Sr Mgr Software Engineering

Unclassified - Lake Buena Vista, FL

Full-time - Senior

Lake Buena Vista, FL

About the position

At Disney Experiences Technology & Digital, we are dedicated to creating world-class immersive digital experiences for our premier vacation brands, including Disney's Parks & Resorts, Disney Cruise Line, Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa, and Disney Vacation Club. Our team is responsible for the end-to-end digital and physical Guest experience across various technology and digital-led initiatives. This includes overseeing the Attractions & Entertainment, Food & Beverage, Resorts & Transportation, and Merchandise lines of business, as well as initiatives like MyDisneyExperience and Hey, Disney! The Sr. Manager, Software Engineering plays a crucial role within the Retail & Restaurant Commerce Technology organization. This position focuses on ensuring the seamless integration and functionality of the technologies that power our business. You will be tasked with strategizing, implementing, and supporting technology solutions that enhance operational efficiency and enable our staff to deliver exceptional customer service. This role encompasses a broad range of technology solutions, including software and specialized hardware, and requires a deep understanding of retail and restaurant operations. In this position, you will develop and implement a comprehensive technology support strategy that aligns with business objectives to support operations and enhance the Guest experience. You will lead the deployment and support of various technologies, including POS systems, Kitchen Management Systems, and mobile ordering systems, while managing competing priorities between daily operations, strategic projects, and continuous improvement activities. Compliance with data protection regulations and the implementation of robust security measures to protect customer and business data will also be a key responsibility. Additionally, you will develop training programs and provide technical support to food & beverage and retail operations teams, ensuring they are equipped to utilize technology effectively. You will manage relationships with internal stakeholders, business partners, technology vendors, and service providers, negotiating contracts and ensuring service level agreements are met. Supervising the maintenance and management of retail IT infrastructure to ensure reliability, scalability, and security will be essential, as will ensuring 24x7x365 support to maintain uninterrupted operations. You will also be responsible for planning and prioritizing software and hardware upgrades, implementations, and changes to meet or exceed overall systems availability metrics, including incident management, root-cause analysis, and problem resolution.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement comprehensive technology support strategy aligned with business objectives to support operations and Guest experience.
• Lead the deployment and support of various technologies including POS systems, Kitchen Management Systems, mobile ordering systems, and other retail/restaurant specific applications.
• Manage competing priorities between daily operations, strategic projects, and continuous improvement activities.
• Ensure compliance with data protection regulations and implement robust security measures to protect customer and business data (e.g., PCI/SOX).
• Develop training programs and provide technical support to food & beverage and retail operations teams on technology usage, troubleshooting, and best practices.
• Manage relationships with internal stakeholders, business partners, technology vendors and service providers, negotiate contracts, and ensure service level agreements are met.
• Supervise the maintenance and management of retail IT infrastructure ensuring reliability, scalability, and security.
• Ensure 24x7x365 support to maintain uninterrupted operations and promptly address any technology issues that may arise and lead the troubleshooting calls as required.
• Plan and prioritize software and hardware upgrades, implementations, and changes to meet and or exceed overall systems availability metrics, inclusive of incident management, root-cause analysis and problem resolution.

Requirements

• Deep understanding of retail and restaurant operations, industry trends, and emerging technologies impacting the retail and restaurant sector.
• Minimum 10+ years of related experience in managing technology operations preferably in a retail and restaurant environment, with at least 3 years in a senior leadership role.
• Experience leading technical sustainment teams providing 24x7x365 support of business-critical applications.
• Exceptional communication skills with the ability to collaborate and influence effectively with cross-functional teams and stakeholders at all levels.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving abilities, with a proactive approach to identifying and addressing technology issues.
• Excel at short-term tactical decision-making which supports long-term strategy.
• Prepare and deliver compelling presentations to senior executives on technology strategies, project updates, and ROI analyses.
• Manage the technology budget, ensuring cost-effective solutions and alignment with financial goals.
• Solid understanding of the software development life cycle SDLC (e.g. requirements, analysis, design, implementation, testing, and documentation) and associated execution models (e.g. Waterfall, Agile, Iterative Development, etc.).
• Able to resolve matters/issues positively, collaboratively, and respectfully.
• Experience managing virtual teams and work with resources in multiple sites (onsite, offshore, near shore).
• Experience managing and supporting POS applications with both client-server architecture and cloud-native architecture.
• Experience delivering new software and hardware applications using cutting-edge technologies.
• Experience with cloud infrastructure technologies with AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud Provider.

Nice-to-haves

• Relevant certifications such as PMP, CISSP, ITIL or similar IT service management framework.
• Experience with PCI & SOX compliance.
• Expertise with Cloud architecture, infrastructure design, DevOps and automation.
• Experience with Project Management.
• Expertise with Device Management.
• Familiarity with ITSM.
• Experience with application monitoring tools like Splunk, APM.