(Editor’s note: This interview is part of a series of Q&A profiles on Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology alumni who are using their degrees to make an impact in a wide range of industries and companies around the world. A compilation of their stories was published in the Summer 2022 issue of iConnect magazine.)
As a lead software engineer at Disney Streaming, College of Information Sciences and Technology alumnus Ryan Hartzfeld and his team are responsible for a set of core features within the company’s Disney+ and Star+ web applications — helping to bring fun and intuitive user experiences to the brand’s customers. Hartzfeld, who earned a degree in information sciences and technology in 2012, said that the heavy focus on teamwork and group projects at the College of IST prepared him to lead the collaborative process that is critical to his projects’ successes.
What are your primary responsibilities in your role?
I’m a lead software engineer at Disney Streaming, a business unit of the Walt Disney Co., which manages operations of the company’s streaming services, including Hulu, Disney+, ESPN+ and Star+. I serve as a leader to a team of software engineers that owns a set of core features within the Disney+ and Star+ web applications. I make individual contributions to the application’s code while also influencing the work of other engineers across the organization. I’m helping to establish and evolve best practices around things like automated testing, monitoring, alerting and performance. I also spend a good portion of my time mentoring other engineers to help them build their skills and advance in their careers.
How are you using your IST skills and education to make an impact in the entertainment industry?
One of the best parts of the coursework in the IST major was the heavy focus on teamwork and group projects. Despite what some people think, software development is rarely done in isolation — it’s a collaborative process involving thoughtful division of work, peer reviews and lots of communication. This type of project work applied across a breadth of topics positioned me to be a more versatile and effective leader. It also helped me to build a network of peers, which has been a valuable resource throughout my career.
What are the top current information technology trends, needs and concerns in your industry?
Automated end-to-end and integration testing is a big focus for many organizations as they try to have confidence that the code they are shipping is bug-free and behaving as expected without needing to enlist an army of manual quality assurance testers. Another hot topic is observability and monitoring, a set of practices that allow stakeholders to understand how their applications are behaving “out in the wild” so that they can be proactively alerted of bugs and performance issues that might be actively affecting users.
Through your role, how are you working to advance or address these trends, needs and concerns?
When I hear about some emerging technology like an automated testing framework or production monitoring tool from someone in my network, I’ll learn as much as I can about it as I can and evaluate whether it fits the needs of my organization. If I think we have a compelling use case for it, I’ll prepare presentations and technical proofs of concept to socialize the information with my peers and gather their feedback. If there is buy-in from my peers, I’ll work with leadership to justify the change and prioritize the changes against other work on our roadmap.
How did you end up in the entertainment industry?
I never had a specific plan to work in the entertainment industry, but I knew I wanted to build large-scale applications that are touched by millions of consumers. With the streaming industry growing at such a remarkable pace lately, working for Disney Streaming seemed like a great chance to jump in and make an immediate impact in the space.
What motivates you in your work?
A big motivator for me is delighting customers with fun and intuitive user experiences, especially when the end users include my own friends and family. It’s fun to ship software to people that you actually know!
What is the most rewarding part of your job?
I think the mentorship aspect of this role is the most rewarding part. I really love helping others to level up their skills and then seeing how they apply those skills in their day-to-day work.
What information technology changes, advances or needs do you envision in your industry in the next five to 10 years, and how are you poised to address them in your role?
Since I graduated from Penn State’s IST program, the “Internet of Things” has quickly gone from being an interesting concept to a vast and far-reaching reality. Everything from household appliances to industrial manufacturing facilities have become smarter and more connected. This poses some interesting challenges to UX designers and front-end engineers as they adapt their user interfaces to suit such a wide range of devices. This is also likely to drive technical innovations around code unification and de-duplication so that engineering organizations can maintain a smaller code footprint while delivering software to an increasingly broad array of devices.
How does the College of IST prepare its graduates for professional success in a broad range of industries?
The College of IST exposes students to a range of technical topics, from cybersecurity to human-centered design, and gives them the chance to home in on the area of study that’s most exciting for them. The faculty is incredibly supportive along the way, fostering their students' passions and opening doors into the professional world. Being excited and passionate about what you work on every day is a major key to having a successful and fulfilling career.