Senior Manager, Product Management

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.

Content Platforms & Operations is responsible for the development and ongoing advancement of the technical and operational functions driving the worldwide distribution and monetization of Disney’s linear networks and theatrical content. This includes Disney’s media supply chain and storage, network and theatrical distribution operations, media localization, network transmission and origination, and more. The global team also plays a critical role as the primary collaboration point for Product & Technology with Disney’s EMEA, APAC, and LATAM regional business teams.

Job Summary

The music supply chain technology team manages products and drives workflows that support/enable users to manage both publishing and recorded music business through acquisition, distribution, administration, and monetization processes leveraging analytics to make data driven decisions. 

Our team is seeking an experienced Sr Mgr Product Mgmt to join our team and manage the delivery of multiple projects from design to release while managing the project’s goals and contributing to the product strategy for end-to-end music supply chain.  

This role involves directly managing Product, Engineering, and Quality Assurance (QA) resources (both FTEs and contractors) for both project delivery and ensuring the day-to-day availability, stability, and enhancements of critical systems. The Senior Manager will be expected to foster collaboration across teams, prioritize tasks effectively, and deliver innovative solutions that align with the overall business and technology strategies. 

Responsibilities and Duties of the Role:

• Lead and manage a cross-functional team of product managers, software engineers, and QA specialists to successfully deliver complex, high-visibility initiatives, drive day-to-day operations, implement system enhancements, and ensure optimal system availability. 
• Foster collaboration between product, engineering, and QA teams to drive product vision, strategy, and technical execution. 
• Align cross-functional teams on common goals, ensuring clarity of vision, execution plans, and quality standards across all stages of the product lifecycle. 
• Define, drive, and communicate product strategy, ensuring alignment with business objectives and technology needs. 
• Own the product roadmap, ensuring clear communication between business and technology stakeholders on priorities, features, and timelines. 
• Lead multiple Agile (Scrum) teams in a continuous delivery environment, balancing resources, requirements, and complexity. 
• Oversee sprint planning, backlog management, and team progress, ensuring transparency and timely delivery of high-quality products. 
• Manage and develop engineering teams to write high-quality, maintainable, and scalable code. 
• Ensure best practices are followed in coding standards, automated testing, and system architecture. 
• Oversee the development and execution of User Acceptance Testing (UAT) in collaboration with QA, Operations, and Change Management teams. 
• Drive the implementation of robust quality assurance processes, ensuring that all products meet the highest standards for performance, security, and usability. 
• Define and enforce quality metrics, ensuring that all releases are fully tested and meet customer expectations. 
• Lead product and technical discussions with stakeholders, providing strategic influence and ensuring alignment between engineering, product management, and business leadership. 
• Articulate product and technical strategies to non-technical stakeholders, ensuring they understand the value, risks, and trade-offs involved. 
• Ensure transparent and continuous communication with leadership on project status, challenges, and opportunities. 
• Drive the alignment and standardization of processes across product, engineering, and QA teams to improve efficiency, scalability, and collaboration. 
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement, innovation, and knowledge sharing across teams. 
• Champion the use of frameworks, tools, and best practices to document information (user journey maps, flow charts, etc.) and ensure smooth cross-functional workflows. 
• Stay up to date with the latest trends in product management, software engineering, and QA, bringing forward relevant advancements to the team. 
• Lead the development and growth of team members, providing regular feedback and fostering a high-performance, collaborative culture. 
• Provide coaching and mentorship to junior product managers, engineers, and QA specialists to build skill sets and drive personal growth.

Minimum Qualification

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience.
• Minimum 10 years of related experience.
• 5 years of progressive experience leading product / engineering teams. 
• Demonstrate in-depth knowledge and experience in delivering solutions across music supply chain. 
• Proven ability to lead and inspire cross-functional product and engineering teams. 
• Expertise in aligning team goals with long-term business objectives. 
• Strong knowledge of product lifecycle management and roadmap development. 
• Experience with Agile, Scrum, and other software development methodologies. 
• Experience optimizing workflows and mitigating risks in technology operations. 
• Strong communication skills to engage stakeholders and foster collaboration. 
• Ability to identify and integrate emerging technologies for competitive advantage. 
• Experienced in leading and/or facilitating business workshops. 
• Strong sense of ownership and accountability with impeccable follow-through. 
• Strong prioritization and organization skills with experience juggling time-sensitive requests from multiple business partners. 
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, dynamic organization, executing on several initiatives concurrently while balancing competing priorities. 

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science
• Deep understanding of scalable, secure, and high-performance cloud-based systems. 
• Familiarity with cloud platforms like AWS, Azure, or GCP and cloud-native architectures. 
• Proficiency in using data and analytics for informed decision-making.