
• Executive stakeholder management: Experience interfacing with VP+ leaders, translating between technical and business contexts
• AI/ML fluency: Strong understanding of LLMs, RAG, computer vision, ML systems—can evaluate vendor claims and know when to pull in deeper technical expertise
• Startup/vendor evaluation experience: Track record conducting technical diligence on emerging tech solutions
• Leadership experience: Managed direct reports or led cross-functional squads—can coach, not just coordinate
• Data-driven operator: Proficient with modern collaboration and portfolio management tools
• Exceptional communicator: Can build a prototype, present to executives, and write crisp strategic summaries

Stretch Path: High-potential candidates with 4–6 years and demonstrable hands-on validation work at executive level are encouraged to apply.

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience in media, entertainment, consumer products, or themed entertainment technology
• Background in startup product management or innovation teams
• Exposure to MLOps toolchains, model monitoring, and AI system lifecycle management
• Experience with governance frameworks for responsible AI
• Track record in startup scouting, incubators, or corporate innovation centers
• Familiarity with Disney's business model and segment dynamics

What Success Looks Like

• Year 1: Discover and validate $100M+ in AI opportunities through hands-on POCs
• Efficiency: Route 80% of discovery inquiries to existing solutions without new validation
• Velocity: Business opportunity to validated prototype in under 30 days
• Impact: Prototypes inform executive decisions and become blueprints for segment deployment
• Relationships: Trusted partner to segment leaders and technical teams across Disney

#DISNEYTECH

The hiring range for this position in Burbank is $171,600.00 to $200,000.00 per year. The base pay actually offered will take into account internal equity and also may vary depending on the candidate’s geographic region, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience among other factors. 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.