Staff Software Engineer - Usd Authoring

Job SummaryAt Walt Disney Animation Studios we have a deep commitment to the philosophy that creativity inspires technology, and technology inspires creativity. Engineers in our Production Technology department are charged with developing and implementing new algorithms to solve unique and challenging problems for all of our animated content. We do this working alongside a user base that shares a collaborative environment with us, and uses the code we develop to make our feature films.
We are looking for an engineer to join our Production Technology team, targeting software development in multiple domains, from core libraries to user interfaces.
In this role, you will be a part of a team of cross-site developers who partner closely with artists, production and technology leadership, technical directors, cross-team software engineers, and other technologists and researchers across Walt Disney Studios.
You will be leading efforts related to designing and implementing innovative workflows and state of the art solutions motivated by our new long-term vision for Walt Disney Animation Studios.
Projects Include
Designing and implementing core infrastructure to manage our shot, environment, and asset definitions and structures
Building new APIs to allow for artist-facing and data management tools to more readily access shot content
Supporting our productions by identifying and solving technical obstacles encountered by our artists
Extending and improving the core libraries used for end-user tool creation
Creating new user interfaces and tools for artists and technical directors to author, edit, access, and inspect shot and asset content
Adopting new external DCC’s and integrating them into our pipeline
Writing new tools and plugins into 3rd party apps for rough to fine story development
Devising artist dashboards for consolidating and managing tasks, encouraging collaboration and visibility into the characters, environments, story and the overall film making process What does it mean to be a developer here at WDAS?
Our engineers get the opportunity to work on the full stack of our tools, from developing the underlying algorithms through building intuitive artist-friendly interfaces.
Work hand in hand with artists to make the tools we need for the incredibly complex and rich characters and environments featured in our movies.
Develop on top of a highly performant, extendable in-house application framework.
Develop new artist-centric interaction models using the latest hardware and technologies.
Key Qualifications
Strong experience with C++ (including x11/x14) or equivalent experience
Strong experience with Python or equivalent experience
Strong experience with USD (Universal Scene Description)
Strong experience with Qt (for desktop development) or equivalent experience
7+ years experience designing and developing interactive tools, with 3+ years in senior technical roles designing core infrastructure
Partner with Technology leadership to establish architectural vision for key new frameworks including data models, GUI toolkits, and underlying core libraries and evaluation engines.
Extensive experience designing APIs from scratch as well as designing APIs that extend existing frameworks.
Ability to collaborate with team members across different disciplines including directly interfacing with stakeholders to understand requirements
Experience guiding cross disciplinary teams of engineers over open ended technical problem domains.
Demonstrated ability to lead development from architectural design to implementation, and through adoption, helping build adoptions plans and strategies with incremental integration milestones through a collaboration with key stakeholders.
Exemplary communication, teamwork and problem solving skills, balancing the timeliness of solutions with their sustainability. Able to collaborate with team and leadership to prioritize competing demands based on business value.
BS in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or related field Bonus Qualifications:
Understanding of computer graphics foundational concepts, and algorithms
Knowledge of animation, graphics techniques and algorithms
Experience building clean interfaces using modern UI development toolkits such as Qt
Experience leading cross-functional technical initiatives, aligning engineering efforts with broader organizational, production, or business priorities.
Ability to mentor and develop engineers through technical guidance, knowledge sharing, career coaching, and fostering a collaborative team environment.
Strong mathematical fundamentals, including linear algebra and numerical methods
Strong understanding of coding process, standards, continuous integration and testing principles
Masters in Computer Science
About Walt Disney Animation StudiosCombining masterful artistry and storytelling with groundbreaking technology, Walt Disney Animation Studios is a filmmaker-driven animation studio responsible for creating some of the most beloved films ever made. Disney Animation continues to build on its rich legacy of innovation and creativity, from the first fully-animated feature film, 1937's “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” to 2025’s “Zootopia 2.” Among the studio's timeless creations are “Pinocchio,” “Sleeping Beauty,” “The Jungle Book,” “The Little Mermaid,” “The Lion King,” “Frozen,” “Moana” and “Encanto.”
About The Walt Disney CompanyThe Walt Disney Company, together with its subsidiaries and affiliates, is a leading diversified international family entertainment and media enterprise that includes three core business segments: Disney Entertainment, ESPN, and Disney Experiences.
From humble beginnings as a cartoon studio in the 1920s to its preeminent name in the entertainment industry today, Disney proudly continues its legacy of creating world-class stories and experiences for every member of the family. Disney’s stories, characters and experiences reach consumers and guests from every corner of the globe.
With operations in more than 40 countries, our employees and cast members work together to create entertainment experiences that are both universally and locally cherished.
This position is with Walt Disney Animation Studios Vancouver Inc., which is part of a business we call Walt Disney Animation Studios.
To learn more about Disney's policies on the use of AI for candidates, click here.
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