ESPN

Job Description

Director Mobile Engineering & Client Application Development

ESPN, Inc., The Worldwide Leader in Sports, is the leading multinational, multimedia sports entertainment company featuring the broadest portfolio of multimedia sports assets with over 50 business entities. Headquartered in Bristol, Connecticut, ESPN is 80% owned by ABC, Inc. (a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company), and 20% by the Hearst Corporation.

ESPN was founded by Bill Rasmussen and launched on September 7, 1979. Now with over 6,500 employees, each year ESPN televises more than 5,100 live and/or original hours of sports programming. The company’s mission is to serve sports fans. Anytime. Anywhere.

The ESPN Mobile Product Development team is responsible for supporting a diverse collection of mobile products including downloadable applications, mobile web sites, and messaging products. Working in concert with product management and editorial, the Director, Mobile Application Development is responsible for the implementation and management of all client application development for ESPN Mobile products and services, with a focus on delivering only the highest possible quality experiences, which serve the diverse needs of sports, across the wide range of mobile devices and operating systems.

Responsibilities
Lead all client-side application development activities on existing and emerging platform, management of the in-house development team as well as working with external development partners and mobile industry partners Making reasoned and practical recommendations on hardware and software acquisition, technology vendor selection process and subsequent vendor management Day-to-day and long-term leadership of a technology organization Keeping abreast of industry trends and technologies, and being prepared to apply them quickly. Leading the technical analysis and evaluation of new technologies, vendors, products, and product enhancements A strong point of view on end-user functionality an eye for highly usable user interface design Maintenance and engineering support for currently deployed products, including off-hours escalation procedures Creating and enforcing development practices and standards Creating and maintaining close working relationships with other ESPN and Disney engineering teams; working with them to identify optimal architectures that suit Mobile product development goals and are in-line with the greater ESPN and Disney platform initiatives Frequent communication with the mobile leadership, product managers, sales and marketing, and editorial staff for direction, strategy, and priority

Basic Qualifications
 Minimum of 8 total years professional experience including a minimum of 4 years leading the development of building consumer-oriented products in a high volume environment, and a minimum of 4 years managing and mentoring direct reports, and a minimum of 2 years of experience building mobile client applications  Expert-level experience programming in Java and Cocoa Touch  Expert-level understanding of multi-tier web architectures, and OO design patterns and concepts  Experience managing multiple projects comprising short and long development cycles without supervision  Experience writing technical design docs and driving them through development  Very strong technical leadership including direct and dotted-line supervisory responsibility This position requires broad knowledge of modern data platform technologies and expert knowledge of mobile client-side technologies, specifically iOS (Cocoa Touch), Android (Java + Android SDK). Knowledge of any of the following will be helpful: Windows Phone 7 and Blackberry SDKs, digital video formats and distribution protocols, web stack technologies (presentation, caching, app, DB, networking), handset idiosyncrasies, and SMS/messaging protocols. This position requires highly hands-on design and development as well as leadership of direct reports, and management of development partners, as well as an active interest in product design, and cross-organizational product development. The successful candidate will lead and grow the client-side development team, and serve as a technology leader both within the mobile group, and more broadly across ESPN. This includes building on the software engineering culture, refining and enforcing development standards and processes, and working with other groups within ESPN on mobile and data-platform best practices.

Required Education
 BS, BA, or advanced degree in computer science, engineering or related field, or relevant work experience

Additional Information
Imagine a career with an organization that brings smiles to millions every day. Imagine working with people whose passion for what they do is simply indescribable. We are The Walt Disney Company, live with a rich legacy of innovation, entertainment, and lifelong memories. With our vast array of both businesses and professionals, you’ll have the opportunity to join a team that’s beloved around the world, and to find out how it feels to love what you do. We invite you to discover for yourself why a career with Disney is the opportunity you‘ve been looking for. ESPN, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. Our goal is to create an inclusive workplace for all.

Job ID: 4948BR