Disney isn’t just one of the world’s best-known companies and most iconic brands — it’s also a dream job for many.
The Mouse House has hundreds of thousands of employees across its streaming division, movie studios, theme parks, and other subsidiaries like TV networks ESPN and ABC.
A top Disney priority under CEO Bob Iger is strengthening its streaming business by combining Disney+ and Hulu, investing in content, and increasing prices. The company has over 183 million global subscribers across its two main streamers as of early August, though the direct-to-consumer route leaves it vulnerable to boycotts and political backlash.
Disney needs top talent to fend off stiff competition from tech giants like Netflix and Amazon, as well as emerging threats like David Ellison’s revamped Paramount Skydance, which is building up Paramount+ by investing in the UFC and recruiting former Netflix executives.
Another threat to Disney and the rest of Hollywood is AI, including generative AI video tools like OpenAI’s buzzy new TikTok competitor, Sora. Disney and some of its peers are teaming up to fight AI companies like Midjourney by suing them for copyright infringement.
To get a sense of Disney salaries, Business Insider reviewed data from the US Department of Labor on Disney’s 55 H-1B applications for workers it sought to hire from October 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025.
Companies can hire skilled foreign workers using H-1Bs, which are temporary non-immigrant visas. Firms often target high-earners with H-1Bs, including those in tech roles. That trend could extend even further after President Donald Trump issued an executive order in mid-September that requires firms to pay $100,000 for each H-1B application. While this H-1B salary data sheds light on Disney’s salaries for certain roles, it doesn’t necessarily reflect its hiring patterns broadly.
Disney Parks recruiter Jason Gibson told Business Insider last month that job candidates don’t have to be obsessed with the Disney brand to get hired. He advised applicants across Disney’s divisions to harness their passion and storytelling abilities.
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“At the end of the day, we’re all cast members,” Gibson said, using Disney’s internal lingo for employees. “I think it does come back to just that positivity that you bring to it, and that wanting to share whatever the story is.”
Below are the positions that Disney planned to hire for in that span and the salary for each. This pay data is only for base salaries and excludes any additional bonuses, like stock awards.
Included, when applicable, is a salary comparison by position from October 1, 2021, to December 31, 2023, based on Business Insider’s previous story on Disney salaries.
Consumer Products
- Senior Database Developer: $164,329
Entertainment & Sports
- Director, Software Engineering: $230,500
- Lead Data Engineer: $191,012.50 (previous range: $168,171 to $181,100)
- Lead Software Engineer: $176,134 to $182,950 (previous range: $166,400 to $192,100)
- Manager, Software Engineering: $199,600 to $208,000 (previously: $207,000)
- Senior Data Engineer: $177,322.31 (previous range: $155,000 to $172,300)
- Senior Manager, Software Engineering: $237,325.50 (previously: $220,815)
- Senior Software Engineer: $162,431 to $197,019 (previous range: $140,000 to $175,000)
Financial Services
- Senior Manager, Transaction Support: $164,300 (previously: $164,300)
Parks & Resorts
- Associate Ride Control Software Engineer: $134,700
- Senior Master Planner: $113,500
- Senior Manager, Menu Planning And Development: $153,500 (previous for non-senior manager: $132,000)
Parks Technology Services
- Lead Solution Architect: $176,100.36 (previously: $161,475)
- Manager, Technology: $162,040.76 to $193,766.26 (previous range: $145,000 to $173,600)
- Principal Software Architect: $212,609 to $216,506.25 (previous range: $176,761 to $190,700)
- Principal Technical Architect: $190,855.79 to $191,566.47 (previous range: $171,000 to $190,000)
- Senior Data Engineer: $157,824.57 to $165,470.24 (previous range: $130,824 to $147,253.32)
- Senior Machine Learning Scientist: $177,436.56 (previous range: $167,344)
- Senior Manager, Technology: $234,310.23 (previous range for non-senior manager: $145,000 to $173,600)
- Senior Product Manager: $170,150 to $172,932.14 (previous for non-senior manager: $141,784)
- Senior Software Engineer: $148,673.60 to $163,471 (previous range: $118,738 to $147,370)
Streaming (including Hulu)
- Lead Data Engineer: $188,875.73 (previous range: $168,171 to $181,100)
- Senior Software Engineer: $165,566.99 (previous range: $143,600 to $180,000)
- Software Engineer: $130,000 (previous range: $130,000 to $130,800)
- Manager, Financial Accounting (Hulu): $127,570.79 (previously: $119,880)
- Manager, Software Engineering (Hulu): $190,600 (previous range: $180,455 to $241,020)
- Manager, Subscriber Data Analytics (Hulu): $120,000 (previously: $120,000)
- Originals Reporting Analyst (Hulu): $115,764
- Principal Software Engineer (Hulu): $220,000 (previous range: $215,000 to $220,815)
- Senior Data Analyst (Hulu): $139,404.80
- Senior Software Engineer (Hulu): $158,000 (previous range: $140,000 to $175,000)
Worldwide Services
- Decision Scientist: $119,028 (previously: $126,400)
- Senior System Support Engineer: $173,067.89
- Staff Data Engineer: $187,977.98 (previously: $170,000)
