Director, Core Player Engineering

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.

We’re seeking a Director of Core Player Engineering to oversee our holistic media player strategy across VOD and Live, across devices including mobile, living room, console, web, and set‑top boxes.

Job Summary

Accomplish business objectives including feature changes in players, expanded device coverage, and global distribution.

What You’ll Do

• Provide vision and strategic direction for Core Player Engineering, spanning device pipelines, player engines, browser integrations, and client applications, to provide cohesive media player strategy across mobile, web, living room devices, and set‑top boxes.
• Accomplish business objectives including feature changes in players, expanded device coverage, and global distribution.
• Lead leaders : manage and develop senior managers and technical leads across multiple playback domains.
• Champion observability, data‑driven decision making, and playback quality metrics to continuously improve reliability and user experience.
• Ensure playback systems are built for scale, resiliency, and low latency, supporting both live and on‑demand streaming globally.
• Guide teams working on ads and monetization, with a premium on HLS interstitials and integrations with ad tech.
• Collaborate cross‑functionally with backend streaming infrastructure, CDN, DRM / security, and client teams to deliver an integrated experience.
• Recruit, develop, and retain world‑class engineers and leaders, building a culture of innovation, accountability, and technical excellence.

Responsibilities and Duties of the Role

Required Education, Experience / Skills / Training

Minimum and Preferred. Inclusive of Licenses / Certs (include functional experience as well as behavioral attributes and / or leadership capabilities)

Experience with

Required Education

The hiring range for this position in New York is $239,700 – $321,400 per year. The base pay actually offered will take into account internal equity and may vary depending on a 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.

Disability Accommodation for Employment Applications

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 in order to search for a job opening or apply for a position, visit the Disney candidate disability accommodations FAQs. We will only respond to those requests that are related to the accessibility of the online application system due to a disability.

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