Product Software Engineer I

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 a Product Software Engineer I, you will help build, test, and support software that powers Disney’s advertising technology products. You will work closely with experienced engineers to develop data processing and platform applications, learn modern engineering practices, and contribute to reliable, scalable solutions. This is a great opportunity for someone with a foundation in programming, data concepts, and cloud or big data technologies who is excited to grow their technical skills in a collaborative environment.You will contribute to a team that values curiosity, ownership, and continuous improvement. Our work is guided by agile and lean principles, with a focus on delivering meaningful solutions efficiently and with quality. We’re looking for a passionate, impactful, technical contributor who wants to come here to do their very best work and make their mark, add their chapter to the long and storied history of The Walt Disney Company. Someone who holds themselves and their teammates accountable in a professional, collaborative manner. A collaborative technologist who seeks to bring the best out in themselves and those around them. Someone who can provide a fresh perspective and innovative insight to our initiatives.

Responsibilities and Duties of the Role:

• Develop and maintain software components for data processing and platform applications.

• Assist in building batch and near-real-time data pipelines with guidance from senior engineers.

• Write clean, readable, and testable code following engineering best practices.

• Use modern AI-assisted development tools to improve coding efficiency, debugging, testing, and documentation.

• Participate in design discussions, implementation, testing, and troubleshooting activities.

• Learn and apply cloud technologies, big data frameworks, and AI-enabled engineering practices.

• Troubleshoot issues and help improve application reliability and performance.

• Collaborate with engineers, product managers, and cross-functional teams to deliver solutions.

• Participate in code reviews and contribute to improving development processes.

• Support production systems and help investigate technical issues.

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

• 0–2 years of software development experience, including internships, academic projects, or equivalent hands-on experience.

• Foundational experience with one or more programming languages such as Java, Scala, or Python.

• Understanding of data processing concepts and interest in learning big data technologies such as Spark, Kafka, Flink, Databricks, or Snowflake.

• Basic knowledge of SQL, relational databases, and data storage concepts.

• Familiarity with cloud computing concepts and an interest in learning tools such as AWS, Terraform, Docker, or Kubernetes.

• Ability to write clean, maintainable code and troubleshoot technical issues.

• Curiosity, adaptability, and enthusiasm for learning new tools, frameworks, and engineering practices.

• Strong communication skills and ability to collaborate effectively with team members.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Internship, academic, or project experience in software development, data engineering, cloud technologies, or related technical areas.

• Exposure to AI-assisted development tools or coding assistants is a plus.

• Familiarity with big data, cloud, or data pipeline tools such as Databricks, Snowflake, Presto, Kinesis, Spark, or AWS services.

• Familiarity with performance optimization, debugging, and application profiling.

• Strong interest in learning new technologies and open-source tools.

REQUIRED EDUCATION:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Software, Electrical or Electronics Engineering, or a comparable field of study, or equivalent work experience.

The hiring range for this position in Glendale, CA is $97,500 to $130,700 per year based on a 40 hour work week. The amount of hours scheduled per week may vary based on business needs. 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.