Systems Architect

Job Description

Responsibilities
The Los Angeles Technology & Operations department provides Technical Support, Engineering, Media Operations, Production, Studios and Facilities services for internal clients for the local portfolio of NBCU Owned Television Station businesses including a duopoly NBC and Telemundo News organization. The Technology team has responsibility for partnering with our local & division teams to build, deploy and support the technical systems used at NBCU Owned Television Stations in Southern California and across the country.
• Reporting to the Vice President of Technology, the Systems Architect is a full-time position within the Technology & Operations Department that will be primarily responsible for gathering requirements, planning, designing and implementing systems within our mission critical, multi-tenant broadcast and enterprise IT environment. The role requires that you possess the necessary self-discipline to take ownership and responsibility for delivering technical solutions considering both business and technical needs of all customers with the goal of providing a quality product that meets the user needs. You will be part of a talented team of engineers that demonstrate superb technical competency, delivering internal customer-oriented solutions, mission critical infrastructure, and ensuring the highest levels of availability and performance. The role will suit individuals who are excited by the opportunity to work with leading edge technologies in the design, implementation and transition to IP based and highly virtualized broadcast environments.

Job Responsibilities:
• The Systems Architect is responsible for resolving escalated service issues, coaching other engineers to resolutions, leading technology projects, and for maintaining and overseeing the mission critical technology platforms of the business. The Systems Architect will have demonstrated experience in technical mentorship amongst peers and is expected to be dedicated to advancing the knowledge and skills of the entire Technology department through establishing and reinforcing best practices, intentional and ongoing coaching, training and knowledge share efforts.
• The Systems Architect is responsible for overseeing long-term, complex technology projects & programs, as well as providing technical architecture and operational expertise. The Systems Architect will manage complex issues w/ cross-functional teams and many functional areas of expertise. The Systems Architect will also play a key role leading the evaluation and testing of new technologies through on-site test coordination and reporting.
• Develop strong working relationships with department leaders and their teams including Production Operations, Engineering, IT, Creative Services, Sales, Traffic and News Operations groups to define project requirements and create systems that creatively solve business challenges or implement new processes.
• Manage systems, documentation, develop best practices and implement new technologies & deliver projects on time & within budget.
• Design, implement, manage and support complex broadcast and IT systems over their complete life cycles.
• Promote the use of key documentation processes and the transfer of knowledge within the Engineering team
• Provide advanced troubleshooting & support for systems, infrastructure and applications, including root cause analysis.
• Evaluate and optimize workflows related to all broadcast systems including linear and IP fabric for video infrastructures, virtualized Windows & Linux environments, encode / decode platforms, newsgathering tools, NLE, Media Asset Management systems, distribution / transmission systems and other workflow tools.
• Evaluate, test and install upgrades to all platform operating systems, applications, and hardware
• Provide technical architecture and operational expertise following established enterprise reference architectures
• Risk Management: Assess all issues, adds, changes to mitigate potential system impact.
• Ongoing assessment of workflows, identifying manual processes that can be streamlined or improved upon with new hardware, software or automation
• Lead the evaluation of new technology; coordinate testing and reporting on resources needs, feasibility, budget and timing requirements for inclusion in strategic plan.
• Develop and maintain system documentation for operational and troubleshooting purposes.
• Work with operations and engineering teams to ensure SOP's & documentation are written and up to date
• Promote the use of key documentation processes and the transfer of knowledge within the Engineering team
• Provide coaching, leadership and technical expertise for other System Engineers and Technical Support Engineers
• Drive and maintain technical standards
• Produce work that is consistently professional, reliable and detail oriented.
• Other duties as deemed necessary

Qualifications/Requirements
Basic Qualifications:
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Broadcast Engineering or similar with 5+ years' experience preferred. Equivalent experience considered.
• Experience in a similar role with an ISP, media company, systems integrator or other relevant industry.

Eligibility Requirements:
• Must be willing to work in Universal City, CA
• Willingness to travel and work outside standard hours, and on weekends with short notice
• Must have unrestricted work authorization to work in the United States
• Must be 18 years or older
• Ability to lift and carry 50+ pounds of gear
• Must be covered by Solutions, NBCU's Alternative Dispute Resolution Program

Desired Characteristics

u>Desired Qualifications
• Experience in supporting large scale systems to support business needs
• Experience supporting a major market or network News operation
• Proficient with IT routers, switches, firewalls, and port management applications
• Proficient in A/V file transcoding, data archiving processes and video compression technologies & standards.
• Hands on experience with support of non-linear edit systems such as Premier, FCP, Edius.
• Demonstrated knowledge of media over managed IP networks and protocols.
• Knowledge and experience with hardware virtualization
• Knowledge of media workflow tools and production systems such as Vantage, Dalet, Ross Overdrive or similar.
• Knowledge of distribution systems including RF, streaming and satellite.
• Knowledge of newsgathering and communications systems
• Knowledge of / Certification in Enterprise Architecture practices
• Experience in managing large scale complex technical projects
• Strong ability to read and generate system documentation (Visio, ACAD).
• Positive work ethic, ability to work well in groups to execute projects on time and on budget while meeting customer expectations.
• Ability to communicate and interact effectively with diverse audiences across different departments, ranging from non-technical clients to technical professionals and operations staff.
• Must be able to process large amounts of information, analyze this information and make sound decisions, sometimes under intense deadline pressure.
• Knowledge of standard engineering processes such as change control and agile development concepts.
• Must be keen to learn and develop new skills

• Ability to work on own initiative
• Excellent organization, collaboration and communication skills.
• Must possess strong multitasking skills and the ability to prioritize tasks

Jobcode: Reference SBJ-dyk28m-3-145-201-71-42 in your application.