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Senior Manager, Media Systems Engineer

Apply Now Apply Later Job ID 10061022 Location Bristol, Connecticut, United States / The Woodlands, Texas, United States / New York, New York, United States Business Disney Entertainment & ESPN Technology Date posted Dec. 11, 2023

Job Summary:

On any given day at Disney Entertainment & ESPN Technology, we’re reimagining ways to create magical viewing experiences for the world’s most beloved stories while also transforming our media business for the future. Whether that’s evolving our streaming and digital products in new and immersive ways, powering worldwide advertising and distribution to enhance flexibility and efficiency, or delivering Disney’s unmatched entertainment and sports content, every day is a moment to make a difference to partners and to hundreds of millions of people around the world.

A few reasons why we think you’d love working here:

  • Building the future of Disney’s media: DE&E Technologists are designing and building the infrastructure that will power our media, advertising, and distribution businesses for years to come.

  • Reach & Scale: The products and platforms this group builds and operates delight millions of consumers every minute of every day – from Disney+ and Hulu, to ABC News and Entertainment, to ESPN and ESPN+, and much more.

  • Innovation: We develop and implement groundbreaking products and techniques that shape industry norms and enhance how audiences experience sports, entertainment & news.

Engineering Services designs, builds, and sustains technology that powers DE&E Technology’s worldwide content production and distribution platforms. In doing so, they contribute to a series of cross-functional services and technologies, including Quality Assurance, Data Analytics, Software Development, Broadcast Infrastructure, and Networking & Security.

JOB SUMMARY

Disney Media Systems Engineers have a clear charter: to transform the capability and flexibility of how Disney acquires, produces, and distributes content worldwide, all while ensuring the highest levels of quality, efficiency, and resiliency.

Disney Media Systems Engineers are subject matter experts on complex and multifaceted disciplines which requires a deep knowledge of hardware and software-based technologies. Individuals in these roles must possess a comprehensive theoretical and practical understanding of the technology that powers the generation, monetization, and distribution of all forms of consumer- facing linear and digital video/audio content. The team is responsible for the oversight of numerous systems such as Playout Technology, Studios, Production Control Rooms, Remote Production, Post-Production, Contribution/Distribution Systems, Networking, Cloud Compute, Production Software and Virtual Environment and more.

The Senior Manager Media Systems Engineer acts as a technical leader and is responsible for working with engineers to architect solutions to business/stakeholder requests. This individual will also work closely with management, Executive Leadership, and key stakeholders to gather infrastructure requirements and holds the accountability for influencing the advancement of Disney’s technical posture and approach. This includes being accountable for the strategy and implementation of our core technology, as well as defining and directing the strategic vision and roadmap for the technological framework across key locations.

The Senior Manager Media Systems Engineer will work with vendors and industry trade organizations to define and evolve industry standards that impact our business. The Senior Manager Media Solutions Engineer will work collaboratively with engineers and architects to lead all aspects of the design and build of Disney’s most impactful projects and will leverage their experience to create policies, procedures, and standards that drive all our technological development.

 

RESPONSIBILITIES

  • Responsible and lead a team of engineers to modernize Disney legacy media production infrastructure systems through the identification of new technological innovations and advancements within the industry. (i.e., SMPTE ST 2110, 4K, UHD, HDR, JPEG-XS, NDI, ProRes Raw, H.265, AV1, metadata conversion, audio mapping, system outages, microservices architecture tunning and related technical problems.

  • Own, lead and manage the panning and executing of on-prem and cloud-based broadcast production and infrastructure projects that support, conditioning, monitoring, routing infrastructure and distribution between and throughout all facilities for content ingest and network distribution (linear, digital, and streaming platforms).

  • Direct, manage a team of senior engineers to architect, design, document and implement media technology environments and construction of facilities that are aligned with industry standards for innovation, which allow DE&E Technology the ability to acquire, produce, store, stream, and distribute our content across all infrastructure.

  • Lead and work closely with engineering services and operations’ management and various internal teams to gather requirements and develop broad-scale solutions based on broadcast facility’s needs, production workflows. Implement new cutting-edge technologies and define areas of innovation opportunity. Drive the overall investigative strategy to bring synergy and efficiency across Disney facilities and our overall broadcast ecosystem.

  • Partner with our Portfolio and finance teams on project capital planning and forecasting, estimations, dependencies, business value/justification, synergy.  and prioritization of work. Develops project plans, schedules.

Minimum Qualifications: 

  • 10 years of demonstrated and relevant experience in leading others, managing on-air broadcast facilities, developing technical strategies ensuring efficient design/build, uptime, and overall stability of the technical environments of live media production and distribution.

  • Bachelor’s Degree in electrical engineering, computer science, and/or equivalent 10+ years of work experience.

  • Strong understanding of baseband/IP video, audio and digital compression, transport systems, audio/video encoding/transcoding techniques, transfer acceleration systems and formats.

Preferred Qualifications:

  • Proficient with technologies like microservices, DevOps tools, design principles, practices, standards, and guidelines.

  •  Expert level knowledge and experience with on-prem and cloud-based storage and compute infrastructure platforms and current technological offerings. (Virtual machines, docker containers).

  • File-based workflows like enterprise Media Asset Management systems (Cloud-based Cloud Compute or Local Network-based) including storage, compute, encode and distribution.

  • Proficient with software development, scripting, and integration with 3rd party services via api.  Experience with Java, servlets, web applications, Oracle SQL Experience (PL/SQL), MySQL experience is preferred.

  • Expert level knowledge and experience with compression techniques such as MPEG2/4, HEVC, JPEG 2000, and JPEG XS.

  • Working knowledge of DNS, DHCP, TCP/IP, HTTP, UDP, SSL, and SNMP.

  • Proficiency in AutoCAD.

  • Expert knowledge in standards for broadcast television and video production/streaming environments with a current certification such as not limited to ST 292M, ST 424M, ST 2110, ST 2059, IEE1588, ST 2022-7, SCTE-104, NMOS IS-04, 05, etc.

#DISNEYTECH


The hiring range for this position in Connecticut is $149,300 to $200,200 per year, in New York is $156,300 to $209,600 per year, and in Texas is $142,200 to $190,600 per year. . The base pay actually offered will take into account internal equity and also may vary depending on the candidate’s geographic region, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience among other factors. A bonus and/or long-term incentive units may be provided as part of the compensation package, in addition to the full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the level and position offered.

About Disney Entertainment & ESPN Technology:

Disney Entertainment and ESPN Technology (DE&E Technology) provides the technological backbone and product development for Disney’s two media business units, while helping to keep the company at the vanguard of innovation – enabling the Company to continuously leverage technology to enhance storytelling and creativity, while delivering scalability, flexibility, and efficiency for its businesses.

About The Walt Disney Company:

The Walt Disney Company, together with its subsidiaries and affiliates, is a leading diversified international family entertainment and media enterprise that includes three core business segments: Disney Entertainment, ESPN, and Disney Experiences. From humble beginnings as a cartoon studio in the 1920s to its preeminent name in the entertainment industry today, Disney proudly continues its legacy of creating world-class stories and experiences for every member of the family. Disney’s stories, characters and experiences reach consumers and guests from every corner of the globe. With operations in more than 40 countries, our employees and cast members work together to create entertainment experiences that are both universally and locally cherished.

This position is with Disney Streaming Technology LLC, which is part of a business we call Disney Entertainment & ESPN Technology.

Disney Streaming Technology LLC is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, protected veteran status or any other basis prohibited by federal, state or local law. Disney fosters a business culture where ideas and decisions from all people help us grow, innovate, create the best stories and be relevant in a rapidly changing world.

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