Principal Strategic Operations

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.

Ad Platforms is responsible for Disney’s industry-leading ad technology and products – driving advertising performance, innovation, and value in Disney’s sports, news, and entertainment content, across all media platforms.

As a Principal, Strategic Operations within Disney’s Ad Platforms organization, you will serve as the executive communications engine for one of the most technically sophisticated and strategically critical teams at Disney. In this highly visible role, you will lead the development of high-impact presentations and internal communications that articulate the vision, progress, and priorities of Disney’s proprietary ad platforms—including the Disney Ad Server (DAS) and Disney Real-Time Ad Exchange (DRAX).

You’ll craft compelling narratives, executive-level updates, board-facing materials, and organizational communications that bring clarity to complex topics and drive alignment across leadership, stakeholders, and partner teams. In addition, you will manage internal communication forums such as org-wide town halls and own the administration of roadmap visualization tools to ensure consistent, accurate, and audience-appropriate storytelling across all channels.

Key Responsibilities:

• Own the creation of executive-ready materials, including board updates, QBRs, strategic initiative decks, and product vision presentations.
• Translate technical, operational, and business inputs into clear, compelling visual narratives tailored to VP, SVP, and C-level audiences.
• Partner closely with product, engineering, and sales leaders to synthesize priorities and milestones into concise, presentation-friendly formats.
• Manage internal forums such as town halls and leadership updates, ensuring effective messaging and engagement across the org.
• Maintain and administer roadmap tools to support alignment and visualization of product priorities.
• Own the documentation and continuous refinement of the Ad Platforms organizational operating model—capturing how product and engineering collaborate across intake, planning, development, QA, and release.
• Maintain a living library of process artifacts, including RACI charts, planning cadences, intake flows, and delivery frameworks.
• Ensure a consistent voice and visual identity across all strategic communications within the ad platforms organization.
• Lead OKR development and executive-level reporting on performance.

Basic Qualifications:

• 10+ years of experience in strategic operations, business operations, or product strategy within technology, media, or advertising.
• Bachelor's degree in relevant field.
• Exceptional presentation development skills with mastery of Google Slides or PowerPoint, and a strong portfolio of executive-facing materials.
• Ability to translate complexity into clarity—both visually and narratively.
• Excellent storytelling, editing, and written communication skills, with experience supporting VP- and C-level executives.
• Strong collaboration skills with the ability to gather inputs across technical and non-technical teams and distill them into a cohesive narrative.
• Experience managing roadmap visualization tools and maintaining source-of-truth documents and frameworks.
• Deep understanding of advertising technology, monetization strategies, and the digital media landscape.
• Highly organized, adaptable, and comfortable with ambiguity and fast-paced environments.

Preferred Qualifications:

• MBA or equivalent experience in strategy, consulting, or scaled operations.
• Familiarity with Agile and experience in supporting product teams at scale.
• Experience supporting executive communications in a large-scale, matrixed organization.
   

The hiring range for this position in Glendale is $167,700.00 to $224,900.00 per year, in Seattle is $175,800.00 to $235,700.00 per year, and in San Francisco is $183,700.00 to $246,400 per year. The base pay actually offered will take into account internal equity and also may vary depending on the candidate’s geographic region, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience among other factors. A bonus and/or long-term incentive units may be provided as part of the compensation package, in addition to the full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the level and position offered.