Senior Technical Program Manager

Job Summary:

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. 

Here are a few reasons why we think you’d love working here:

Building the future of Disney’s media : Our Technologists are designing and building the products and platforms that will power our media, advertising, and distribution businesses for years to come.

Reach, Scale & Impact : More than ever, Disney’s technology and products serve as a signature doorway for fans' connections with the company’s brands and stories. Disney+. Hulu. ESPN. ABC. ABC News…and many more. These products and brands – and the unmatched stories, storytellers, and events they carry – matter to millions of people globally. 

Innovation : We develop and implement groundbreaking products and techniques that shape industry norms, and solve complex and distinctive technical problems.

PILLAR DETAILS & POSITION TEAM SUMMARY:

The Business Operations team helps guide and articulate technology strategy and research, and is responsible for driving the day-to-day operation of the Product & Technology organization, including: project and portfolio management and tracking; organization-level capital, space, and resource management and allocation; process management; technical incident management; and our administrative and workplace experience support team.

This is a staff position within the DEE Product & Technology: Business Operations - Global Program Management Organization. The Sr Technical Program Manager will focus on our News & Entertainment Alliance, partnering with teams that deliver consumer digital experiences for ABC Entertainment, FXNOW, Nat Geo TV, Freeform, DisneyNOW, ABC News, ABC Owned Television (OTV), and Good Morning America. The Senior Technical Program Manager will work closely with engineering teams to drive strategic planning and execution, remove delivery roadblocks, and ensure scalable, high-quality solutions that power these products.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Lead the development of comprehensive project plans and oversee end-to-end execution of multiple complex programs across diverse teams, proactively managing dependencies and maintaining transparent communication with business partners on progress and risks.
• Collaborate closely with engineering & product management on strategic roadmaps, vision, and Alliance objectives.
• Demonstrate proactive leadership by initiating key conversations, anticipating challenges, and driving decisions forward.
• Navigate competing priorities through skilled negotiation, identifying and guiding consensus-driven solutions among diverse stakeholder groups.
• Quickly assimilate complex technical concepts with enthusiasm, maintaining a strong commitment to staying current on industry trends and emerging technologies.
• Develop plans and timelines, accounting for all project dependencies.
• Forecast and ensure transparency of progress and issues/risk; Proactively drive risk mitigation and contingency planning, along with issue resolution
• Track and report key program metrics, informing stakeholders as appropriate.

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

• 5+ years of progressively complex experience in technical program or
• project management.
• BA/BS or equivalent experience required.
• Deep understanding of the software development lifecycle (SDLC)
• Expert-level proficiency with project and program management tools (e.g., Jira, Confluence, Airtable).
• High level of Agile and Waterfall methodologies and ability to adapt processes to meet program needs
• Knowledge of servant leadership, conflict resolution, and continual improvement
• Analytical and problem-solving experience with large-scale systems
• Technical knowledge of architecture and development practices
• Strong partner and communicator with the ability to articulate the team vision and technical concepts to multi-functional partners
• Ability to make decisions in ambiguous situations in a fast-paced environment with evolving business needs
• Digital consumer experiences and subscription services (entitlement services, machine learning and multivariate testing, and maintenance of production pipelines)
• Global collaboration experience (Managing dependencies and alignment across US/India time zones)

Technical Expertise & Preferred Qualifications:

• Back-End Development Knowledge: Strong understanding of back-end systems, APIs, microservices architecture, and platform management.
• Cloud Platforms: Proficiency in cloud services (AWS, GCP, Azure) and related infrastructure.
• API Management: Experience with API gateways, integrations, and lifecycle management.
• Data Security and Compliance: Understanding of security protocols, data protection (GDPR, CCPA), and compliance standards.
• Performance Metrics: Expertise in setting, tracking, and reporting on performance metrics, KPIs, and OKRs.
• Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD): Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines and DevOps practices.
• Incident Management: Experience in managing incidents, root cause analysis, and implementing corrective actions.

The base salary for this position in Glendale, CA is $129,300.00 to $173,300.00. 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.