Senior Manager, AI Operations

Department Description: 

At Disney, we’re storytellers. We make the impossible, possible. The Walt Disney Company is a world-class entertainment and technological leader. Walt’s passion was to continuously envision new ways to move audiences around the world—a passion that remains our touchstone in an enterprise that stretches from theme parks, resorts and a cruise line to sports, news, movies and a variety of other businesses. Uniting each endeavor is a commitment to creating and delivering unforgettable experiences — and we’re constantly looking for new ways to enhance these exciting experiences. 

The Enterprise Technology mission is to deliver technology solutions that align to business strategies while enabling enterprise efficiency and promoting cross-company collaborative innovation. Our group drives competitive advantage by enhancing our consumer experiences, enabling business growth, and advancing operational excellence. 

Team Description: 

As a Senior Manager of AI Operations, you are responsible for leading and evolving our Artificial Intelligence Operations (AI Ops) practice. In this role, you’ll drive world-class operational performance, scalability, and reliability for AI-powered platforms in support of magical guest experiences and enterprise excellence. You’ll partner across technology, data science, engineering, product management, and business teams to enable operational excellence for Disney’s advanced machine learning and AI platforms and initiatives. 

This role requires a collaborative leadership mindset and someone who is both technically capable and highly skilled at building strong partnerships that drive critical business outcomes. This role requires deep interaction and cross-team dependencies that enable an integrated experience across all development workstreams. The ideal candidate is technically adept in software, machine learning, data, and AI development lifecycles, Agile and MVP approaches, as well exemplary leadership and communication abilities (both verbal and written).  

Responsibilities of Role: 

People Leadership 

• Manage, develop, attract, and retain a team of talented engineers, driving consistent practice across all AI Development and Initiatives 

• Set strategic goals and priorities for the team and provides supervision, guidance & feedback as needed to ensure the right outcomes are delivered 

• Lead the team to identify opportunities to continually improve and implement organizational change 

• Manage the development of the team, including performance appraisals, reviews, and training 

Innovation

• Identify, evaluate, and implement emerging technologies and best practices to enhance AI Ops capabilities at Disney. 

• Partner with all development workstreams and disciplines to assess baseline operational and support model maturity and subsequently develop a plan to drive best practices across the team 

• Leverage techniques that increase collaboration, predictability, and transparency for the team and organization, while promoting a culture of experimentation and innovation 

• Act as an AI Ops subject matter expert (SME) for the team and organization, imparting knowledge, and providing the team with tools for tailoring and implementing best practices.  

• Use a lifelong learning mentality, knowing the latest best practices and technologies 

Operational Excellence

• Work across all engineering disciplines to ensure 24/7 reliability and performance of AI services and infrastructure, including proactive monitoring, incident response, root-cause analysis, and resolution. 
• Develop key performance indicators (KPIs) and operational dashboards for AI-driven projects. 
• Develop and lead incident response plans, including communications, mitigation, and post-mortem analysis. 
• Communicate operational status, risks, and accomplishments to senior leadership and stakeholders. 
• Collaborate with Data Science, Software Engineering, Cloud, and Security teams to ensure seamless transitions from model development to production operations. 

Automation & Tooling

• Architect and implement AI-focused monitoring, alerting, automation tools, and CI/CD pipelines to enable rapid deployment and issue resolution. 

Support Model

• Support onboarding, documentation, and training for internal teams adopting AI solutions. 
• Develop a single support model plan inclusive of user requests, as well as system related events  
• Drive overall improvement in product usability and customer success, and reduce the cost of operational support 

Governance & Compliance

• Enforce best practices around AI/ML governance, security, auditability, and compliance with Disney policies and industry regulations. 
• Exercise good judgment when faced with risk, blockers, or tradeoffs 

Must Haves:  

• 10+ years’ experience in a technical engineering role such as software, data or systems engineering
• 5+ years in an operations, platform engineering, or DevOps management role
• Hands-on experience with ML lifecycle, MLOps platforms, and AI monitoring tools
• Advanced knowledge of generative AI, LLM operations (LLMOps), and large-scale data pipeline management
• Proficiency in Python, Bash, or equivalent scripting languages
• Demonstrated track record of managing incident response, monitoring, and operational improvements for critical systems
• Experience leading and growing technical teams in fast-paced, innovative environments. 
• Proven experience setting strategic vision, large scale application/data deployments, managing software or data development lifecycles, and resolving issues that impact design, product success, or address future technologies 
• Experienced in SCRUM/Lean Agile frameworks with an MVP/iterative approach 
• Ability to influence, take calculated risks, make sound business decisions, and resolve concerns as needed 
• Excellent interpersonal, business development, and communication skills (both written & verbal for both technical and non-technical audiences) 
• Positive can-do partnership demeanor while working with cross-functional teams and business units 
• Must be detail oriented, self-organized, and capable of simultaneously prioritizing multiple efforts 
• Proven ability to develop and deliver presentations geared for Senior and Executive Management 
• Ability to resolve conflict 
• Experience mentoring or growing other individuals; a deep passion for being a servant leader to others 
• Ability to thrive in a dynamic, collaborative, and fast paced environment 
• Models desired company cultural attributes and inclusive behaviors 

Nice To Haves: 

• Prior experience in the media, entertainment, or streaming industry. 
• Familiarity with Disney’s technology platforms, data environments, and compliance standards. 

Education: 

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Data Science, or related field (Master’s preferred) or equivalent experience.

#DisneyTech

The hiring range for this position in Burbank, CA is $171,600 to $230,100 per year and in Seattle, WA is $179,700 to $241,00 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.