Technical Director (Los Angeles, Ca)

Theathletic; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 95,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental and vision benefits

401(k) with company match

Paid vacation

Paid sick days

Tuition reimbursement

Job summary

The Athletic seeks a razor-sharp Technical Director to lead the technical execution of our flagship daily live show. You will act as the backbone of the broadcast, translating the Senior Producer's cues into flawless real-time on-screen action in a fast-paced control room.

You will operate the video switcher, manage multi-camera studio setups, route remote feeds, and oversee live stream health from start to finish, staying calm under pressure and adapting to on‑air changes with Plan B/C ready.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of live TD experience in fast-paced productions (sports, news, or high-volume formats).
• Deep fluency with professional switchers and streaming workflows.
• Strong knowledge of IP video transport protocols (NDI, SRT, RTMP) and SDI.

Responsibilities

• Live switching and execution during the daily live broadcast, with immediate cueing from the Senior Producer.
• Configure and maintain control room setup; save macros and snapshots for consistency.
• Manage all signals and remote guest feeds with low-latency video and short mix-minus audio.

Skills

Live TD Experience

Video switching

IP video workflows

vMix

NewTek TriCaster

Ross Carbonite

Blackmagic ATEM

NDI

SRT

RTMP

SDI

Fast decision-making

Tools

vMix

NewTek TriCaster

Ross Carbonite

Blackmagic ATEM

Job description

About the Role

The Athletic is seeking a razor‑sharp, unflappable Technical Director to spearhead the technical execution of our new flagship daily live show. Sitting in Seat 1 of the control room, you will be the absolute backbone of the broadcast, responsible for translating the Senior Producer's editorial cues into flawless, real‑time on‑screen action.

This is a highly technical, fast‑paced role that requires instantaneous decision‑making. You will operate the video switcher, manage multi‑cam studio setups, route remote guest feeds, and oversee the health of the live stream from fade up to sign‑off. The ideal candidate is a control room veteran who possesses a deep understanding of modern IP/digital streaming workflows and stays perfectly calm when breaking news forces an on‑the‑fly technical pivot.

Responsibilities

• Live Switching & Execution: Physically operate the production switcher during the daily live broadcast, executing clean cuts and video effects instantly on the Senior Producer's call.
• Control Room Setup & Workflow: Configure and maintain the control room architecture. Build and save custom macros, registers, and snapshots to ensure the daily look of the show is consistent and easily retrievable.
• Signal & Feed Management: Manage all incoming and outgoing signals. Coordinate the seamless integration of remote guests via Zoom, etc, ensuring low‑latency video and mix‑minus audio are locked before going live.
• Technical Quality Control: Monitor video and audio levels throughout the broadcast to ensure compliance with premium streaming standards. Act as the primary gatekeeper against frame drops, stream lag, or audio syncing issues.
• Equipment Oversight & Maintenance: Oversee the studio’s physical technical infrastructure, including robotic cameras (PTZ), lighting grids, encoders, and hardware/software updates.
• Crisis Troubleshooting: Diagnose and resolve technical failures (e.g., dropped remote feeds, frozen graphics engines, signal loss) mid‑broadcast without interrupting the viewer experience.
• Post‑Show Archive: Manage the master recording configuration, ensuring clean and dirty cuts of the broadcast are properly encoded, archived, and handed off to the post‑production and social teams.

Qualifications

• 5+ Years of Live TD Experience: A proven track record of switching daily, fast‑paced live programming (sports, news, or high‑volume talk formats).
• Hardware & Software Mastery: Deep technical fluency with industry‑standard switchers and streaming platforms—specifically vMix, NewTek TriCaster, Ross Carbonite, or Blackmagic ATEM systems.
• IP Video & Protocols: Expert knowledge of modern video transport workflows, including NDI, SRT, RTMP, and traditional SDI workflows.
• Live Mindset: Exceptional reaction time and spatial awareness. You can listen to the producer in your ear, watch 10 monitor screens at once, and punch the next shot perfectly on beat.
• Problem Solver under Pressure: A proactive troubleshooter who always has a Plan B (and Plan C) mapped out in the routing switcher if a piece of gear fails mid‑show.
• Team Collaborator: Ability to work seamlessly alongside the Audio Engineer, Graphics Producer, and Associate Producer to create a synchronized, ego‑free control room environment.

Salary and Benefits

The annual base salary range for this role is $95,000.00 - $110,000.00 USD.

For roles in the U.S., dependent on your role, you may be eligible for variable pay, such as an annual bonus and restricted stock. Benefits may include medical, dental and vision benefits, Flexible Spending Accounts (F.S.A.s), a company‑matching 401(k) plan, paid vacation, paid sick days, paid parental leave, tuition reimbursement and professional development programs.

For roles outside of the U.S., information on benefits will be provided during the interview process.

EEO Statement

The Athletic Media Company is an equal opportunity employer and enthusiastically encourages people from all backgrounds and experiences to apply. The Athletic will consider all applicants without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical and/or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, age, sexual orientation, military or veteran status, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.