Manager, Application Engineering

The Disney Decision Science and Integration (DDSI) team is responsible for supporting clients across The Walt Disney Company (TWDC) including Disney Experiences (Parks, Cruise Line, Consumer Products, etc.), Disney Entertainment (ABC, The Walt Disney Studios, Disney Theatrical, Disney Streaming Services, etc.), ESPN, and Corporate Finance. DDSI leverages technology, data analytics, optimization, and statistical modeling to build innovative tools that shape business decisions and drive business value. DDSI builds and manages strategic applications that enable internal business decision-makers to view and manage data related to decision science workflows. 

As Manager, Application Engineering, you will lead application engineers, UX/UI engineers, and QA engineers that define, design, develop and deploy software solutions. You will use your experience to manage the entire software development lifecycle by setting goals for your team, managing risks, collaborating with other teams, and releasing internal applications that serve strategic needs for multiple TWDC business units. This role requires a results-oriented technical team leader, excellent analytical and quantitative skills, and flexibility to adapt in a dynamic business environment.  

Your Role: 

• Lead application engineering for multiple complex projects and initiatives to drive the implementation of internal cloud-based analytical systems

• Manage the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) using waterfall and agile techniques, including technical requirements definition, task prioritization, estimates, assignments, UX/UI designs, risks, environments, quality assurance, and releases for multiple ongoing projects 

• Coordinate with infrastructure teams  

• Lead direct reports and manage other team members in a matrixed organization 

• Collaborate with Product Owners to clarify, refine, and prioritize scope to align with business needs  

• Partner with Decision Science teams to integrate data science advancements into end-to-end solutions  

• Represent the application engineering team and respective projects with senior leaders and partners 

• Work with leadership and peers to advocate for software development best practices 

• Drive evaluation and adoption of emerging software tools, technologies, and platforms 

What We’re Looking For: 

• Proven influential technical leadership experience in software development and project execution 

• Demonstrated ability to champion team processes, balance priorities, manage risks, and ship products on-time  

• Ability to identify, evaluate, and implement new technology solutions to meet product requirements 

• Demonstrated success in technical roles including hands-on coding, system design, and code/merge reviews  

• Excellent problem-solving skills, including ability to assess, prototype, and communicate solutions 

• Experience with serverless architectural patterns in AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, or similar 

• Experience working with complex and large datasets; understanding of data storage patterns 

• Experience leading other team members through mentoring and career planning 

• Experience collaborating with product owners to define application requirements and priorities 

• Ability to adapt to rapidly changing business environments and manage multiple priorities 

• Demonstrated strong written and verbal skills with the ability to communicate with both technical and non-technical teams 

How To Stand Out: 

• Proficiency in software development processes and project management 

• Hands-on development experience with React, Python, Django, PostgreSQL, Snowflake, and Next.js  

• Experience automating software deliverables in a CI/CD environment 

• Experience leading UX/UI design  

• Statistical and data science knowledge, and experience with analytic applications 

• Relevant industry knowledge (media, entertainment, theme parks, resorts, etc.)  

• Experience managing user scenarios and business requirements 

• Experience leading quality assurance efforts such as testing frameworks, test plans, and test cases 

• Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, a quantitative field, or equivalent 

Minimum Requirements: 

• Minimum of 8 years of related work experience

• 5+ years of software development experience building web-based applications 

• 2+ years leading technical teams specializing in cloud-based web application development  

Education:

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