Senior Principal Machine Learning Engineer, Ad Platforms

Senior Principal Machine Learning Engineer, Ad Platforms
Location: Seattle, Washington, United States / Santa Monica, California, United States

Job ID: 10150390

Business: Disney Entertainment and ESPN Product & Technology

Date posted: May 13, 2026

Job Summary:
Ad Platforms is responsible for Disney’s industry‑leading ad technology and products, driving advertising performance, innovation, and value across Disney’s sports, news, and entertainment content on all media platforms. As a Sr Principal Machine Learning Engineer (IC leadership role), you will leverage your deep technical expertise in ML/AI, software, and systems to guide our ML and Research teams in building scalable, performant, maintainable, and testable models and pipelines.

Daily, you should bring:

Excellent communication and collaboration across teams and organizations.

Strong understanding of architectural best practices and principles in the machine learning and AI domains.

Proficiency in designing and implementing robust, scalable, measurable models and pipelines.

Passion for mentoring and learning in a dynamic, fast‑paced environment.

Proven ability to collaborate with Product and Sales teams, translating requirements into technical implementations and defining operational metrics for system health.

Knowledge of relevant and emerging technologies and their potential application within our stack.

A keen eye for optimizations and enhancements.

Kindness and pragmatic optimism.

Your unique perspective and experience.

A full toolkit of influence models and evidence‑based decision‑making methods.

Responsibilities and Expectations:

Review designs and implementations for best practices.

Influence and shape the multi‑year technical roadmap.

Drive cross‑organization impact and product/business strategy.

Participate in the Architecture Guild within Ad Platforms.

Translate product requirements into work plans and partner with team leads to execute.

Explore, research, and implement proofs‑of‑concept, proposing solutions that reduce cost, overhead, improve maintainability, and accelerate feature delivery to production.

Define, review, and document software and models for high‑throughput, low‑latency environments.

Mentor and inspire team members across all aspects of professional software development.

Support on‑call activities with the MLP and Research teams.

Establish shared technical standards and practices across globally distributed ML teams.

Basic Qualifications:

BS or MS in Computer Science/Engineering or relevant work experience.

12+ years of software engineering experience.

Strong analytical, problem‑solving, and design skills in a highly distributed, highly available services ecosystem.

Strong foundations in algorithms, data structures, and numerical optimization; experience with Python (primary), Java, and SQL.

Experience with TensorFlow, PyTorch, Hugging Face libraries.

Model optimization and inference (TensorRT, ONNX, DeepSpeed).

Knowledge of the Ad Tech industry.

Deep Expertise in:

LLMs and OpenAI GPT models, Claude, Gemini, Llama, and similar models.

Fine‑tuning (SFT, PEFT, RLHF, adapters).

Prompt engineering, retrieval‑augmented generation (RAG), context management, multi‑agent systems, and MCPs.

Embeddings and vector search.

Tokenization.

Preferred Qualifications:

PhD in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Mathematics, or a related field.

The hiring range for this position is $228,700 - $306,700 per year in Santa Monica, CA, and $239,700 - $321,400 in Seattle. Compensation is based on internal equity and other factors. Bonuses and long‑term incentives may be offered. Full medical, financial, and other benefits are provided as part of the package.

About Disney Entertainment and ESPN Product & Technology
We blend imagination and innovation to reimagine how people experience and engage with the world’s most beloved stories and products. We create and build advanced products and platforms that connect people globally with the stories and sports they love.

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 with three core business segments: Disney Entertainment, ESPN, and Disney Experiences. It operates globally, fostering entertainment experiences cherished worldwide.

Disability Accommodation For Employment Applications
The Walt Disney Company and its affiliated companies are Equal Employment Opportunity employers and welcome job seekers including individuals with disabilities and veterans with disabilities. If you have a disability and need a reasonable accommodation to search or apply for positions, email Candidate.Accommodations@Disney.com with your request. That email is not for general employment inquiries or correspondence. We will only respond to accommodation requests related to the accessibility of the online application system.

EEO Statement
Disney Entertainment & Sports LLC is an equal‑opportunity employer. Applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, nationality, ancestry, age, marital status, military or veteran status, medical condition, genetic information, or disability, or any other basis prohibited by law. Disney champions a culture where ideas and decisions from all people help us grow, innovate, and create the best stories.

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