Manager Live Production Technology, Production Solutions, EMEA
Netflix
IT
London, UK
Netflix is one of the world's leading entertainment services, with over 300 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, films and games across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can play, pause and resume watching as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, and can change their plans at any time.
At Netflix, the Production Solutions team is essential to providing our members with a great experience every time they play our content by helping ensure the content delivered to the service is of the highest quality. As we continue to expand globally, our role is to maintain and elevate high-quality standards for our members by focusing on technologies and practices that empower creative vision and support productivity across the production and delivery lifecycle.
We are a team of experts in the applied science of filmmaking, technically and creatively equipped to bridge artistic intent and technical feasibility. We stay closely connected to real-world productions to drive meaningful, long-term impact.
You bring deep expertise in live content production. You understand the evolving landscape of live production technology, from camera systems and on-set capture workflows through signal acquisition, transmission, encoding, delivery, and real-time quality assurance. You have partnered with creatives, producers, directors, technical crews, broadcast engineers, camera manufacturers, transmission vendors, and network or studio executives and understand the goals and challenges they face. You stay informed about emerging technologies that shape both the craft of live production and its distribution. You are comfortable evaluating and testing new production technologies and pipelines to gauge their potential impact for Netflix and the industry. You communicate technical concepts in a clear, accessible way to a range of audiences and help align creative intent and technical execution.
The ideal candidate is motivated by solving technical, operational, and creative challenges in a live environment, with a strong strategic perspective and deep knowledge of end-to-end live production workflows. Your enthusiasm for knowledge-sharing, coupled with empathy for those less familiar with production technology, will support your success in this role.
This role will be based in London, UK or Amsterdam, the Netherlands with the need for frequent travel within the EMEA region.
As the Manager, Live Production Technology, you will:
Provide technical enablement to Netflix live productions by engaging directly with projects, consulting on challenges, and determining the scale and trajectory of ongoing support. Stay grounded in real-world productions by testing ideas with production teams, validating hypotheses before scaling, and focusing on systemic issues that are most impactful to address.
Coordinate and partner across multiple stakeholders and teams for the smooth execution of live-streaming events, acting as a central resource for engineering and production throughout the live event lifecycle, from pitch and planning through scouting, testing, rehearsals, and event launch days.
Collaborate with contractors, in-house engineers, and the Live Streaming Pipeline Engineering team on transmission planning. Establish and maintain partnerships with satellite and IP transmission vendors. Determine the most appropriate transmission methods and coordinate with remote origination locations to help ensure technical quality and readiness.
Establish and maintain partnerships with hardware and broadcast companies such as contribution/distribution encoder vendors, closed-captioning providers, and related services.
Organize and maintain ground plans and venue infrastructure documentation for communication with all entities. This includes drafting and publishing detailed technical specifications booklets to be shared internally and externally prior to each project.
Collaborate with Netflix Engineering teams on troubleshooting, diagnosing, and reporting audio, video, and infrastructure issues from onsite events to our Broadcast Operations Center. Participate in managing and evolving ground ingest capabilities, including signal acquisition, inspection, validation, and standardization.
Partner closely to help enable new feature development by understanding how features affect overall live operations and how to make them work effectively at scale.
Educate internal and external teams on Netflix’s technical expectations for live production, best practices, evolving industry standards, and the rationale behind them, helping set up stakeholders for future success.
Explore, analyze, document, and communicate global live production practices, technology adoptions, challenges, and opportunities to inform strategy and innovation.
Monitor the industry for emerging technologies and developing trends across both live production craft and broadcast distribution to help keep Netflix at the cutting edge. This includes following innovations in camera systems, on-set capture technology, remote production methodologies, and live production techniques, alongside advances in encoding, transport, and delivery. Represent Netflix at industry events, conferences, and working groups, advocating for innovations that benefit Netflix and the broader creative community.
Establish and maintain relationships with camera manufacturers, production technology vendors, and industry working groups to help ensure Netflix remains connected to the forefront of live production innovation across the full production chain.
Understand and communicate around practical ML/AI-driven workflows, tools, and automation to streamline live production and post-production workflows, enhancing content creation and operational efficiency.
Be present on location for scouts, site visits, ESU, rehearsals, and live events for assigned projects. Depending on project needs, take on the role of lead Technical Manager on the ground or work in coordination with a pool of freelance Technical Managers, with the specific role determined alongside Netflix leadership.
Maintain technical and broadcast quality standards including HDR, 4K, HD, Dolby, and related specifications. Help ensure technical compliance with all applicable company policies.
Demonstrate impact through action, showing the long-term value of the team’s work not only through strategy but also through measurable outcomes that enhance the live production ecosystem.
Requirements
10 or more years of practical experience in live broadcast production technology and workflow solutions, in on-set, studio, remote operations, or technical supervisory roles. Network-level live broadcast experience is strongly preferred.
Familiarity with digital audio/video fundamentals, compression technologies, and distribution formats, including multicast and unicast video distribution, MPEG Video (2, 4, and HEVC), MPEG-2 TS, HDR, SCTE-35 and ESNI signaling, closed captions, satellite video distribution, and ad-splicing.
Familiarity with video transport protocols such as SDI, SMPTE-2110, RTP, RTMP, SRT, Zixi, RIST, HLS, and MPEG-DASH.
Familiarity with video and audio compression technology, with the ability to assess and troubleshoot video and audio quality.
Ability to translate technical and operational workflows into practical, actionable strategies for productions.
Extensive understanding of end-to-end live production workflows, from on-site signal acquisition through encoding, transmission, and delivery.
Knowledge of live production capture technologies, camera systems, and on-set workflows, with an understanding of how production-side decisions affect downstream quality and delivery.
Knowledge of remote production facilities, equipment vendors, and on-site technical operations.
Familiarity with MVPD-based linear ecosystems and working knowledge of OTT video distribution, contribution technology, and architecture.
Experience with on-premise video acquisition with partners or co-location facilities.
Knowledge of industry-standard tools, practices, and emerging trends in live production.
Knowledge of and established relationships with technology vendors, service providers, and production/post-production professionals.
Ability to operate on a global scale, including awareness of regional variations in production practices and cultural norms.
Deep knowledge of industry standards, regulatory bodies, and best practices in live production and post-production workflows.
Effective interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to lead discussions and support cross-functional collaboration.
Strategic thinking with the ability to balance technical, creative, and business considerations.
Willingness to travel frequently and work non-standard hours based on live event schedules, with advance expectations communicated where possible.
Ability to work independently with minimal supervision; is self-motivated and proactive in solving problems and learning new tools and workflows.
Enthusiasm for live content, filmmaking, and content creation.
Experience working with data, with the ability to analyze data to help set strategic goals and present insights.
Understanding of practical machine learning and generative AI principles and their application in production workflows.
Alignment with and enthusiasm for our culture and values in the workplace.
Inclusion is a Netflix value and we strive to host a meaningful interview experience for all candidates. If you want an accommodation/adjustment for a disability or any other reason during the hiring process, please send a request to your recruiting partner.
We are an equal-opportunity employer and celebrate diversity, recognizing that diversity builds stronger teams. We approach diversity and inclusion seriously and thoughtfully. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, ancestry, national origin, caste, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, age, disability, medical condition, pregnancy, genetic makeup, marital status, or military service.