Job Overview:
The IT Broadcast TV / Master Control Engineer is responsible for the design, deployment, and operational support of a 24/7 broadcast environment with a heavy emphasis on IP networking, network security, and systems reliability. This role bridges traditional broadcast engineering and enterprise IT, ensuring resilient signal transport, monitoring, automation, and contribution/distribution workflows across on-prem and cloud-connected infrastructure.
Key Responsibilities:
Network Engineering (Primary Focus)
Own and support the broadcast IP network: switching, routing, VLANs, QoS, multicast, PTP timing, and traffic shaping for video/audio/control flows.
Design and maintain resilient network architecture (redundant paths, diverse carriers, HA core/edge, and regular failover testing).
Troubleshoot packet-based media issues (jitter, loss, latency, multicast flooding, IGMP issues, MTU fragmentation).
Implement network monitoring and alerting (SNMP/telemetry, syslog, NetFlow/sFlow, packet captures, and dashboards).
Broadcast Systems / Master Control Engineering
Support master control systems: automation, routing, ingest/playout, monitoring, and compliance recording.
Integrate broadcast systems with IT services: DNS/DHCP/NTP, AD/LDAP, virtualization, storage, and backup.
Maintain channel reliability through preventative maintenance, change control, documentation, and SOPs.
Coordinate with Operations during live events and incidents; lead triage, root-cause analysis, and corrective actions.
Security / Standards / Process
Apply security best practices: segmentation, least privilege, MFA, logging, patching, and vulnerability remediation.
Participate in change management, maintenance windows, and release planning; create runbooks and diagrams.
Coordinate vendors for escalations, firmware/software planning, and maintenance agreements.
Required Qualifications
5+ years in broadcast engineering, network engineering, or hybrid broadcast/IT roles (or equivalent experience)
Strong hands-on networking skills: Layer 2/3 switching, routing, VLANs, trunking, STP, LACP, VRRP/HSRP, and ACLs
Deep knowledge of multicast (IGMP, PIM) and QoS in real-time media networks.
Experience troubleshooting with Wireshark, packet captures, log correlation, and monitoring tools
Familiarity with broadcast-over-IP concepts and/or standards: SMPTE ST 2110, ST 2022-6/7, JPEG XS, AES67, NMOS, and PTP (SMPTE 2059 / IEEE 1588)
Systems fundamentals: Windows/Linux administration, virtualization (VMware/Hyper-V), storage, and backup basics
Comfortable in a 24/7 environment, including an on-call rotation
Preferred Qualifications (Nice to Have)
Hands-on experience with broadcast automation, playout, or MCR ecosystems (vendor-agnostic)
Cloud connectivity experience (AWS/Azure networking, VPNs, Direct Connect/ExpressRoute concepts)
Certifications: CCNA/CCNP, Juniper JNCIA/JNCIS, Arista ACE, CompTIA Network+/Security+
Experience with SDN/automation: Ansible, Python, API integrations, and infrastructure as code
Monitoring stacks: Prometheus/Grafana, Zabbix, PRTG, SolarWinds, ELK/Splunk
Technical Skills
Switching/Routing: Cisco/Juniper/Arista; spine-leaf or core/distribution/access models
Protocols: VLAN, QinQ (if needed), IGMP Snooping/Querier, PIM-SM, ECMP, BGP/OSPF (as applicable)
Timing: PTP grandmasters/boundary clocks; path delay and holdover concepts.
Media: ST 2110 flows, SDP, RTP/UDP, multicast design patterns, hitless switching (2022-7)
Tools: Wireshark, iPerf, ping/MTR, syslog, SNMP, packet brokers/taps
Success Metrics
Reduced on-air/network-impacting incidents and faster MTTR through improved monitoring and runbooks
Validated multicast/QoS design with sufficient headroom and stable PTP performance
Documented, repeatable change process with lower regression rates.
Regular failover tests with proven redundancy across network and media paths
Schedule / Working Conditions
24/7 environment; includes off-hours maintenance windows and rotating on-call
Some lifting/cabling/rack work; data center and machine-room presence required
Salary: $100,000 to 150,000