Lead Software Engineer, Machine Learning - Ad Platforms
Job Posting Title: Lead Software Engineer, Machine Learning - Ad Platforms Req ID: 10126687 Job Description: 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. Ad Platforms organization within Disney Entertainment and ESPN Technology is fully responsible for building, enhancing and maintaining the high-performance, distributed, microservice-based Advertising Platform across all of Disney online properties, including Hulu and ESPN+. We build and maintain proprietary technology, ranging from ad serving and ad delivery, campaign management, reporting as well as all the integrations internal and external that come with evolving and maintaining a best-in-class video advertising business. The Ad Platform Decisioning and Machine Learning Platform team is under Ad Platforms and its mission is to enhance advertising and Disney's ad platform with machine learning and AI. We build solutions to find and decide every bit of potential for better advertising results. Our tenant is a strong cross-domain team to deliver E2E solutions covering tech areas ranging from machine learning, big data processing to microservices. Our team is seeking a Lead Software Engineer who will be a core team member for our advertising machine learning platform, which focus on prediction and optimization engines for Disney’s addressable ad platforms. The right person for this role should be experienced in machine learning technologies as well as solid in backend services. If you are someone who is proactive, inquisitive, and innovative in these domains, this is a phenomenal role for you! WHAT YOU’LL DO Lead to build components of machine learning platform to enhance every aspect of advertising, including inventory forecasting, ad experience, ad pacing, pricing, targeting, and efficient ad delivery to fit evolving business needs Lead to build next-gen platform to apply state-of-the-art AI based solutions for complicated ad challenges and to further enhance business performance Develop scalable and efficient approaches for large scale data analysis and model development Collaborate with researchers to productize cutting edge innovations at scale Balance architectural and design considerations such as performance, scalability, reusability and flexibility issues Advocate the best engineering practices, including the use of design patterns, CI/CD, code review and automated test Collaborate with researchers, program managers, product managers, and SDET in an open and innovative environment Mentor and guide the professional and technical development of your team members WHAT TO BRING Bachelors Degree in computer science or related field of study 7+ years of professional programming and design experience in Java, Python, Scala, etc. Strong experience for ML technologies with technical stacks like TensorFlow, Kubeflow, PyTorch, Databricks, AWS SageMaker, etc. Experience of building industry level high available and scalable micro-service Experience with big data processing and bigdata technologies Strong knowledge of system / application design and architecture Passionate about understanding the ad business, and seeking innovation opportunities to enhance business effectiveness. Passionate about technology, and open to interdisciplinary collaborations A proven track record of thriving in a fast-paced, data-driven, and collaborative work environment is required. NICE-TO-HAVES Domain knowledge about advertising Experience with GenAI technologies and LLMs Experience with feature store, audience segmentation and MLOps The hiring range for this position in Los Angeles, CA is $152,000 - $204,100 per year, in Seattle, WA is $159,500-$213,900, and in San Francisco, CA is $166,800-$223,600. 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. Job Posting Segment: Ad Platforms Job Posting Primary Business: AP - Software Engineering Primary Job Posting Category: Software Engineer Employment Type: Full time Primary City, State, Region, Postal Code: Santa Monica, CA, USA Alternate City, State, Region, Postal Code: Date Posted: 2025-07-30 Learn more about us. Apply tot his job Apply To this Job