Sr. Production Engineer

Leadout Capital; San Francisco (CA); Remote; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Leadout Capital is seeking a Sr. Production Engineer to own end-to-end live event production, broadcast engineering, and platform operations across global events.

You will configure encoders, monitor streaming pipelines, and troubleshoot in real time to ensure flawless delivery for executive communications and company-wide sessions. You will collaborate with event producers, IT, and vendors to design scalable streaming architectures, automate workflows, and drive reliability initiatives.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in live event production, broadcast engineering, streaming operations, or related role.
• Hands-on experience with professional streaming platforms.
• Proven track record of executing high-stakes live events with large audiences.
• Experience troubleshooting complex technical issues in real-time during live productions.

Responsibilities

• Execute live streaming for company-wide events (All-Hands, Kickoffs, executive communications).
• Operate and monitor live broadcast systems including encoders, streaming servers, CDN distribution, and player deployment.
• Manage multi-channel streaming for simultaneous events (main stage + breakout rooms).
• Coordinate with event producers, AV vendors, and internal stakeholders to ensure seamless technical delivery.

Skills

Live event production

Broadcast engineering

Streaming operations

Incident management

SRE mindset

Tools

Teradek

LiveU

Wirecast

Viz Vectar

Kairos

Ross

Job description

The Experience

We're looking for a Sr. Production Engineer who thrives at the intersection of live event production, technical operations, and platform engineering. You'll be hands-on with every aspect of our broadcast operations—from pre-event planning and encoder configuration to real-time troubleshooting during live streams and post-event analysis.

This role is perfect for someone who gets excited about:

• The adrenaline of live production where every second counts
• Deep technical problem-solving under pressure
• Building systems and processes that scale globally
• Working on high-visibility projects that impact the entire company
• Enjoys flexibility of operating in various production roles

What You’ll Actually Be Doing

Event Production & Execution (40%)

Live Event Operations:

• Execute live streaming for company-wide events including All-Hands meetings, Kickoffs, executive communications, and learning programs
• Operate and monitor live broadcast systems including encoders, streaming servers, CDN distribution, and player deployment
• Manage multi-channel streaming for simultaneous events (main stage + breakout rooms)
• Coordinate with event producers, AV vendors, and internal stakeholders to ensure seamless technical delivery
• Execute real-time adjustments to optimize stream quality, audio/video sync, and viewer experience
• Monitor live captions, graphics overlays, and interactive elements during broadcasts
• Support Live Event technical operations such as Technical Director, Producing, A1, and Streaming Engineer

Pre-Production Planning:

• Conduct technical pre-production meetings with event stakeholders
• Design streaming architecture for complex multi-location, multi-channel events
• Configure and test encoders, streaming channels, backup systems, and failover processes
• Coordinate network requirements, firewall rules, and bandwidth provisioning with IT teams
• Create technical run-of-show documents and contingency plans

Post-Event Operations:

• Process and publish video-on-demand (VOD) content with captions and metadata
• Conduct post-mortems to identify issues and improvement opportunities
• Generate analytics reports on viewership, engagement, and technical performance
• Archive recordings and maintain content libraries

Technical Operations & Platform Management (35%)

Platform Operations:

• Manage and optimize Primary Streaming platform including channel configuration, server health, and performance tuning
• Monitor streaming infrastructure health using platform-native monitoring tools
• Troubleshoot and resolve platform issues including buffering, caption failures, player errors, and encoding problems
• Coordinate with vendors support for escalations, root cause analysis (RCA), and platform maintenance windows
• Manage CDN configurations, ECDN deployments, and network delivery optimization

Incident Management:

• Participate in on-call rotation for 24x7 support of critical streaming events
• Lead incident response during live event issues with rapid diagnosis and remediation
• Document incidents, coordinate vendor escalations, and track issues to resolution
• Perform root cause analysis and implement preventative measures
• Maintain incident tracking and vendor accountability (RCA completion, SLA adherence)

