Director of Broadcast Engineering

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Department

Operations

Time Type

Full time

Work Modality

Full On Campus Presence

Union

Excluded

Job Description

About the Department/Unit:

WAMU 88.5 is the leading public radio station in the greater Washington, D.C. area. We provide in-depth and enterprise reporting alongside essential daily news and information that aims to reflect and serve the diverse communities of our region. We believe in news as a public service and put our current and future audience at the center of our work.

Summary

This position is a leader of broadcast engineering operations for WAMU. This role is responsible for ensuring proper operation of all WAMU-related facilities, including transmitters, control systems, studios, and all related equipment in the on-air, production and transmission process. The position collaborates with WAMU IT systems engineering staff to ensure all audio routing and playback systems are meeting the needs of the broadcast facility and with the Digital Engineering staff on the successful delivery of live streamed and on-demand content online. The position coaches junior technical staff and teaches basics in field production, operation of newsgathering equipment, and set standards and procedures to be followed by staff operating production equipment in-house or in the field. This position ensures the operational stability of WAMU, working in concert with team members across the technology area to provide uninterrupted service to its listeners of the highest quality. At all times the position ensures the technical operations of WAMU comply with FCC rules, that work is performed in an appropriate manner consistent with industry best practices, and that threats to operational stability or compliance are identified, prioritized, and resolved as quickly as possible.

This position reports to the Chief Operating Officer, who sets the strategic technical direction of the station and is ultimately responsible for its overall technical operation. This role collaborates with the COO and is primarily responsible for the daily technical operation of the station, ensuring seamless delivery of content across multiple platforms. It has a key leadership role in the department and works to mentor, teach, influence, and establish standards and protocols for operation. It has key relationships with leaders in business IT, broadcast IT, and broadcast operations and will lead the team in ensuring day-to-day operational needs are met at all times. This position supervises up to two direct reports.

Essential Functions

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Project Management & Construction: Manages the design, construction, testing, troubleshooting, repair, maintenance, upgrades and installation of equipment, or handoff of such tasks to vendors or teammates while maintaining overall responsibility. Collaborates with the COO to consider new tools or approaches to remain competitive in a modern multiplatform media world. Implements projects and procedures to ensure compliance with FCC rules and provide thorough control and monitoring visibility for all WAMU-related facilities; deploys strategies to exceed 99.999% annual uptime of our broadcast signals. Partners with the Managing Director of Product and Platforms on the reliable delivery of live streamed and on-demand content through WAMU’s online presence. Designs, specifies, and installs new systems as required. Provides vision, direction, and leadership on hardware, software, workflow, and facilities projects. Partners with consultants and vendors to execute on the overall vision.
• Broadcast Equipment Maintenance: Ensures performance of the following duties: maintenance and repair of transmitter plant equipment; creation of accurate equipment maintenance/performance logs; proper maintenance of studios and ancillary A/V systems throughout the facility; acquisition of adequate inventory of parts and supplies across the entire operation; sets professional standards for a clean, tidy operations workspace and leads adoption of those standards with coworkers. Oversees and directs the maintenance priorities and standards for the Broadcast Engineering Systems Manager. Implements procedures and ensures they are being properly followed in order to deliver service excellence. Ensures studios are fully functional, maintained to a high professional caliber, and meet the production needs of content creators.
• Team Management: Provides direction, guidance, and mentoring for direct reports. Sets the strategic direction, goals, priorities, and day-to-day tasks for direct reports. Oversees the professional development and performance management process for direct reports.
• Technical Facilities Management: Develops a functional understanding of all facility systems that support the operation of WAMU, regardless of discipline or ownership (examples include: generators, uninterruptible power supply systems, power distribution networks, HVAC systems, etc.). Ensures proper maintenance of WAMU-managed systems and partners with AU Facilities personnel to confirm overall facility systems meet the mission-critical demands of WAMU. Maintains relevant service contracts to meet industry best practices. Works to identify abnormal trends and early indicators of pending failure and engages appropriate resources for resolution in a timely manner. Notifies COO of any concerns that may affect compliance with FCC rules or create instability for any technical aspect of the station’s operation; independently pursues solutions for correction.
• AU Tower Management, Tenant Services: Manages technical facility operations of the AU Tower. Maintains relationships with all tower tenants. Manages access control and facility admit requests for tenants. Collaborates with the COO and Finance and Business Administration Team to ensure administrative tenant needs are met and facility is operating in compliance with applicable regulations and establishes standards for operation. Partners with AU Facilities Management on the maintenance of generator, power, and grounds maintenance. Reviews tenant requests for additions, upgrades, or changes to tower and ground infrastructure in conjunction with WAMU’s structural engineering firm of record. This position also manages and ensures technical support is provided for HD subchannel clients. Determines the long-term inspection, maintenance, and improvement needs of the AU tower and works with engineering consultants and vendors to implement.
• Administration: Manages the budget associated with the engineering operations of the department, with the support of the Tower/Technology Business Ops Manager. The position also builds and maintains relationships with vendors. Works with WAMU and AU business administration staff to execute orders, reconcile billing, and source materials and services as necessary.
• Special Projects Support: Collaborates with other station departments to coordinate technical requirements for on-air membership drives, special events, as well as breaking and planned news events. Proactively assembles coworkers to meet the operational needs of the station at all times and collaborates with the Managing Director, Audio Production to ensure resources are scheduled appropriately.
• Other duties as assigned
  
  

Competencies

• Acquiring and Analyzing Information.
• Driving Continuous Improvement.
• Acting Strategically.
• Prioritizing and Organizing.
• Developing Plans.
• Building and Supporting Teams.
  
