Director Broadcast Maintenance Engineering

WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY; Wichita (KS); On-site; USD 85,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

KMUW-FM, Wichita, KS, seeks a Chief Engineer to lead the technical operations of the station. You will oversee daily broadcast and IT operations, maintain transmitter sites and nine studios, and guide upgrades with a focus on reliability and quality.

The role requires building knowledge of evolving technologies, supervising engineers, coordinating with vendors, and ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements and University goals.

Qualifications

• 60 hours of college coursework in media or broadcast engineering.
• Six years of experience in engineer broadcasting or related field with leadership experience.
• SBE broadcast technician certification or ability to obtain within 6 months.

Responsibilities

• Oversee maintenance and repair of broadcast studio equipment and systems; may supervise technicians.
• Lead continuous improvement of operational capabilities and support revenue/audience efforts.
• Record and produce live events ensuring broadcast quality and regulatory compliance.
• Support audio, administrative, and industry-specific software.
• Develop and manage annual engineering budget and long-range plans.

Skills

FM Transmitter maintenance

High voltage maintenance

Facility maintenance

IP and baseband audio setup

Windows and Mac configuration

Project planning and budgeting

Troubleshooting and repair

Education

60 hours of college coursework in media or broadcast engineering

Tools

ENCO automation

AOIP configuration

Axia and STL gear

Job description

Department

Department: KMUW

Campus Location

Campus Location: Wichita, KS - WSU Old Town

Hire Type

Hire Type: Full Time

Pay

Pay: Commensurate with experience

Work Schedule

Work Schedule: 9-5, M-F and on call outside of normalbusiness hours; work is performed on-site and in person.

Export Compliance Requirement

Export Compliance Requirement: No export controlrequirement.

Job Story

Come be the technical leader of our thriving public radio stationin Wichita, Kansas. The station is in a historic structure in OldTown, the heart of downtown. Dozens of restaurants, shops, museums,clubs, and breweries are within walking distance, along with livemusic and public art around each corner.

KMUW-FM, Wichita is looking for a Chief Engineer who is acollaborative thinker to work closely with the General Manager andDirector of Content. This position will oversee the daily technicalbroadcast and IT operations. The Chief Engineer is responsible forkeeping abreast of changing technologies and upgrades. The roleincludes maintenance of the station facilities, transmitter site,and nine in-house studios. The role does have support from apart-time assistant production and broadcast engineer.

KMUW operates a single 100K watt transmitter with antenna, notranslators or repeaters. We recently invested in a newtransmitter, studio boards, UPS modules, studio telecom, as well asENCO and RDS upgrades.

Job Summary

Provides leadership and strategic direction for the planning,development and implementation of all technical stationmaintenance, improvement, and system compliance efforts to ensureachievement or quality control objectives, compliance withregulatory agencies, and University goals.

Essential Functions

• Provides leadership for and execution of the maintenance andrepair of broadcast studio equipment and systems. May supervisework of technicians.
• Leads the continuous improvement of operational capabilities andsupports the development of all revenue and audience producingefforts.
• Records and produces live events, ensuring broadcast quality andcompliance.
• Provides support for audio, administrative, and industry specificsoftware.
• Develops, implements and maintains policies, objectives, projectsand short- and long-range plans to accomplish goals.
• Develops and manages annual engineering budget.
• Maintains up-to-date knowledge and understanding of evolvingindustry advancements and requirements. Identifies and informs thedepartment of the potential impact of trends and changes.

Required Education and Experience

• 60 hours of college coursework in media or broadcastengineering.
• Six (6) years of experience in engineer broadcasting or relatedfield, with two (2) years of experience in a leadership role. Anadditional 60 hours of college coursework can be substituted fortwo (2) years of experience

Required License/Certifications/Training

Society of Broadcast Engineering (SBE) broadcast techniciancertification or ability to obtain within 6 months of hire.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• FM Transmitter maintenance, knowledge of high voltagemaintenance practices
• Facility maintenance skills (including but not limited tocoordinating contractors)
• Satellite downlink repair and maintenance
• Windows and Mac configuration and repair
• IP and baseband audio setup and troubleshooting
• Equipment repair to component level
• Ability to plan, determine costs for and direct a project,including planning and appropriate and complete documentation,delegating assignments, directing contractors and follow-up.

Preferred Qualifications

• AOIP configuration / maintenance (Axia and STL gear)
• ENCO automation operation / configuration
• Some basic programming skills in: JavaScript, PHP, HTML, batchfiles
• Server and network switch configuration and maintenance

Physical Requirements

Ability to operate a computer and other office equipment includingbut not limited to phone, printers, copiers, and calculators.Ability to communicate with others and accurately exchangeinformation. Ability to remain in a stationary position. Ability toposition self for inspection, construction or maintenance ofequipment and/or buildings including confined, elevated and loudnoise spaces. Ability to move, transport, and/or deliver items,supplies, or equipment. Ability to move or traverse across campus,within buildings and offices, and/or across external environments.Ability to ascend and descend ladders and/or stairs.

Additional Physical Requirement

Heavy Work: Exerting up to 100 pounds of force occasionally and/orup to 50 pounds of force frequently, and/or up to 20 pounds offorce to constantly move objects.

Be able to lift 60lbs to shoulder height. Comfortable on laddersand roof tops. Able to climb onto satellite dishes. High Voltage intransmitters, loud environment in transmitter building and atconcerts, temperature extremes during outside work for maintenanceor concert recording. Safely work in the dark during poweroutages.