Job Details

Lead Machine Learning Engineer - Ad Platforms

Job ID 10129949

Location Santa Monica, California, United States / Seattle, Washington, United States

Business Disney Entertainment & ESPN Product & Technology

Date posted Nov. 09, 2025

Job Summary

Technology is at the heart of Disney's past, present, and future. Disney Entertainment & 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.

Ad Platforms

Ad Platforms is responsible for Disney's industry‑leading ad technology and products – driving advertising performance, innovation, and value in Disney's sports, news, and entertainment content, across all media platforms.

The Ad Platform research team is under Ad Platforms and its mission is to transform advertising and Disney's Ad platform with AI and data science. We build solutions to measure and optimize every aspect of the advertising life cycle. Our tenant is a strong cross‑domain team to deliver E2E solutions for machine learning and data science. Our team is seeking a lead machine learning engineer who will be an outstanding addition and leading development for prediction or optimization engines for addressable ad platforms. The right person for this role should be experienced in crafting implementation for either machine learning technologies or data‑driven algorithms. If you are someone who is proactive and innovative in these domains, this is a phenomenal role for you!

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Drive ground‑breaking innovation and apply state of the art AI and machine learning in a variety of areas to enhance every aspect of advertising, including inventory forecasting, ad experience, ad pacing, pricing, targeting, and efficient ad delivery.
• Invent and iterate novel solutions for complex ad challenges with fast turnaround.
• Lead the ad algorithm architecture design and iteration of the advertising system.
• Develop scalable and efficient approaches for large scale data analysis and model development.
• Build and experiment new algorithms and models end‑to‑end, from production rollout to continuous optimization.
• Collaborate with engineering teams, product managers, and program managers in an open and creative environment.
• Mentor team members and support their technical growth.

WHAT TO BRING

• Bachelors degree (MS or PhD preferred) in computer science or equivalent experience
• At least 7 years of working experience on large scale machine learning at leading internet companies. Experience in the advertising domain is preferred. Experience with forecasting algorithm is preferred.
• Strong knowledge of AI/ML technologies, mathematics and statistics.
• Proficient in Java, Python, Scala, large scale ML/DL platforms and processing tech stack.
• Passionate about understanding the ad business, applying advanced research to relevant business scenarios, and seeking innovation opportunities to enhance business effectiveness.
• Passionate about technology, open to interdisciplinary collaborations, and experienced in building data‑driven services and applications.
• A proven track record of thriving in a fast‑paced, data‑driven, and collaborative work environment is required.

NICE‑TO‑HAVES

• Experience in digital video advertising or digital marketing domain
• Experience with CTR/CVR model, generative AI, forecasting model.
• Experience with feature store, audience segmentation and MLOps
• Experience with Tensorflow, Kubeflow, Databricks or SageMaker

#DISNEYTECH

The hiring range for this position in Santa Monica, CA is $171,600 to $230,100 per year and in Seattle is $179,700 to $241,000. 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.

About Disney Entertainment and ESPN Product & Technology

At Disney Entertainment and ESPN Product & Technology, we're blending imagination and innovation to reimagine the ways people experience and engage with the world's most beloved stories and products. Our work is wide‑ranging and deeply sophisticated. We create amazing experiences, transform the future of media, and build products and platforms that enable the connection between people everywhere and the stories and sports they love.

Disney's ability to marry world‑class technology with one‑of‑a‑kind creativity makes us unique. It is at the heart of our past, present, and future. We are Storytellers and Innovators. Creators and Builders. Entertainers and Engineers.

About The Walt Disney Company

The Walt Disney Company, together with its subsidiaries and affiliates, is a leading diversified international family entertainment and media enterprise that includes three core business segments: Disney Entertainment, ESPN, and Disney Experiences. From humble beginnings as a cartoon studio in the 1920s to its preeminent name in the entertainment industry today, Disney proudly continues its legacy of creating world‑class stories and experiences for every member of the family. Disney's stories, characters and experiences reach consumers and guests from every corner of the globe. With operations in more than 40 countries, our employees and cast members work together to create entertainment experiences that are both universally and locally cherished.

This position is with Disney Streaming Technology LLC , which is part of a business we call Disney Entertainment and ESPN Product & Technology.

Disney Streaming Technology LLC is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, military or veteran status, medical condition, genetic information or disability, or any other basis prohibited by federal, state or local law. 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.

Disability Accommodation For Employment Applications

The Walt Disney Company and its Affiliated Companies are Equal Employment Opportunity employers and welcome all job seekers including individuals with disabilities and veterans with disabilities. If you have a disability and believe you need a reasonable accommodation in order to search for a job opening or apply for a position, email ...@Disney.com with your request. This email address is not for general employment inquiries or correspondence. We will only respond to those requests that are related to the accessibility of the online application system due to a disability.