  

Supervisory Responsibility

• Manages up to two direct reports.
  
  

Position Type/Expected Hours Of Work

• Full-time position / 35 hours per week
• This is an essential staff position.
• Frequently on-call 24 hours a day.
• Required to monitor and reply to essential email after-hours.
• After-hours work required for scheduled and unscheduled transmitter, tower and studio maintenance, special broadcasts and emergency repair.
• Must have reliable means for getting to all WAMU worksites, including the studio and all transmitter facilities, within a reasonable amount of time (typically within 2 hours of notification, for DC-based facilities).
  
  

Salary Range

• $125,000 - $140,000/year.
  
  

Required Education And Experience

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent.
• 8-10 years of relevant experience.
• A minimum of seven years of broadcast engineering experience.
• Must have working knowledge of FM transmitters, IBOC transmission and support systems, analog and digital audio production and broadcast equipment, diverse experience with Studio-to-Transmitter Link (STL) systems (via microwave, leased access, TDM/IP in a variety of configurations), contribution links (IP, ISDN, POTS), satellite downlink systems, and fundamental IT experience.
• Previous experience with Audio-Over-IP (AOIP) console/routing systems, news content management, metadata management, digital automation systems, and disaster recovery / business continuity planning a plus.
  
  

Preferred Education And Experience

• Master's degree.
  
  

Additional Eligibility Qualifications

• Collaborator / partner / team-builder / active listener / mentor / teacher.
• Curious and open; brings prior knowledge and experience to bear, actively making time and effort to put it into context with the specific needs of WAMU; strives to build responsive solutions after understanding context and ensuring alignment with others.
• Strategically oriented; works to align activities with broader strategic objectives and works to put investments of time and resources into context and create appropriate priority based on the most immediate needs of the organization.
• Collaborative communicator; assumes good intent of others; uses an authentic communication style to foster understanding when communicating with others; understands how to appropriately keep key stakeholders apprised at all levels.
• Focused executor; able to effectively manage multiple simultaneous projects, move them forward independently, and develop solutions to overcome obstacles.
• Mentor and coach to technical coworkers and patient teacher of non-technical staff.
• Thought leader: keeps current on emerging trends; actively participates in the technical broadcast community; raises the overall proficiency of the team by sharing expertise.
• Able to strike an appropriate balance as a leader and an individual performer as an essential part of a larger team.
• Visionary yet detail-oriented; able to see the broader picture and also understand the more finite building blocks necessary to achieve it; works to understand context and then execute solutions accordingly.
• Creative and driven; able to solve problems for which the answers aren’t immediately obvious; committed to execution and finding a path forward no matter the difficulty.
• Preferably, passionate about WAMU and the mission of public media.
• This is a hands-on role that requires the ability to lift up to 50 pounds, differentiate colors, climb ladders, hear sound and distinguish audio quality, type on a QWERTY keyboard or touch screen, read (and understand) schematics and fine text, and effectively communicate with others using both written and spoken word.
• Must also be able to follow and implement broadcast industry-standard safety guidelines for working with electricity and Radio-Frequency generating equipment, periodically work in confined spaces, and guide others through such work.
• Familiarity with National Public Radio, its satellite system, and public broadcasting in general, is a plus. SBE Certification a plus.
  
  

Benefits

AU offers a competitive benefits package including a 200% matching retirement plan, tuition benefits for full-time staff and their families, several leadership development certificates, and has been recognized by the American Heart Association as a fit-friendly worksite. Click here to learn about American University's unique benefit options.

Other Details

• Hiring offers for this position are contingent on successful completion of a background check.
• Employees in staff positions at American University must deliver their services to the university from either the District of Columbia, Maryland, or Virginia, or perform work on-site at the university.
• Please note this job announcement is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.
• American University is an E-Verify employer.
  
  

Current American University Employees

American University current employees must apply through their employee Workday account. If you are a current employee at American University, please log into Workday and select the Find Jobs report which will take you to our internal career listings.

Contact Us

For more information or assistance with the American University careers site, email theworkline@american.edu.

American University is an equal opportunity, affirmative action institution that operates in compliance with applicable laws and regulations. The university does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex (including pregnancy), age, sexual orientation, disability, marital status, personal appearance, gender identity and expression, family responsibilities, political affiliation, source of income, veteran status, an individual’s genetic information or any other bases under federal or local laws (collectively "Protected Bases") in its programs and activities.