O&D Support Team Lead
About this role
We don’t just believe in better. We make it happen.
Better content. Better products. And better careers.
Working in Tech, Product or Data at Sky is about building the next and the new. From broadband to broadcast, streaming to mobile, Sky Stream to Sky Glass, we never stand still. We optimise and innovate. We turn big ideas into the products, content and services millions of people love. And we do it all right here at Sky.
The Origination & Distribution Support team is responsible for ensuring the reliable operation of Sky's Broadcast Playout, MCR and Live Events Hub systems. Supporting some of the UK's largest live sporting, news and entertainment events, the team provides technical support across traditional broadcast infrastructure, IP networks and cloud-based services.
As a Broadcast Support Team Lead, you will provide both technical and people leadership for a team of Broadcast Support Engineers operating within a live, mission-critical broadcast environment. You'll lead the team's response to major incidents, oversee operational performance, develop engineering capability and work closely with operational, project and engineering teams to ensure services remain resilient, supportable and ready for future technologies.
What you'll do
Lead a team of Broadcast Support Engineers, providing day-to-day technical leadership, coaching, mentoring and performance management for 5-7 direct reports.
Act as the technical lead during service-affecting incidents, coordinating fault resolution, managing technical communications and driving timely service restoration.
Support Sky's Broadcast Playout platforms, Live Events Hub, MCR, ensuring high levels of operational availability.
Lead complex fault investigation, root cause analysis and post-incident reviews, identifying opportunities to improve service resilience and operational processes.
Represent O&D Support at daily operational and stakeholder incident reviews, providing clear technical updates and driving actions through to completion.
Work closely with Engineering, Operations and Project teams to define, review, integrate and transition new technologies into operational support, ensuring maintainability and operational readiness.
Deliver and coordinate planned engineering activities, including software upgrades, infrastructure improvements and service enhancements, with minimal operational impact.
Promote engineering best practice through documentation, knowledge sharing, mentoring and continuous improvement initiatives.
Support out-of-hours engineering activities as required.
What you'll bring
Essential criteria:
Significant experience supporting complex broadcast environments, ideally across Playout and MCR.
Previous experience leading technical teams or mentoring engineers within a live operational environment.
Strong knowledge of broadcast signal chains, production workflows and playout technologies.
Experience supporting compressed and uncompressed IP video workflows, including SMPTE ST 2110, SMPTE ST 2022-2 and SMPTE ST 2022-6.
Good understanding of linear broadcast workflows and live event contribution technologies.
Experience with video distribution, monitoring and control systems and complex audio workflows, including Dolby technologies.
Strong understanding of IP networking fundamentals, including TCP/IP, UDP, multicast, VLANs and firewall concepts.
Exposure to cloud technologies such as AWS or Azure.
An understanding of Zixi Zen Master would be advantageous.
Desirable skills:
Excellent analytical and structured fault-finding skills, with the ability to lead complex technical investigations.
Outstanding communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to translate technical information for operational and non-technical audiences.
A collaborative leadership style, with a genuine passion for developing people and building inclusive teams.
A continuous improvement mindset, always seeking opportunities to enhance operational resilience, engineering capability and service quality.
Benefits and perks
There's one thing people can't stop talking about when it comes to life at Sky: the perks. Here’s a taster:
Free Sky TV or NOW package, including Sky Sports and Sky Cinema
Pension package with up to 9% employer contribution
Private healthcare with mental health support
Aviva Digital GP and dental insurance
Discounts on Sky products, including Sky Mobile, Sky Broadband, Sky Glass and Sky Protect
Sharesave and Tech schemes
A range of Sky VIP rewards and experiences
How you’ll work
This role is onsite in our Osterley office.
Shift Pattern
This role follows the AP shift pattern, primarily working onsite between 07:00 and 19:00, supporting a live 24/7 broadcast operation. Flexibility will be required to support major incidents, planned engineering activities and operational priorities.
Your office base
Osterley
Our Sky Group HQ. Equipped with state-of-the-art technology and workspaces, there’s plenty of space to see your big ideas come to life. Here you’ll find 13 subsidised restaurants and cafes. You can re-energise at our gym, catch the latest films at our cinema, get your car washed and even get pampered at our beauty salon.
Our Osterley Campus is just a 10-minute walk from Syon Lane train station, or you can get one of our free shuttle buses from Osterley, Gunnersbury and Ealing Broadway stations. Plus, there’s free onsite parking available for cars, motorbikes and bicycles.
Who we are
We’re Sky, a leading media and entertainment company who connect millions with entertainment, sports, news and arts through innovative products and services. Working with us means you’ll be bringing the joy of a better experience to more people, every day. All so we can do better and deliver better for our customers, colleagues and society.
We’re an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We're a Disability Confident Accredited Employer, and welcome and encourage applications from all candidates. We will look to ensure a fair and consistent experience for all and will make reasonable adjustments to support you where appropriate. Please flag any adjustments you need as early as you can.
Just so you know: if your application is successful, we’ll ask you to complete a criminal record check. And depending on the role you have applied for and the nature of any convictions you may have, we might have to withdraw the offer.
To be eligible for this role you are required to have the appropriate right to work in the UK. Please be aware Sky does not offer sponsorship for this position.
To find out more about working with us, search #LifeAtSky on social media.
Company at a glance
Sky connects and entertains millions of people across Europe. At the heart of everything we do, is a belief that people deserve better. For decades, we’ve shaken up every category we entered to give people what they love, to make life a little easier and to provide great value. That’s how we bring millions of customers the joy of a better experience in TV, broadband and mobile.
In TV, we offer the best sports coverage, unmissable TV and the smartest ways to stream and aggregate the TV you love. In broadband, we power homes and businesses, with a fast, reliable connection. In mobile, we bring people closer, with plans at unbeatable value. And now, you can even keep your home connected and protected, through our smart insurance. We design our products to fit seamlessly into your life, with service whenever and however you need it.
That’s how we do better for customers. And we believe in better for society too. We power the cultural economy in the UK and beyond, making award-winning news, original sport, and entertainment. We contribute billions to UK GDP, creating and sustaining thousands of jobs and sharing both our journalism and our coverage of the arts, free of charge. We are cutting emissions and making recyclable, energy-efficient products, and we give back, through free internet access and digital skills for under-served communities and young people.
Sky is owned by Comcast Corporation, a global media and technology company.
Top Benefits
- Free Sky TV or NOW package
- Pension package with up to 9% employer contribution
- Private healthcare
- Mental health support
- Aviva Digital GP
- Dental insurance
- Discounts on Sky products
- Sharesave and Tech schemes
- Sky VIP rewards and experiences
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