System Integrations:

• Integrate streaming platforms with internal systems including Salesforce (CRM), Slack, email notifications, and analytics platforms
• Build and maintain automation for repetitive tasks (channel creation, VOD publishing, reporting)
• Develop monitoring dashboards and alerting for proactive issue detection

Engineering & Continuous Improvement (25%)

Process Engineering:

• Design and document standard operating procedures (SOPs) for event production workflows
• Build tools and scripts to automate manual processes
• Create self-service capabilities for internal customers where appropriate
• Develop training materials and runbooks for team knowledge sharing

Platform Engineering:

• Evaluate new streaming technologies, platforms, and vendor solutions
• Design and implement improvements to streaming architecture for scalability and reliability
• Work with infrastructure teams on network optimization, firewall management, and capacity planning
• Contribute to platform migration projects and technology refresh initiatives
• Partner with Enterprise Security teams to conduct software assessments for new and existing production tools. Develop and implement alternative solutions when platforms fail to meet security requirements

Quality & Reliability:

• Establish and track SLOs/SLIs for streaming service reliability
• Implement testing frameworks for pre-event validation
• Conduct failure mode analysis and build redundancy into critical systems
• Drive continuous improvement based on incident trends and vendor performance data

You’re Our Person If…

Experience:

• 5+ years in live event production, broadcast engineering, streaming operations, or related technical production role - Including Technical Directing, Producing, A1 positions.
• Hands-on experience with professional streaming platforms
• Proven track record of executing high-stakes live events with large audiences
• Experience troubleshooting complex technical issues in real-time during live productions

Technical Skills:

• Deep understanding of video streaming protocols (RTMP, NDI, SRT) and video codecs (H.264, H.265)
• Strong knowledge of encoding hardware/software (e.g., Teradek, LiveU, Wirecast, Viz Vectar, Kairos and Ross
• Proficiency with CDN concepts, network troubleshooting, and bandwidth optimization
• Experience with monitoring and observability tools
• Basic scripting/automation skills (Python, Bash, or PowerShell)

Operational Excellence:

• Strong incident management skills with ability to remain calm under pressure
• Experience with on-call rotations and 24x7 support responsibilities
• Excellent troubleshooting methodology and root cause analysis skills
• Detail-oriented with strong documentation practices

Communication & Collaboration:

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills for technical and non-technical audiences
• Ability to work effectively in a globally distributed, remote-first team environment
• Experience coordinating across multiple teams (AV vendors, IT, event producers, executives)
• Customer-service mindset with focus on stakeholder satisfaction

Even Better If…

Advanced Technical Skills:

• Experience with Video Streaming /Cloud Video platforms
• Knowledge of live captioning systems and standards
• Familiarity with ECDN (Enterprise Content Delivery Network) technologies
• Experience with player embedding, APIs, and platform integrations
• Advanced scripting/programming skills for automation and tooling development
• Familiarity working with Enterprise Security on software/vendor assessments, including designing compliant workarounds or alternative architectures when tools fail to meet security standards

Broadcast & AV Expertise:

• Professional broadcast or AV production background
• Understanding of SDI, NDI, audio mixing, and video switching
• Experience with multi-camera productions and complex AV workflows
• Knowledge of accessibility standards and best practices
• Familiarity with SMPTE ST 2110 standards and IP-based broadcast environments, including media transport over managed networks
• Proven track record in enterprise-scale AV system design, including adherence to facilities safety codes and standards
• CTS and QSC certifications preferred and AI knowledge background is recommended

Platform & DevOps:

• SRE (Site Reliability Engineering) mindset and practices
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines for infrastructure automation
• Familiarity with cloud platforms
• API development and integration experience

Industry Experience:

• Prior experience at a large enterprise or tech company managing internal communications
• Experience with Salesforce products or ecosystem
• Background in event technology or webcasting industr