Satellite System Specialist

Reporting to: Senior Engineer

Hours of Work: Monday – Friday, 35 hours per week

Location: Woofferton Transmitting Station

Company Overview:

Encompass Digital Media (‘Encompass’) is a global managed services company focused on supporting TV networks, broadcasters, sports leagues and digital platforms with the delivery of their linear/nonlinear video and audio content across television, radio and digital platforms. We design, implement and operate reliable video and audio solutions that capture, process and deliver clients’ content from any source, in any format, to any destination in the most efficient and reliable way possible. Our global connectivity, scalable technology infrastructure and strategic partnerships create a single, synchronized content delivery environment. Using our Altitude Media Cloud Platform, we host a full suite of digital products, including Playout, Over the Top (OTT) streaming, Video on Demand (VOD) processing, Storage and IP distribution, to enable a seamless user experience for many of the globes biggest Media and Entertainment organizations. Daily, we service 1,200+ channels; capture, process and deliver 31,000+ hours of TV/OTT; stream 6,300 hours of TVE/OTT content; and acquire/distribute 275+ live events for our clients worldwide. Headquartered in Atlanta, GA, Encompass operates multiple broadcast facilities across four continents including facilities located in Argentina, Ascension Island, Latvia, Oman, Singapore, United Kingdom and United States of America.

Summary of Role:

Encompass Digital Media is a global media services company with offices and facilities at locations in the UK, USA, Argentina, Riga, Singapore, Cyprus,Ascension Island and Oman . These are connected by fibre using cloud technology and distribute customer content via terrestrial broadcast, satellite and streaming systems.

Encompass is looking for a broadcast engineer with extensive operational experience of RF satellite systems to be based at Encompass’s UK teleport, which is located at Woofferton HF station in Shropshire. The role will primarily supply service management and support the operation and maintenance of existing satellite systems and new installations in the UK, but will also need to advise and/ or visit other sites, that consequently may require some international travel.

Encompass has dedicated teams of specialists at each of its sites who operate and maintain broadcast plant and building infrastructure. These teams report to the local Engineering Manager and comprise broadcast engineers, RF engineers and technicians. This new role will require a close working relationship with these teams, who will liaise with the candidate on all matters regarding their sites satellite systems.

Although the Satellite System Specialist’s main focus will be service management of client satellite distributions, when operational priorities dictate, they will also be required to work across other broadcast, technical and maintenance disciplines in order to maintain Encompass’s high levels of service availability.

Reporting to Encompass’s Satellite Services Manager, this role has no direct reports but will work as part of the wider broadcast engineering team, under the supervision of Woofferton’s Senior Engineer.

Job Purpose:

• Normally on site 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, but will be required to support Encompass’s MCR from time to time with out of hours calls on operational issues.
• To work largely autonomously and plan and prioritise operational and engineering tasks to meet client’s needs and deliver high availability transmission services.
• To operate and maintain Encompass’s satellite teleport and associated ground systems
• To plan, price and where necessary identify specialist contractors, to carry out new satellite installations and system upgrades to Encompass’s facilities.
• To provide service management data including service availability statistics as part of monthly customer reports.
• Carry out detailed system performance analysis at both Woofferton and overseas sites
• To supply detailed service outage reports and improvement plans when the need arises.
• To co-ordinate and lead on Planned Engineering Works to satellite systems infrastructure
• To design and plan new service solutions, including calculation of link budgets
• To present system performance and service availability information internally, but also, on occasion, to end clients
• To support other non-satellite broadcast systems at Woofferton, from time to time
• To work with Encompass’s engineering teams to maintain high availability broadcast services for Encompass’s customers

Required Skills & Experience:

• Ability to build relationships across multidisciplinary teams.
• Maintain strong working relationships with Encompass’s clients in order to support their satellite distributions.
• Good overall knowledge of the satellite communications industry and particularly distribution at C, Ku and Ka bands
• Significant experience of working at a satellite teleport with broadcast clients.
• Detailed knowledge and experience of running always on broadcast services
• Detailed knowledge of DVB coding and modulation systems
• Detailed operational experience of RF transmission systems such as TWTA’s, SSPA’s waveguide and feed systems
• Detailed operational experience of satellite earth station antenna alignment and tracking systems
• Experience of service management, reporting and a planned works processes.
• Detailed knowledge of IP networking, SNMP and remote monitoring and control systems
• Ability to travel and support Encompass satellite installations around the world
• Ability to work and live for an unlimited time in the UK
• Good written and reporting skills
• Full UK driving licence

Desirable Skills & Experience:

• Experience with cloud-based software and IP based transmissions system
• Experience of terrestrial radio transmission
• BSC in Engineering or equivalent, in a related discipline
• Membership of relevant trade bodies.