Lead Technical Program Manager

About The Walt Disney Company - Product & Technology

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.

Why Work 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: 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 matter to millions globally.
• Innovation: We develop and implement groundbreaking products and techniques that shape industry norms and solve complex technical problems.

About The Role

The Business Operations team guides technology strategy and research, and drives the day-to-day operation of the Product & Technology organization. This includes project and portfolio management, organization-level resource management, process management, technical incident management, and administrative support.

This position is part of the Global Program Management team, responsible for executing DE&E Technology programs. This involves managing scope, delivery schedules, and budgets, as well as identifying dependencies, managing risks, and quantifying business impact. The role collaborates with Product, Engineering, and QA to align strategic roadmaps and provides transparent reporting to leadership.

Job Summary

Within the Business Operations organization, the Lead Technical Program Manager is responsible for managing small through large-scale, complex software engineering projects from initiation through closure. This role will involve daily hands-on management of technology activities using Agile and Scrum-based software development practices, and may include collaboration with other technical teams to deliver business solutions.

This role requires leadership competencies, technical (PM) experience, and strong communication skills. Responsibilities include managing projects using DE&E Technology processes, tools, and methodologies, including scope definition, and management of time, cost, risk, and communications.

Responsibilities and Duties

• Accountable for driving execution and delivery of multiple technical product or software development projects from start to finish.
• Experience executing both Agile and Waterfall software development methodologies.
• Experience with industry-standard project management tools such as JIRA and Confluence.
• Responsible for managing team dynamics, morale, and motivation while building a culture where all members and points of view are respected.
• Develops and manages project plans comprised of complex activities and dependencies.
• Communicates status, updates, and project summaries via presentations, e-mail, and direct communication with key stakeholders and leadership.
• Excellent professional writing skills and ability to provide verbal explanations of status and technical issues with precision and accuracy.
• Excel at working with project stakeholders to define project scope and objectives, and effectively communicate requirements to development teams.
• Excel in leading effective meetings, documenting decisions, and following up.
• Display initiative and take a proactive approach.
• Negotiate with skill and identify solution paths for competing requirements or stakeholder preferences.
• Learns quickly and enthusiastically, particularly about technical systems and issues.
• Constantly evaluates processes and seeks improvements at every iteration.

Required Education, Experience/Skills/Training

• 7+ years of technical project management experience working directly with engineers.
• 7+ years of hands-on experience with Agile/Scrum methodologies developing software applications, playing the role of scrum lead.
• BA/BS required.
• Extensive knowledge and experience with the software development lifecycle.
• CSM / CSP Certification preferred.
• Experience in streaming media software and digital technology.
• Experience with frontend, backend systems, machine learning, and personalization is a plus.
• Technical proficiency demonstrated through coding skills, quality assurance experience, technical writing, or similar.

Key Skills/Competency

• Technical Program Management
• Agile Methodologies
• Scrum
• Software Development Lifecycle
• JIRA
• Confluence
• Risk Management
• Stakeholder Management
• Project Planning
• Team Leadership