Product Designer (News)

Disney Entertainment and ESPN Product & Technology

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.

Design is centrally responsible for the design supporting all consumer-facing and business products and tooling for the Disney Entertainment & ESPN portfolio, including sports, entertainment, enterprise, UX, creative services and design research. Within this organization, the News Design team shapes the digital experiences that inform and empower audiences across breaking news, live coverage, in-depth reporting, and original journalism. We design experiences that are timely, trustworthy, and accessible, helping users navigate complex stories and stay connected to the world around them.  

About the Role

We are looking for a Product Designer II to join our News Design team. This is an opportunity to collaborate closely with cross-functional partners to design and ship valuable features and improvements across our digital news products.

As a Product Designer II, you will be challenged to solve our most strategic News design problems at scale for multiple platforms including mobile app, web, and CTV. You will contribute to bespoke product features and end-to-end experiences that support core user journeys, such as story discovery, live and breaking news engagement, personalization, and content consumption. You will apply a user-centered, data-informed design process to create intuitive, accessible solutions that delight our users and keep them informed.  

What You’ll Do

• You will work independently with guidance from your design manager and mentor, taking ownership of well-defined problem spaces while continuing to grow your influence and craft
• Apply a user-centered, data-informed design process to understand user needs and translate them into clear, thoughtful design solutions
• Design and ship features and product improvements across web, mobile, CTV, and other supported platforms
• Partner closely with product, engineering, research, and editorial teams to deliver elegant and practical solutions
• Clearly articulate project goals, design rationale, and tradeoffs in critiques, team reviews, and stakeholder presentations
• Rapidly concept solutions at varying levels of fidelity from sketches and wireframes to high-fidelity mockups and prototypes
• Leverage and contribute to our design system, using established patterns and guidelines to ensure consistency and quality
• Proactively seek and incorporate feedback from design critiques and cross-functional partners, and provide thoughtful critique to peers
• Manage your time effectively, estimate work accurately, and communicate project status, risks, and dependencies clearly
• Embrace ambiguity with curiosity, using it as an opportunity to learn and refine your problem-solving approach

Who You Are

• User-centered, motivated to understand behaviors, motivations, and context in order to design meaningful solutions
• A collaborative teammate who works well cross-functionally while taking accountability for your own deliverables
• Developing strong product thinking, with a growing understanding of how your work contributes to broader organizational strategy
• Skilled in interaction and experience design and visual execution, prototyping, 
• Comfortable presenting your work and explaining your design decisions to stakeholders
• Adaptable and receptive to feedback, using critique as a tool for growth
• Organized and detail-oriented, ensuring quality throughout the design process
• Proactive in seeking learning opportunities with a commitment to continuing to develop your craft

Required Qualifications & Skills

• Minimum 3 years of experience designing consumer-facing digital products, preferably in media, content, or technology organizations
• Bachelor’s degree in Design, HCI, or experience in a related field
• Experience designing and shipping features across responsive web and native mobile platforms
• Solid understanding of interaction design principles, usability, accessibility, and platform conventions
• Experience working within and contributing to a multi-platform design system
• Proficiency in Figma and other standard design and prototyping tools
• Ability to balance user needs, business requirements, and technical constraints
• Strong written and verbal communication skills

The hiring range for this position in New York, NY is $112,000.00 to $150,100.00 per year, in Glendale, CA is $106,900.00 to $143,300.00 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.