Software Development Engineer In Testing Jobs in New York

Job Summary:
The Walt Disney Company is a global organization of engineers and technologists dedicated to advancing the technological backbone for Disney’s media business. They are seeking a Principal Software Development Engineer in Test to lead quality engineering initiatives across streaming, data, and advertising systems, driving automation and quality practices to enhance user experience and operational efficiency.
Responsibilities:
• Define and drive the vision, strategy, and roadmap for test automation and quality engineering across multiple business units and product lines.
• Influence organizational decisions regarding test architecture, process improvements, and adoption of modern testing paradigms (shift-left, CI/CD, observability, etc.).
• Establish and maintain enterprise-wide standards for quality, automation, and operational excellence in collaboration with executive stakeholders.
• Own the end-to-end quality strategy for large-scale, business-critical projects, including test metrics, release criteria, and automation objectives.
• Lead the architecture of scalable, resilient, and cloud-native test automation solutions that empower teams and improve defect prevention.
• Make high-impact technical decisions on frameworks, toolsets, and integrations to enable richer and more effective testing.
• Oversee technical reviews, mentorship, and hands-on guidance in complex areas such as distributed systems, data pipelines, and ad technologies.
• Partner with Platform Architects and DevOps to ensure seamless integration of quality gates and automated validation throughout deployment pipelines.
• Serve as a coaching resource to SDETs, engineers, and leadership, regularly conducting technical deep-dives, training, and knowledge-sharing sessions.
• Build consensus across product teams for standardization of test tools, frameworks, and reusable components.
• Facilitate root cause analysis for high-severity incidents, drive preventative and corrective actions, and communicate technical findings to senior leadership.
• Represent DEEP & Technology quality interests within company-wide engineering and business forums.
• Lead delivery of multiple concurrent, cross-team testing initiatives in fast-paced Agile environments.
• Manage test budgets, resource allocation, roadmap goals, and risk mitigation strategies across programs.
• Ensure rigorous governance over traceability, compliance, and test reporting, supporting company-wide accountability.
• Continuously identify bottlenecks and drive organization-wide solutions to improve efficiency, coverage, and reliability.
• Champion research and adoption of emerging technologies (AI/ML in testing, autonomous testing, advanced observability, etc.) to keep test practices ahead of industry standards.
• Define and track advanced quality metrics (escape rates, flakiness, system reliability), implementing data-driven improvements.
• Lead efforts to mature organization’s quality posture in performance, security, and reliability engineering.
• Inspire a culture of innovation, experiment with new tools and practices, and help set the direction for the future of engineering quality.
Qualifications:
Required:
• Minimum of 10 years experience in quality engineering, automation, or software development, with recent leadership responsibilities in large, complex engineering environments
• Passion around driving best practices in the testing space
• Knowledge of software engineering practices and agile approaches
• Strong desire for establishing and improving product quality
• Proven expertise architecting and scaling test automation for distributed, cloud-native systems
• Track record of influencing enterprise strategy and leading transformation initiatives
• Advanced proficiency with Python or modern OO languages; experience with ad-tech or large-scale systems is a plus
• Willingness to take challenges head on while being part of a team
• Strong communication, stakeholder management, and mentoring skills
• Bachelor's degree, preferably in Computer Science or related field (or equivalent work experience)
Company:
The Walt Disney Company started as a cartoon studio and evolves into sports coverage and television shows. Founded in 1923, the company is headquartered in Burbank, USA, with a team of 10001+ employees. The company is currently Late Stage.