Engineering Leadership

I lead engineers the way
I'd want to be led.

I've led data engineering teams at Disney, coached people through career transitions, and built products that serve real human needs. My leadership style isn't just technical — it's deeply human.

Open to EU opportunities
Cornell CS (B.A. + M.Eng.)
English · Korean

// leadership track record

2017 – 2025

Staff Data Engineer & Technical Lead

The Walt Disney Company · Studio Technology
  • Led two data engineering teams as technical lead — owning technical direction, project planning, and day-to-day execution alongside product owners
  • Served as the bridge between engineering and non-technical stakeholders in marketing, consumer analytics, and theatrical — translating complex data concepts into actionable insights
  • Drove architectural modernization across the team: introduced Docker, automated CI/CD, and championed best practices that outlasted my tenure
  • Authored 75% of the team's production pipelines — leading by example, not just by title
  • Owned the Amundsen data catalog initiative end-to-end: technical design, team coordination, deployment on Kubernetes — giving the broader org visibility into their own data
2015 – 2017

Data Infrastructure Engineer

Foursquare Labs · SF / NYC
  • Owned the Kafka 10 migration — a high-risk infrastructure upgrade requiring coordination across multiple teams and zero-downtime rollout
  • Built cluster monitoring tooling that became the team's standard for capacity planning and incident prevention
  • Worked cross-functionally between the data engineering, product, and ML teams to improve the recommendation engine (7% US performance lift)

// what makes me different

🧭

Technical Depth + People Instinct

I'm not a manager who stopped coding. I'm a Staff-level engineer who also deeply understands what motivates people, what blocks them, and how to unlock their best work.

🌍

Cross-Cultural by Default

Korean-American, bilingual, raised across cultures. I've spent my life navigating between different communication styles — a skill that translates directly to leading international engineering teams.

🎓

Coaching Background

Between Disney and now, I ran a coaching practice helping people through career transitions, self-understanding, and intentional living. This isn't a gap — it's a superpower. I know how to listen, give feedback, and help people grow.

// how I lead

Lead by building, not just directing.

At Disney, I authored 75% of the team's production pipelines. Good technical leaders stay in the code. You can't make informed architectural decisions from a dashboard.

Make the implicit explicit.

The biggest source of engineering dysfunction is unspoken assumptions. I invest in documentation, clear decision frameworks, and naming things that feel unnamed. The Amundsen data catalog was born from this philosophy — making data that existed in people's heads visible to the entire org.

People aren't resources.

Engineers do their best work when they feel seen, challenged, and trusted. I create that environment — through 1:1s that go beyond status updates, honest feedback, and genuine interest in where people want to grow.

// the full picture

2025 – PRESENT

Building independently

Ran a coaching practice, built full-stack web products, explored what's next. Designed, coded, and deployed a digital ecosystem from scratch — sites, apps, APIs, content tools, analytics.

2017 – 2025

Staff Data Engineer · Disney

Led teams, built pipelines, modernized legacy infrastructure. The core chapter of my engineering career.

2015 – 2017

Data Infrastructure Engineer · Foursquare

Built recommendation systems and data infrastructure at one of the defining location-tech companies.

2005 – 2011

B.A. & M.Eng. Computer Science · Cornell

Where the foundations were laid.

Want the technical deep-dive?

See the full engineering profile — tech stack, pipeline details, and system design experience.

→

Let's talk.

Based in LA, open to relocating to Europe. Looking for engineering leadership and senior/staff roles where technical depth meets team growth.

hyunjoon.seol@gmail.com
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