JAY BALCHER
Android Software Engineer
I’m a software engineer with diverse experience architecting and building robust solutions that drive business growth. My expertise lies in tackling complex logic and delivering high-impact features. I’ve worked for startups of various sizes and large corporations delivering features at a global scale. I thrive on ownership, transforming challenging requirements and legacy systems into clean, maintainable code that directly contributes to business value and user satisfaction.
Experience
The Walt Disney Company
RemoteKEY ACHIEVEMENTS
- 2025 Voted "Coach" by Android Team
- 2023 Key Employee Bonus
Principal, Disney+ Android Playback
Feb 2023 - PresentAndroid Playback UX Feature Delivery (Disney+)
- Led the delivery of pivotal Disney+ features across multiple high-impact projects, including integrating ESPN and Hulu content with live events and linear channels.
- Engineered solutions to meet stringent product and legal requirements for a global user base, including regional ratings and country-specific functionality.
- Enhanced and maintained offline playback capabilities for Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN content.
System Architecture & Modernization
- Architected and shipped a scalable redesign of the Disney+ Playback UX layer, significantly improving maintainability and performance.
- Spearheaded iterative development and incremental refactoring, enabling seamless integration of new features while modernizing legacy code.
- Designed a modular MVVM architecture that encapsulates complex business logic from multiple data sources.
- Orchestrated a resource-efficient system to manage multiple simultaneous players across diverse scenarios.
Leadership & Innovation
- Conducted technical interviews for multiple positions and teams.
- Leveraged AI to rapidly prototype and validate new engineering concepts.
- Participated in Hackathons demonstrating wearable integration.
Engineering Manager, Disney+
Feb 2022 - Feb 2023Android Playback Team - USA
- Led a small team of Android engineers in delivering key features.
- 30% Mentoring · 60% Android Development · 10% People Management
Senior Android Engineer, Disney+
Dec 2020 - Feb 2022Android Playback Team - USA
- Developed and shipped key features for the Disney+ Playback UX.
- Contributed to the successful launch of Star+ in Latin America.
NHL Android Lead
Feb 2018 - Dec 2020Led a distributed engineering team through the full development lifecycle of the official NHL app for Android Mobile, Fire Tablet, Android TV, and Fire TV platforms.
Feature Highlights
- Engineered a fully native GameCenter experience to boost fan engagement.
- Implemented GameFlow, a real-time visualization of in-game momentum.
- Created an engaging intermission animation visualizing the ice resurfacer’s progress.
Experience (Continued)
Staance
San Francisco, CA
Startup
Engineering Team Lead
Feb 2016 - Aug 2016Team Leadership
- Mentored junior engineer with no prior Android or Java experience into a critical team member responsible for major features.
- Resolved technical and personnel issues resulting in a highly productive and cohesive team.
Technical Leadership
- Eliminated tech debt dramatically improving application performance and stability in 2 sprints.
- Enabled ProGuard in release builds for a smaller and more secure APK.
- Implemented GitFlow branch and release process producing better code and faster release cycles.
Product
- STAANCE provides a platform for people to make a statement, view other’s reactions, and start meaningful conversations.
UI Development
- Created compelling and interactive UI for major app features, including notifications, agree/disagree slider, and animated floating action buttons.
Nike
Beaverton, OR (WHQ)Senior Android Engineer
Oct 2014 - Aug 2015Nike+ Running
- Senior developer on the Nike+ Android Running team working on features and stabilization.
- Nike’s most popular Android app used by millions of runners around the world.
- Application has over 10 million installs and maintains a 4.4+ rating on Google Play.
Key Contributions
- Built new home screen with rolling number and leaderboard animations.
- Implemented memory and bandwidth optimizations.
- Worked with GPS, BLE, SQL, REST, JUnit.
- Integrated 3rd party libraries and mentored junior team members.
Jive Software
Portland, OR
Startup
IPO
Senior Software Engineer
Oct 2011 - Aug 2014Jive for Android
- Member of the Jive for Android team working on the launch of a native Android application.
- Responsibilities include requirement gathering, new feature design and implementation, maintenance and bug fixing.
- Contributed to defining architectural patterns used throughout the application.
- Technologies: Android SDK, Java, REST Services, Robolectric, git, gerrit, maven, IntelliJ
Jive Cloud Admin
- Key member on the team responsible for launching, improving, maintaining, and troubleshooting Jive Cloud SAAS service.
- Played vital role in the launch of the Try-Jive service and resolving all issues in a timely manner.
- Developed JMeter load tests instrumental in pinpointing critical bottlenecks in the service stack.
- Developed functionality that improved the speed, reliability, and stability of upgrading Jive’s largest customers.
- Technologies: Java, Spring, Postgres SQL, XMPP, JMeter, REST, git, maven, Mockito