Lead Software Engineer

"We Power the Magic!" That’s our motto at Disney Experiences (DX). Our team creates world-class immersive digital experiences for the Company’s premier vacation brands including Disney’s Parks & Resorts worldwide, Disney Cruise Line, Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa, and Disney Vacation Club. We are responsible for the end-to-end digital and physical Guest experience for all technology and digital-led initiatives across the Attractions & Entertainment, Food & Beverage, Resorts & Transportation and Merchandise lines of business, as well as other initiatives including My Disney Experience and Hey, Disney! 

This role sits within the US Resort Experiences team in Disney Experiences Technology, focused on the arrival and check-in side of the resort stay: getting Guests into their rooms quickly and reliably once they are on property. It works closely with a diverse team of engineers, business stakeholders, Resort Operations partners, and service owners from across the company. 

The Lead Software Engineer will report to the Manager, Software Engineering. 

What You'll Do 

• Lead and personally build scalable, stable, secure & well-documented software systems, applications, APIs, and RESTful services — from technical specs through delivery — using Java, Node.js, and Angular on AWS/cloud-native platforms, relational and NoSQL databases & messaging. 
• Champion AI-driven development and architecture, embedding AI-powered tools (GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Amazon Q, Claude, Kiro) across the software lifecycle — from design and coding to testing and troubleshooting — to accelerate delivery and elevate quality, while shaping how the team adopts AI in its engineering practices. 
• Set architectural direction by translating complex functional, technical, and business requirements into solution architecture, coordinating with Architecture and IT stakeholders, evaluating technology choices (software, hardware, SaaS/PaaS), and developing proof-of-concepts and roadmaps that align applications with reference architecture. 
• Own the technology decisions and implementation behind the resort arrival and check-in experience across domestic Disney resort hotels so that a Guest who has already booked and traveled gets into their room without friction. 
• Keep always-on, Guest-facing and Cast-facing production systems healthy, including end-to-end troubleshooting, root-cause analysis, observability and alerting, incident response, and participation in on-call for systems where downtime is visible on property within minutes. 
• Drive engineering quality and continuous improvement through code and design reviews, automated testing, and proactive recommendations to processes, technologies, and coding practices — maintaining focus and sound judgment in a dynamic, fast-paced, cross-functional environment. 
• Collaborate cross-functionally with product owners, engineering partners, delivery managers, business analysts, Resort Operations, Front Office, and upstream sales and reservations teams to align solutions with current and future business needs, estimate delivery, and communicate the team's value.  
• Partner closely with adjacent technology teams — including Housekeeping and Facilities — to integrate the room readiness and maintenance data the arrival experience depends on. 

Required Qualifications & Skills 

• 7+ years of experience building large-scale software systems and web applications, leading engineering teams and projects, with hands-on experience in solution and application architecture. 
• Strong hands-on skills in Java 21, Spring, Microservices, and RESTful APIs. 
• Hands-on experience with Node.js for service and API development, including asynchronous and event-driven patterns. 
• Proficiency building Cast-facing and Guest-facing web applications in Angular, including component architecture, state management, and integration with backend services. 
• Deep experience with DynamoDB, Aurora, MySQL, Kafka, Docker, and CI/CD pipelines. 
• Experience running and monitoring distributed production systems, including tools like Splunk, Grafana, or AppDynamics, with a track record of operational ownership for always-on services. 
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-domain architectural initiatives and guide decision processes. 
• Experience using enterprise architecture repository tools (e.g., BlueDolphin) 
• Hands-on familiarity with AWS cloud platforms, API-led integration, security-by-design, and data architecture principles. 
• Solid understanding of object-oriented design, coding best practices, and Agile/Test-Driven Development. 
• Able to lead complex projects independently — setting direction, solving hard problems, and guiding testing and debugging. 
• Comfortable managing multiple projects at once and making fast decisions under pressure. 
• Experience working with distributed/remote teams. 
• Strong mentoring skills — able to train, guide, and review the work of junior engineers. 
• Ability to collaborate with product owners, UI/UX teams, operations partners, and other technical and business stakeholders. 
• Adaptable, thrives in fast-changing, sometimes ambiguous environments. 

Preferred Qualifications 

• Experience in Disney, Resorts & Transportation, or the hospitality domain, including property management systems. 
• Familiarity with hotel operations workflows such as front office, housekeeping, and facilities maintenance. 

Required Education 

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

PAY TRANSPARENCY

The hiring range for this position in Orlando, FL is $150,500 to $201,800 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.

This position is with Walt Disney Attractions Technology LLC, which is part of a business we call Disney Experiences.

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Walt Disney Attractions Technology LLC is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or protected veteran status. Disney champions a business environment where ideas and decisions from all people help us grow, innovate, create the best stories and be relevant in a constantly evolving world.

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