Director, Live Production Engineering

Every great story has a new beginning, and yours starts here.

Welcome to Warner Bros. Discovery… the stuff dreams are made of.

Who We Are…

When we say, “the stuff dreams are made of,” we’re not just referring to the world of wizards, dragons and superheroes, or even to the wonders of Planet Earth. Behind WBD’s vast portfolio of iconic content and beloved brands, are the storytellers bringing our characters to life, the creators bringing them to your living rooms and the dreamers creating what’s next…

From brilliant creatives, to technology trailblazers, across the globe, WBD offers career defining opportunities, thoughtfully curated benefits, and the tools to explore and grow into your best selves. Here you are supported, here you are celebrated, here you can thrive.

Your New Role...

This engineering leader is responsible for technical direction and the convergence of information technology and Live Production technology in support of Warner Bros. Discovery’s News, Sports, and Entertainment production capabilities center in Atlanta, Georgia. Partners with creative, technical operations, project management, integration teams and other support groups to influence and implement the most effective use of technology to provide exceptional service. Participates with clients in strategy development, builds and supports multiple departments to accomplish objectives, and leverages cross-divisional expertise to deliver comprehensive products and services while leaning into cutting-edge solutions to support our Live Production portfolio for year-round live events serving a 24x7 facility. This is inclusive of multiple studios, production control rooms, record and playout servers, augmented and virtual reality systems, remote production (REMI), artificial intelligence, and cloud technologies all within a state-of-the-art SMPTE 2110 native facility for linear and OTT streaming services. Fosters a culture of DE&I.

Your Role Accountabilities...

• Establish tactical plans for systems implementation, consistent with defined objectives and strategic direction for internal clients and business deliverables. Define and lead departments through initiatives to leverage industry-leading practices and migrate broadcast engineering toward modern technology trends, merging legacy production systems with “traditional” IT. Ensure on-going supportability and scalability of systems.
• Partner with clients to influence business goals and facilitate the development and growth of strategic vendor relationships. Lead objectives by enabling clients to leverage technology in a way that adds value to the business, results in project deliverables, and efficiencies. Identify and champion business process change in support of best practices such as the continued adoption of ITIL Service Management principals. Embrace accountability to the client by measuring and communicating departmental metrics and demonstrating tangible impact to the business unit’s success to protect our brands.
• Empower and provide accountability, guidance, and direction to Managers, Supervisors, Project Managers, Team Leads, and employees at the individual contributor level with regard to effective development and service delivery. Establish, cultivate, and define procedures, standards, and practices that leverage cross-team synergies and facilitate the accomplishment of team/departmental goals with a focus on delivering world class customer service.
• Work with senior leadership, clients, finance, and corporate IT/Engineering groups (as necessary) to establish and maintain budgetary control and accountability. Oversee the management of departmental operating and capital expenditures within approved budget and escalate issues as appropriate. Mentor Managers with regard to budget forecasting, tracking, and accountability, soliciting their input and participation to ensure budget integrity and compliance. Continually identify and implement cost and productivity improvements while maintaining consistent quality to meet business objectives.
• Provide leadership in support of organizational direction and culture within and across departments. With the support of our People and Culture team, coach individuals in addressing complex or critical employee/management issues and in increasing the long-term capability of the organization by recognizing and developing employee skills, deploying human assets in alignment with individual career goals and organizational needs, and shifting resources decisively and effectively as business needs change.
• Participate in the development and communication of organizational mission, direction, and accomplishments to facilitate mutual understanding of the value and progress of departmental efforts. Build and develop a team of capable managers to guide, support, and perform day-to-day management of the department. Also facilitates collaborative relationships across departments and participates in broader efforts.

Qualifications & Experiences...

• At least seven years of experience managing a Live Production Engineering and/or information technology function, including staff management, budgeting, project planning/implementation, and support. Areas where direct management is lacking should be supplemented with industry exposure (e.g., having managed IT in a news/sports/media/entertainment business) and partnership (e.g., engineering management that has worked closely with IT management on projects and support efforts). Experience should include some combination of the following:

• Success coordinating and executing all technical facets of tent-pole live events for News or Sports.
• Demonstrated experience with studios, production control rooms, newsrooms and related technical equipment.
• Demonstrated experience with client-server system architecture, networks, operating systems, software, VDI and PCoIP technology.
• Experience with supporting studios studio for a major cable or television network.
• Demonstrated success in managing crucial conversations
• Demonstrated ability to manage long-term, full-scale projects, as well as multiple/concurrent small projects that contribute a positive impact to business goals
• Demonstrated understanding of business management (i.e., operations, financial controls, human resources policies and practices, strategic planning) and the application of technology to organizational systems. Demonstrated ability to understand the systemic nature of various courses of action and influence business direction to enhance company performance.
• Demonstrated success in managing a diverse staff of employees and resolving difficult interpersonal/professional conflicts.
• Demonstrated ability to build teams and distribute work in an effective way across the organization.
• Exposure to structured project methodologies and project management tools (e.g., MS Project).
• Demonstrated ability to integrate systems in support of common departmental goals
• Demonstrated ability to communicate complex industry and business concepts to a non-technical audience in a way that facilitates understanding and unites others toward accomplishment of mutual objectives
• Demonstrated ability to hire, develop, and retain employees to leverage individual strengths and interests while simultaneously increasing the overall capability of the organization. Demonstrated ability to provide constructive feedback, resolve conflicts, and manage change.
• Advanced project management skills (develop project charter and scope, allocate resources, track progress, etc.), problem-solving skills, and product/service innovation ability

DESIRABLE REQUIREMENTS:

• Prior hands-on experience as a technology leader
• Prior hands-on experience as an information technology professional (e.g., system engineer, DBA, Software Engineer, etc.) and/or manager. Experience with data/voice telecommunications technology highly desirable.
• Experience in news, sports, and entertainment programming.
• Transmission experience with J2K, JPEG XS, SRT, COTS across a wide area network for a large enterprise.

EDUCATION:

BS in Computer Science, Engineering, MIS, business, or equivalent education/training/experience.

How We Get Things Done…

This last bit is probably the most important! Here at WBD, our guiding principles are the core values by which we operate and are central to how we get things done. You can find them at www.wbd.com/guiding-principles/ along with some insights from the team on what they mean and how they show up in their day to day. We hope they resonate with you and look forward to discussing them during your interview.

The Legal Bits…

Warner Bros. Discovery embraces the opportunity to build a workforce that reflects the diversity of our society and the world around us. Being an equal opportunity employer means that we take seriously our responsibility to consider qualified candidates on the basis of merit, without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, mental or physical disability, and genetic information, marital status, citizenship status, military status, protected veteran status or any other category protected by law. If you’re a qualified candidate and you require adjustments or accommodations to search for a job opening or apply for a position, please contact us at recruitadmin@wbd.com.