Principal R&D Imagineer - Software and Systems Engineer
Jetzt bewerben Später bewerben Job ID 10137473 Standort Glendale, Kalifornien, USA Veröffentlichungsdatum 29/12/2025 Unternehmen Walt Disney ImagineeringJob-Zusammenfassung:
About the Role & Team:
Walt Disney Imagineering makes the impossible possible by combining innovation and storytelling to bring Disney stories, characters, and worlds to life. Imagineering is the master planning, creative development, design, engineering, production, project management, and research and development arm of The Walt Disney Company. Its talented Imagineers are responsible for the creation - from concept initiation through installation - of all Disney Resorts, theme parks and attractions, real estate developments, regional entertainment venues, and new media projects. Disney Imagineers are uniquely talented individuals who bring together the best aspects of creativity, innovation, and passion.
At Imagineering Research and Development, our mission is to use technology to build new experiences for our Guests and new tools for Imagineers and the Cast Members who power our parks. R&D is a team of engineers, designers, artists, and scientists who share a passion for solving hard problems and building ground-breaking experiences.
We are seeking a Principal-level engineer with specialization and depth of knowledge in software systems, as well as a breadth of skills across hardware, controls, sensing, and robotics. This role combines technical breadth, significant applied expertise in inventing, testing, and delivering innovative software and hardware systems, and a holistic understanding of system design. As an engineer on this team, you will work on developing new methods to bring characters to life, creating impossible yet magical effects in the real world, building immersive environments, and designing interactive experiences. You will have a proven track record of defining the future of complex systems, delivering robust, sustainable solutions, and solving problems that others might view as impossible.
You will report to the Executive R&D Imagineer.
This is a Full-Time role.
What You Will Do:
Invent, evaluate, and implement novel system architectures, pushing beyond conventional solutions
Contribute to defining and evangelizing technical standards across R&D, influencing engineering culture and practices.
Quickly build prototypes to assess the technical direction or the quality of guest experience enabled by new technology
Develop and shape long-term technical roadmaps, anticipating industry trends and aligning with organizational strategy
Conduct technical reviews of critical designs, identifying risks, scalability bottlenecks, and failure modes
Mentor all levels of engineers
Flex between working as an individual contributor in your specialty to leading a larger team towards a common goal
Identify, assess, and manage vendors as needed to accomplish project work
Draft and submit strategic patents based on prototype technology
Participate in external technical communities, publications, and industry events to drive thought leadership
Build and maintain strong cross-disciplinary partnerships with collaborators within Disney and external to the company
Required Qualifications & Skills:
10+ years of experience delivering highly complex software and systems at scale
Expertise in at least two of the following:
Autonomous systems and control
Design and implementation of machine learning platforms
Real-time embedded systems
Safety-critical systems
Ultra-high reliability systems
Demonstrated ability to invent and deliver first-of-their-kind solutions that have influenced an industry or large-scale product ecosystem
Strong record of mentoring principal engineers and shaping organizational technical excellence
Published patents, peer-reviewed publications, or recognized open-source contributions strongly preferred
Proven experience leading a team, but you still love to dig in and build or integrate new technology. You are just as comfortable on a team of two as a team of twenty
Extensive experience working with external vendors, large technology companies, and open-source codebases. You have proven experience delivering complex solutions in collaboration with external partners
Driven by the idea of creating new experiences for people, that our technological development is always in service of delivering magic to our guests
Thrives working in collaborative interdisciplinary groups comprised of engineering and creative talent
Experience managing the requirements of a diverse collection of stakeholders and proposing innovative solutions that meet and sometimes challenge those requirements
Education:
Bachelor’s degree in an engineering field preferred.
Additional Information:
Disney offers a rewards package to help you live your best life. This includes health and savings benefits, educational opportunities, and special extras that only Disney can provide. Learn more about our benefits and perks at https://jobs.disneycareers.com/benefits.
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The hiring range for this position in Glendale, CA is $188,400 to $252,600 per year. 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.
Über Walt Disney Imagineering:
Gegründet 1952 als WED Enterprises, um den weltweit ersten Themenpark zu entwerfen und zu bauen – Disneyland – ist Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI) der Ort, an dem Phantasie und Kreativität mit modernster Technologie kombiniert werden, um unvergessliche Erfahrungen zu schaffen. WDI ist die kreative Kraft, die sich alle Disney-Themenparks, Resorts, Attraktionen und Kreuzfahrtschiffe weltweit ausdenkt, entwirft und baut. Die einzigartige Stärke von Imagineering liegt in seinem vielfältigen globalen Team von kreativen und technischen Fachleuten, die auf Disneys Tradition des Geschichtenerzählens aufbauen und neue Formen der Unterhaltung entwickeln. Die Imagineers, die diese einzigartige Mischung aus Kunst und Wissenschaft praktizieren, arbeiten in mehr als 100 Disziplinen, um eine Idee von der Konzeptphase des „blauen Himmels“ bis zum Eröffnungstag zu verwirklichen.
Über The Walt Disney Company:
Die Walt Disney Company ist zusammen mit ihren Tochtergesellschaften und verbundenen Unternehmen ein führendes, diversifiziertes internationales Familienunterhaltungs- und Medienunternehmen mit folgenden Geschäftsbereichen: Disney Entertainment, ESPN sowie Disney Experiences. Von seinen bescheidenen Anfängen als Zeichentrickfilmstudio in den 1920er Jahren bis zu seiner aktuellen Vorreiterrolle in der Unterhaltungsindustrie trägt Disney stolz sein Erbe weiter und bietet Geschichten und Erlebnisse von Weltklasse, die alle Familienmitglieder bezaubern. Disneys Geschichten, Figuren und Abenteuer erreichen Verbraucher und Gäste aus allen Teilen der Welt. Gemeinsam schaffen unsere Mitarbeiter und Darsteller aus Niederlassungen in über 40 Ländern der Welt Unterhaltungserlebnisse, die sowohl auf globaler Ebene als auch im heimischen Umfeld begeistern.
Diese Position ist bei WDI Research & Development, Inc., das Teil eines Geschäftssegments ist, das wir Walt Disney Imagineering nennen.
WDI Research & Development, Inc. bietet als Arbeitgeber Chancengleichheit. Die Beurteilung der Möglichkeit der Beschäftigung von Bewerbern erfolgt unabhängig von ethnischer Zugehörigkeit, Religion, Hautfarbe, Geschlecht, sexueller Orientierung, Geschlechtsidentität, Geschlechtsausdruck, nationaler Herkunft, Abstammung, Alter, Familienstand, militärischem Status oder Veteranenstatus, Gesundheitszustand, genetischen Informationen oder einer Behinderung, oder anderer gemäß Bundes-, Landes- oder örtlichem Gesetz verbotener Merkmale. Disney fördert eine Unternehmenskultur, in der Ideen und Entscheidungen aller Personen uns dabei helfen, zu wachsen, innovativ zu sein, die besten Geschichten zu schreiben und in einer sich ständig weiterentwickelnden Welt von Bedeutung zu sein.