Senior Sports Venue Sound Design Engineer
Job Summary:
The Senior Design Engineer (SDE) is a lead member of the core team for each Sports Venue project. The SDE provides direction and oversight through the project life cycle from sales concept to design development, construction drawings to implementation support. As the technical authority on a project team, the SDE is instrumental in the determination and execution of client and system requirements and will collaborate with SME teams as required. The SDE is also responsible for mentoring other design engineers on the project team. Reporting to the Sports Director of Engineering the SDE’s project assignments are determined by Engineering Leadership based on project demands.
What You’ll Do:
Leads complex engagements and works directly with clients and project teams to develop budgets, timelines and manage expectations.
Negotiates changes in deliverables and schedules and is an escalation point for engineering issues.
May be required to regularly lead teams on large projects.
Conceptualize system designs and determine system requirements.
Provide technical expertise and coordination information to support the base building tasks performed by others, and planning of audio, video, and control solutions.
Oversee and/or develop the Bill of Materials (BOM) and supporting documentation.
Develop detailed design documentation strategy based on established engineering standard practices. Track engineering team tasks to completion.
Generate functional system descriptions, complete block wiring diagrams, rack elevations, custom plates, or cabling assemblies.
Research, identify, and recommend technology options for clients and projects.
Provide technical expertise and oversee the creation of and later reconciliation of the complete construction drawing package, support documentation for installation and coordination with architect and other trades.
Collaborate with engineering, operations, and product teams to identify requirements for cloud-based solutions that meet the needs of our live broadcast production and post-production workflows.
Design and architect cloud-based solutions for live broadcast production workflows, channel playout, and content delivery
Work with cross-functional teams to ensure that solutions are optimized for cost, performance, and reliability.
Provide technical guidance and mentorship to other team members.
Experience building complex networking infrastructure on premises.
Test, commission, and configure subsystems during project deployment.
Support projects and teams in build phase. Complete the as-built drawings for service hand-over.
Provide regular project engineering milestone status updates to Engineering resource planning.
Maintain expertise in the industry through ongoing review of trade publications, participation in industry trade shows, seminars, and educational forums.
Develop expertise in the industry through ongoing review of trade publications, participation in industry trade shows, seminars, and educational forums.
Complexity:
This role is primarily billable in a post-sales capacity, though there are times when the SDE will work on pre-sales estimation and design efforts.
Decision Making Authority:
As the final sign off on project bill of materials prior to purchasing, the SDE is responsible for vetting products and making detailed equipment decisions. As the technical leader on a project, the SDE has the authority to recommend directions on scope changes and programming and commissioning activities. The SDE will also be responsible for approving drawing packages being done by other design engineers as well as supervising them in their work.
Physical Working Environment:
The physical demands described here are representative of those that may be met by an employee. Work will normally be performed within normal office conditions and/or home office depending on location of SDE. On occasions the employee may be exposed to construction site conditions. Employee will be responsible for their safety while on job sites and to comply with all safety regulations in place by the GC. Use of PPE is usually required on job sites. The employee can typically spend at least 50% of their time on their feet and be required to mobile around the construction site. The individual is regularly required to use keyboards, test equipment and controls required for SI installation projects. Specific vision abilities required for this job include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, and depth vision.
Travel:
Occasional travel by car and occasional airplane trips are required. Employee must possess a valid driver’s license in their state of residence. Employee will be required to use their own vehicle and will be reimbursed for mileage at the current corporate rate. Remote travel can be up to 30% of the job at times.
What You’ll Bring:
Education & Certifications:
Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, IT, Electronics, or related field (or equivalent experience).
Proficient in AutoCAD and MS Office 365
Required Skills/Qualifications:
8+ years’ experience in Sports / Media/ Entertainment (M&E) technical systems:
Stadium / Arena audio system design in a collegiate or professional environment
Audio signal path design from source to speaker
Digital audio transport system design (Dante, AES67, Milan, Q-LAN)
DSP and control system design and programming
Wireless microphone and IEM system implementation
Life Safety integration with audio systems
Fiber transmission system design
Network topology
AutoCAD proficiency
Understanding of rigging requirements for large speaker arrays.
Understanding of Amplifier loading and speaker wire gauge requirements
Experience with Digital AV networks (e.g. Dante / AES67) is required; certifications preferred
Understanding of TCP/IP routing, ACL’s, QoS, VLAN’s; network certifications preferred
Proven ability to lead high profile client interactions, affecting high level financial & technical decisions
Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and manage the expectations of each project team; with the ability to delegate conceptual information to those project teams for execution.
Proven track record of successfully completing complex M&E engineering projects.
A clear understanding of project phases; Program, Conceptualization, Schematic Design, Design Development, Construction Documentation, Construction and Commissioning.
A thorough, demonstrable understanding of the construction process, installation, and integration as well as architectural and construction drawings and specifications.
Detailed oriented, independent, self-starter
Exceptional time management skills with a track record for meeting deadlines
Excellent communication skills
Ability to analyze complex issues and communicate concise succinct messages
High level of problem solving and technical troubleshooting skills
Willingness to take ownership of projects including following the project into the field for periodic progress checks, commissioning, end-user training, event support, and after-the-sale support.
Preferred Skills/Qualifications:
Dante Level 2 or higher
Q-SYS Level 2 or higher
Revit / Revisto BIM experience
Training or familiarity with audio design applications:
ArrayCalc & R1
SoundVision & LA Manager
Venue Synthesis & Performance Manager
Armonia +
EASE
Wireless Workbench
Training or familiarity with audio test equipment
NTI MR2 and XL series
Voltmeter
Cable Tester
SMAART acoustics measurement software