Lead Technical Program Mgr

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Job Description:

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. 

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. 

Job Summary:

Within the Business Operations organization, the Lead Technical Program Manager is a senior-level program position responsible for driving complex, cross-functional programs and initiatives that extend the functionality of services across Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+. This role owns program-level outcomes end to end, from scoping and sequencing through delivery, and is expected to operate with significant autonomy in ambiguous, fast-moving environments. You will partner with engineering, product, and business leaders to shape delivery models, influence organizational priorities, and drive alignment on the highest-impact initiatives. If you enjoy entertainment, driving complex programs to completion, mentoring other program leads, and shaping how teams work, this role is an excellent fit for you.

Responsibilities and Duties of the Role:

• Project Planning and Execution: Develop project plans and drive the end-to-end execution and delivery of multiple programs across various teams. Ensure all dependencies are understood and keep business partners informed of progress.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work with engineering, product management, and cross-functional leaders to align on the roadmap, vision, and strategy for the organization.
• Influence and Alignment: Influence direction and drive alignment to reduce complexity across cross-functional teams.
• Team Dynamics and Culture: Develop team dynamics, morale, and motivation while fostering a culture where all members and points of view are respected.
• Engineering Partnership: Partner with engineering to ensure developments balance cost vs. benefit, are highly scalable, and meet business goals, objectives, and customer needs.
• Proactive Initiative: Display initiative, take a proactive approach, and initiate conversations.
• Skilled Negotiation: Negotiate with skill and identify solution paths for various competing requirements or stakeholder preferences.
• Enthusiastic Learning: Learn quickly and enthusiastically, especially about technical systems and issues.
• Process Improvement: Constantly evaluate processes and seek ways to improve with every iteration.

Required Education and Experience/Skills/Training:

Minimum Qualifications:

• Established in Technical Program Management with 7+ years of experience in the software industry
• Proven track record leading complex, cross-functional programs and initiatives from scoping through delivery, with strong working knowledge of Agile and other software delivery methodologies
• Experience working across the software development lifecycle, including delivery, release management, and technical program governance
• Experience collaborating with product and design teams and other stakeholders to understand requirements, prioritize initiatives, and engage with engineering teams to drive projects forward
• Ability to identify, analyze, prioritize, mitigate, and communicate project risks to internal and external partners
• Proactive approach, able to initiate conversations and guide other program leads in process development, consistently evaluating and improving processes at every iteration
• Developed essential soft skills, including meeting leadership, communication, teamwork, collaboration, flexibility, problem-solving, critical thinking, and conflict resolution
• BA/BS or equivalent experience required

Preferred Qualifications:

• Program or project management certification (PMP, CSM, CSP, or similar) preferred
• Experience in streaming media software and digital technology
• Expertise in software delivery management tools (Jira, Confluence, Airtable, etc.)
• Technical proficiency demonstrated through coding skills, quality assurance experience, technical writing background, or similar expertise

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