Speech and Immersive Technologies
Internship ESPN Fall 2015
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Role Rundown
Company Overview:
The Walt Disney Company is a world-class entertainment and technological leader. Walt’s
passion was to continuously envision new ways to move audiences around the world—a
passion that remains our touchstone in an enterprise that stretches from theme parks,
resorts and a cruise line to sports, news, movies and a variety of other businesses. Uniting
each endeavor is a commitment to creating and delivering unforgettable experiences — and
we’re constantly looking for new ways to enhance these exciting experiences. Bring your
individual talents here and discover for yourself why a career with Disney is the opportunity
you’ve been looking for.
Segment Overview:
ESPN, Inc., The Worldwide Leader in Sports, is the leading multinational, multimedia sports
entertainment company featuring the broadest portfolio of multimedia sports assets with
over 50 business entities. Headquartered in Bristol, Connecticut, ESPN is 80% owned by
ABC, Inc. (a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company), and 20% by the Hearst Corporation.
ESPN was founded by Bill Rasmussen and launched on September 7, 1979. Now with over
6,500 employees, each year ESPN televises more than 5,100 live and/or original hours of
sports programming. The company’s mission is to serve sports fans. Anytime. Anywhere.
Department Overview:
The Advanced Technology group is part of ESPN's industry-leading technology division, with
the charter to innovate, explore, adopt and prototype industry leading, next generation
technologies, platforms and solutions. The group will focus on forward-looking projects,
leading to meaningful products, solutions and experiences for ESPN fans and business.
Responsibilities
This position will be part of the Speech and Immersive Technologies Track of ESPN's
Advanced Technology Group, contributing to computer human interface (CHI), speech
recognition, multi-touch gesture interfaces, haptic, tactile, auditory, motion tracking and
gaze tracking technologies to deliver customized user experiences. The group will strive to
innovate industry-changing products for both broadcast and digital media, with the focus to
deliver high quality leading-edge innovations, from concept to reality.
The intern will:
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Participate in designing and implementing services, applications and frameworks related to
projects in the Personalization, Speech Recognition and Immersive Technologies, technology
track
Participate in ideation, design and development of ATG projects
Basic Qualifications
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Competency in C and C++ programming
Knowledge of one or more scripting languages (JavaScript, Python, Perl)
Prior development experience using Linux/Unix (Eclipse IDE) and Windows (Visual Studio
IDE) or Mac (XCode)
Preferred Qualifications
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Understanding of speech recognition algorithm and prior experience with using an open
source speech recognition engine
Prior experience in one or more of the following:
Understanding of language modeling and search algorithms
Knowledge of Cloud Computing and Distributed Computing APIs
Parallel algorithm design and development
Knowledge or multicore architectures (GPGPU, Multicore processors). Knowledge of GPGPU
programming & competence in one or more parallel programming APIs (CUDA, OpenCL,
OpenMP)
Acoustic Model training experience; Performance/Accuracy training
Noise Cancellation, noise reduction, noise suppression
Computer Human Interaction (CHI)
Prior experience with SDKs for mobile platform development (Android, iOS)
Analysis and problem solving skills
Strong written and verbal communication skills
Ability to work in teams
Required Education
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Currently enrolled in M.S. or Ph.D. graduate program in Computer Science, Computer
Engineering or a related discipline with strong programming background
Internship Program Type
Professional Internship
Additional Information
Internship Eligibility:
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Must be enrolled in a college/university taking at least one class in the semester/quarter
(spring/fall) prior to participation in the internship program OR be currently participating in
a Disney College Program or Disney Professional Internship
Must be at least 18 years of age
Must not have completed one year of continual employment on a Disney internship or
program. Note: Once you have completed one consecutive year of employment on a Disney
internship or program, there must be a minimum 6 month gap before the start of a new
internship or program
Must possess unrestricted work authorization
Must provide full work availability, which will include nights, weekends and holidays
Must provide own transportation to/from work
Program Length:
The length of this internship is 10 weeks, and Interns will work 40 hours per week. The
approximate dates of this internship are September 14, 2015 - November 20, 2015. Interns
must be fully available for the duration of the internship.
Housing:
Subsidized housing may be available on a first come, first serve basis for interns who live
greater than 50 miles from work location.
Recommendation – Print This Role Description:
Strong candidates may be invited to complete a phone interview. We strongly encourage
applicants to print a copy of this role description so they can refer to it in the event they are
selected for a phone interview.
ESPN is an Equal Opportunity Employer – Female/Minority/Veteran/Disability. Our goal is to
create an inclusive workplace for all.
Job ID: 269597BR-1