WLKY - Chief Engineer

CDS Global•Louisville, KY

10d

About The Position

WLKY, the CBS affiliate in Louisville, Kentucky, is seeking a Chief Engineer to lead the technical operation and continued modernization of the television station. Reporting to the General Manager, the Chief Engineer is part of the station leadership team and is accountable for the reliability, safety, compliance, and performance of the systems and facilities supporting broadcast, news, production, transmission, and digital distribution. The role partners across the station and with Hearst Television teams to maintain dependable service and plan for future needs. The ideal candidate is a proven leader who can motivate teams and build a culture of excellence. The Chief Engineer leads and develops the engineering team; oversees broadcast and facility systems; ensures regulatory compliance, safety, and operational resilience; and manages budgets, vendors, projects, and modernization initiatives. The role also supports live programming, breaking news, severe weather, outages, and other urgent events, and uses approved AI tools when appropriate while verifying outputs and following company data requirements. Hearst Television offers medical, dental, and vision coverage, 401(k) matching, emotional wellness support, paid time off, paid parental leave, LGBTQ+ health services, and additional benefits for employees and their families.

Requirements

At least 7 years of progressively responsible experience in television broadcast engineering, media technology, or a closely related technical field, including experience leading or supervising technical staff.
Working knowledge of television broadcast systems, RF transmission, studio and newsroom technologies, automation, IP-based media workflows, and applicable FCC and EAS requirements.
Experience planning technical projects, managing budgets and vendors, prioritizing equipment lifecycle needs, and coordinating work across departments.
Ability to troubleshoot complex systems, make sound decisions under deadline pressure, and explain technical issues to technical and non-technical colleagues.
Ability to provide support during live operations and occasional nights, weekends, holidays, or emergencies as station needs require.
Education, training, or experience in broadcast engineering, electrical engineering, information technology, electronics, or a related field. Hearst Television will consider a college degree, trade school diploma, professional certificates, military training, or equivalent practical experience.

Nice To Haves

Experience with broadcast automation, IP video and audio, streaming, cloud or hybrid media systems, cybersecurity practices, and emergency planning.
Relevant certifications such as SBE are valued.
Related military experience will be considered.

Responsibilities

Lead, coach, and develop the station engineering team, including staffing, scheduling, performance feedback, technical training, and on-call coverage.
Set priorities and service standards for engineering work, build relationships across departments, and communicate technical issues and operational impacts clearly.
Partner with the General Manager and station leaders to align technology plans with local journalism, production, business needs, and Hearst Television standards.
Oversee reliability, maintenance, troubleshooting, and lifecycle planning for broadcast, newsroom, production, automation, master control, media storage, network, streaming, and transmission systems.
Maintain transmission and RF facilities, studios, control rooms, remote production equipment, generators, UPS, HVAC, and other critical infrastructure supporting technical operations.
Provide engineering leadership during live programming, breaking news, severe weather, outages, and other urgent events; coordinate response, recovery, and follow-up.
Ensure FCC, EAS, and other applicable regulatory and industry obligations are met through accurate records, scheduled testing, inspections, and timely corrective action.
Maintain preventive maintenance, equipment inventory, technical documentation, safety practices, emergency preparedness, backup power, and disaster recovery plans.
Coordinate with Hearst Television and enterprise IT partners on cybersecurity, network resilience, access practices, and business continuity for station systems.
Develop and manage operating and capital budgets, equipment replacement plans, vendor relationships, service contracts, and engineering projects from proposal through implementation.
Evaluate and implement improvements to IP-based workflows, automation, cloud or hybrid services, streaming, and emerging technologies while protecting reliable on-air operations.
Use approved AI tools where appropriate for technical research, summarizing logs or documentation, identifying workflow improvement opportunities, and organizing maintenance or project information; verify outputs and follow company requirements for confidential, employee, and operational data.
Review significant technical incidents, identify root causes, document corrective actions, and apply lessons learned to improve reliability.