WLKY - Chief Engineer

Description

The CBS affiliate WLKY in Louisville, Kentucky is hiring a Chief Engineer to run the technical side of the station and keep modernizing it.

The role reports to the General Manager and sits on the station leadership team. You would be responsible for the reliability, safety, compliance and performance of the systems and buildings behind broadcast, news, production, transmission and digital distribution.

You would work across the station and with the company Television teams to keep service dependable now and to plan ahead. The company wants a proven leader who can motivate a team and build a strong culture of excellence.

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach and develop the engineering team. This covers staffing, scheduling, performance feedback, technical training and on-call coverage.
• Set priorities and service standards for engineering work. Build good working relationships across departments and explain technical problems and their effect on operations in plain terms.
• Work with the General Manager and station leaders so technology plans fit local journalism, production and business needs as well as the company Television standards.
• Oversee the reliability, maintenance, troubleshooting and lifecycle planning of broadcast, newsroom, production, automation, master control, media storage, network, streaming and transmission systems.
• Maintain the transmission and RF facilities, studios, control rooms, remote production gear and critical infrastructure such as generators, UPS units and HVAC that technical operations depend on.
• Lead engineering during live programming, breaking news, severe weather, outages and other urgent events. Coordinate the response, recovery and follow-up.
• Make sure FCC, EAS and other applicable regulatory and industry obligations are met. Keep accurate records, schedule testing and inspections, and correct problems promptly.
• Keep up preventive maintenance, equipment inventories, technical documentation, safety practices, emergency preparedness, backup power and disaster recovery plans.
• Work with the company Television and enterprise IT partners on cybersecurity, network resilience, access practices and business continuity for station systems.
• Build and manage operating and capital budgets, equipment replacement plans, vendor relationships, service contracts and engineering projects from proposal through completion.
• Evaluate and roll out improvements to IP-based workflows, automation, cloud or hybrid services, streaming and other emerging technology without putting on-air reliability at risk.
• Where appropriate, use approved AI tools to research technical topics, summarize logs and documentation, spot workflow improvements and organize maintenance or project information. Check outputs before use and follow company rules for confidential, employee and operational data.
• Review significant technical incidents, find root causes, record corrective actions and apply the lessons to improve reliability.

Requirements

• At least 7 years of increasingly senior experience in television broadcast engineering, media technology or a closely related technical field, including leading or supervising technical staff.
• Working knowledge of television broadcast systems, RF transmission, studio and newsroom technology, automation, IP-based media workflows and applicable FCC and EAS rules.
• Experience planning technical projects, managing budgets and vendors, prioritizing equipment lifecycle needs and coordinating work across departments.
• Ability to troubleshoot complex systems, make sound decisions under deadline pressure and explain technical issues to technical and non-technical colleagues alike.
• Ability to support live operations and to work occasional nights, weekends, holidays or emergencies when station needs require it.
• Education, training or experience in broadcast engineering, electrical engineering, information technology, electronics or a related field. The company Television will consider a college degree, trade school diploma, professional certificates, military training or equivalent practical experience.
• Experience with broadcast automation, IP video and audio, streaming, cloud or hybrid media systems, cybersecurity practices and emergency planning is valued. Relevant certifications such as SBE are also valued.
• Related military experience will be considered.

Conditions

Based in Louisville, Kentucky.

Reports to the General Manager and is a member of the station leadership team.

Equal opportunity employer; one short statement on the company's commitment to diverse backgrounds and identities is included in the posting.

Benefits

• Medical, dental and vision coverage.
• 401(k) with company matching.
• Emotional wellness support.
• Paid time off.
• Paid parental leave.
• LGBTQ+ health services.
• Additional benefits aimed at meeting your family's needs, extended to your spouse, partner or dependents.