Software Engineer II at Disney Entertainment & ESPN Technology

Disney Entertainment & ESPN Technology

On any given day at Disney Entertainment & ESPN Technology, we’re reimagining ways to create magical viewing experiences for the world’s most beloved stories while also transforming Disney’s media business for the future. Whether that’s evolving our streaming and digital products in new and immersive ways, powering worldwide advertising and distribution to maximize flexibility and efficiency, or delivering Disney’s unmatched entertainment and sports content, every day is a moment to make a difference to partners and to hundreds of millions of people around the world.

A few reasons why we think you’d love working for Disney Entertainment & ESPN Technology

• Building the future of Disney’s media business: DE&E Technologists are designing and building the infrastructure that will power Disney’s media, advertising, and distribution businesses for years to come.
• Reach & Scale: The products and platforms this group builds and operates delight millions of consumers every minute of every day – from Disney+ and Hulu, to ABC News and Entertainment, to ESPN and ESPN+, and much more.
• Innovation: We develop and execute groundbreaking products and techniques that shape industry norms and enhance how audiences experience sports, entertainment & news.

The Product & Data Engineering team is responsible for end-to-end development for Disney’s world-class consumer-facing products, including streaming platforms Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+, and digital products & experiences across ESPN, Marvel, Disney Studios, NatGeo, and ABC News. The team drives innovation at scale for millions of consumers around the world across Apple, Android, Smart TVs, game consoles, and the web, with our platforms powering core experiences like personalization, search, messaging and data.

As a software engineer on the Core engine team within Native Client Platform and Living Room Devices, you will help us push the boundaries of what is possible on some of the most interesting 10-foot devices in the marketplace! You’ll be part of the team that builds our Direct-to-Consumer client apps, such as Disney+, ESPN, and Hulu on a wide range of devices supported by our Native Client Platform. Best of all, you’ll get to build these apps in Rust!

We’re looking for an engineer who has experience in Rust and comes from a C/C++ background, who knows how to write cross platform code, and is ready to push the boundaries of UX on our custom in-house runtime to provide the best app experiences for our viewers on devices across the varying spectrum from set-top boxes to modern game consoles.

We truly believe we offer a unique opportunity for any technologist:

• To build on an innovative technology stack
• To work with an outstanding team of engineers on award-winning, sophisticated apps and systems in a highly collaborative team environment
• To have an influence on products used globally by millions

Responsibilities:

• Be a critical member of a team of engineers responsible for building our Native Client Platform’s Core engine and runtime.
• Contribute to the development of the Core engine that powers new features in applications like Disney+, ESPN, and Hulu - features from on-boarding to browse UI/UX experiences, analytics, video playback UI/UX and much more.
• Work with hardware manufacturing partners to vet and develop for new devices that will serve Disney applications in new markets.
• Collaborate closely with our client application engineering teams, media player engineering teams and product owners to help understand and explain application requirements and device limitations.

Basic Qualifications:

• Mid-level candidates should have 3-5 years of C/C++ experience on embedded systems and/or writing portable multi-platform code, with 1+ years of personal or professional Rust experience.
• Understanding of various chip architectures and what features they support.
• Experience using build runners and compilation tools for multi-platform projects.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Software, Electrical or Electronics Engineering, or comparable field of study and / or equivalent work experience

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience working on user interface-level code with knowledge of common patterns, architectures and approaches to present a data driven UX to viewers
• Cross-platform and/or embedded development experience
• Familiarity with set-top box development and specialized SoCs from manufacturers like Broadcom, MediaTek, SigmaTel, etc.
• Graphics experience with OpenGL/EGL, OpenGL ES, Vulkan, Metal, etc.
• Experience working with game engines and game engine technologies
• Knowledge of web browser internals (in e.g. Webkit, WPE, Chromium, Cobalt)
• Experience working with WebAssembly and optimizing compilers
• Experience in streaming technologies such as HLS, DRM, codecs, and captions

#DisneyTech

The hiring range for this position in San Francisco is $123,000 - $165,400 per year, in New York City and Seattle is $118,000 - $158,200, and Santa Monica is $112,600 - $151,000 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.