The Walt Disney Company · 2 hours ago
Staff Data Engineer
Nicasio, CA
Full-time
Hybrid
Lead/Staff
$170K/yr - $229K/yr
8+ years expThe Walt Disney Company is seeking an experienced Data Engineer for the Skywalker Sound Development Group, specializing in the creation and optimization of data pipelines for AI/ML research. This role involves developing robust pipelines to support immersive audio applications and collaborating with researchers to improve data functionality.
Amusement Park and ArcadeAnimationConsumer GoodsDigital MediaE-CommerceMedia and EntertainmentMulti-level MarketingPerforming ArtsResorts
Responsibilities
Design, implement, and maintain scalable, automated data pipelines for the ingestion, preprocessing, and transformation of large-scale audio datasets
Ensure pipelines support efficient model training and retraining workflows, enabling continuous improvement of AI/ML models
Collaborate with AI/ML researchers to define data requirements and integrate feedback to improve data pipeline functionality
Develop advanced preprocessing techniques for immersive and multichannel audio formats (e.g., Dolby Atmos, high-order ambisonics)
Automate data cleaning, normalization, and augmentation processes to prepare datasets for various model architectures, including foundational models and transformers
Integrate external datasets and APIs while ensuring compliance with legal and ethical data usage standards
Monitor and optimize pipeline performance to handle complex and dynamic data structures effectively
Create tools and workflows for annotating, labeling, and curating datasets, including the use of active learning methods
Perform exploratory data analysis to uncover trends, validate dataset quality, and identify data gaps
Qualification
Required
Master's Degree with preference for PhD in Data Engineering/Science, Computer Science, Signal Processing, or a related field
8+ years of experience in data engineering or data science with a focus on building pipelines for AI/ML applications
Proficiency in Python, with expertise in data manipulation libraries such as Pandas, NumPy, and PyTorch's data utilities
Hands-on experience with audio processing libraries and tools (e.g., Librosa, FFmpeg, SoX) for handling complex audio formats
Familiarity with scalable pipeline tools like GitLab, Apache Spark, Airflow, or Luigi, and experience with containerized workflows (Docker, Kubernetes)
Strong understanding of data pipeline requirements for model training, retraining, and evaluation in iterative research workflows
Experience with immersive and multichannel audio formats
Knowledge of cloud-based platforms and tools for storage and processing, such as AWS S3, Redshift, or Google BigQuery
Strong problem-solving skills, with a proactive mindset for addressing evolving data challenges
Preferred
Experience integrating data pipelines with AI/ML workflows, including active learning and model retraining
Familiarity with audio-specific datasets and metadata management strategies
Knowledge of machine learning principles and how data quality impacts model performance
Experience with distributed training pipelines and large-scale dataset processing
Contributions to open-source projects or published research in the fields of data science or audio processing
Experience with visualization tools (e.g., Tableau, Matplotlib) for quality assurance and exploratory data analysis
Expertise in designing systems to support AI/ML model monitoring and retraining over time
Benefits
A bonus and/or long-term incentive units may be provided as part of the compensation package
Full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits
Company
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company started as a cartoon studio and evolves into sports coverage and television shows.
10001+ employees
H1B Sponsorship
The Walt Disney Company has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (83)
2024 (63)
2023 (96)
2022 (130)
2021 (30)
2020 (40)
Funding
Current Stage
Public CompanyTotal Funding
$11BKey Investors
Citibank
2020-04-13Post Ipo Debt· $5B
2020-03-20Post Ipo Debt· $6B
1978-01-06IPO
Leadership Team
Robert Iger
CEO
Christine M. McCarthy
Senior Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer
Recent News
2025-12-24
Company data provided by crunchbase