Principal Enterprise Architect

About The Role

The Walt Disney Company (TWDC) is a world-class entertainment and technological leader, known for creating unforgettable experiences. Disney Experiences Technology is part of this enterprise, focusing on creating immersive digital experiences for various brands including Disney’s Parks & Resorts worldwide, Disney Cruise Line, Aulani, and Disney Vacation Club. We are seeking a Principal Enterprise Architect to lead through influence, shaping strategy, driving enterprise alignment, and guiding critical technology initiatives.

What You Will Do

• Lead Through Influence: Operate as a senior advisor and strategic influencer to executives and domain leaders, aligning technology investments with business outcomes.
• Advance Repository Practices: Ensure architectural metadata and taxonomy integrity within the BlueDolphin repository, enabling enterprise transparency and decision support.
• Foster Collaboration: Build partnerships with Product, Engineering, Operations, and Security teams to co-own outcomes, not dictate them.
• Mentor and Inspire: Coach solution architects across federated business domains to raise the bar on architecture quality, reusability, and scalability.
• Communication and Influence: Translate architectural strategy into compelling business narratives that resonate with executive audiences and technical teams alike.
• Champion Modernization and Platform Thinking: Lead initiatives that simplify, modernize, and integrate platforms across Commerce, Payments, Ticketing, and Entitlements.
• Balance Short-Term Delivery with Long-Term Strategy: Facilitate informed trade-offs, track technical debt decisions, and ensure alignment with enterprise objectives.

Required Qualifications & Skills

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Information Technology, or related field required.
• 10+ years of increasing levels of responsibility in architecture-oriented roles.
• 5+ years of experience as an Enterprise Architect.
• 8+ years of Software Engineering experience across multiple languages, both front-end and back-end.
• Expertise with enterprise architecture repository tools (e.g., tools similar to BlueDolphin or LeanIX).
• Strong leadership experience mentoring architecture teams.
• Proven ability to influence without authority across technical and business domains.
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-domain architectural initiatives and guide decision processes.
• Deep understanding of governance frameworks (TOGAF or similar) and experience if Architecture Review Board.
• Experience defining and applying metadata models, taxonomy relationships, and governance.
• Understanding of both front-end and back-end technologies.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to explain technical decisions to business stakeholders.
• Deep understanding of governance frameworks (TOGAF or similar) and experience if Architecture Review Board.
• Proven ability to align architecture with strategic objectives, OKRs, and scorecards.
• Hands-on familiarity with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP), API-led integration, security-by-design, and data architecture principles.
• Experience integrating emerging platforms or modernizing legacy systems at scale.
• Experience developing and managing architecture taxonomies, patterns, and standards.
• Experience evaluating emerging technologies within your area of expertise to guide strategic recommendations.

Core Leadership Capabilities

• Demonstrate executive presence: can influence VP and SVP level leaders without authority.
• Proven collaboration leader who mobilizes teams across organizational boundaries.
• Skilled storyteller who can articulate the “why” behind architectural direction in simple, business-relevant terms.
• Diplomatic and pragmatic — a trusted advisor who aligns people as effectively as systems.

Business and Cultural Alignment

• Thrives in a federated, creative, and high-visibility environment, where technology enables storytelling and guest experience.
• Comfortable operating in matrixed organizations and partnering with multiple business units.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills — clear, concise, and outcome-oriented.

Preferred Qualifications

• 6+ years of experience in an organization architecturally supporting commerce, payments, ticketing, or entitlements domains.
• Advanced degree in Computer Science or similar (MBA, MS) preferred.
• Experience delivering architecture in platform-oriented and product-led organizations.
• Background in API design and messaging standards.
• Knowledge of security-by-design principles and secure architecture practices.
• Experience integrating SaaS solutions and working with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP).
• Familiarity with architecture maturity models and scorecards.
• Certifications such as TOGAF, ArchiMate, or equivalent enterprise architecture frameworks are desirable.
• 8+ years of experience working with cloud vendors.
• 8+ years of experience with databases (relational and non-relational).
• Experience with SaaS vendor implementations.
• Experience with messaging patterns and API design best practices.
• Experience implementing security best practices and security-by-design.

The Ideal Candidate

• A Principal Enterprise Architect at Disney Experiences thinks strategically like an executive and acts pragmatically like a builder.
• Believes architecture is a team sport — driven by collaboration, context, and clarity.
• Measures success not by control, but by influence and adoption.

Pay Range

The hiring range for this position in Orlando, Florida is $175,000-$210,000 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.