Director, Mastering

On any given day at Disney Entertainment & ESPN Technology, we’re reimagining ways to create magical viewing experiences for the world’s most beloved stories while also transforming Disney’s media business for the future. Whether that’s evolving our streaming and digital products in new and immersive ways, powering worldwide advertising and distribution to maximize flexibility and efficiency, or delivering Disney’s unmatched entertainment and sports content, every day is a moment to make a difference to partners and to hundreds of millions of people around the world.

A few reasons why we think you’d love working for Disney Entertainment & ESPN Technology

• Building the future of Disney’s media business: DE&E Technologists are designing and building the infrastructure that will power Disney’s media, advertising, and distribution businesses for years to come.
• Reach & Scale: The products and platforms this group builds and operates delight millions of consumers every minute of every day – from Disney+ and Hulu, to ABC News and Entertainment, to ESPN and ESPN+, and much more.
• Innovation: We develop and execute groundbreaking products and techniques that shape industry norms and enhance how audiences experience sports, entertainment & news.

Content Operations is ultimately responsible for successfully delivering Disney’s entertainment and sports content to millions of people every day. This involves developing, operating, and managing a global content supply chain – the myriads of steps involved from taking a finalized TV show/movie, or live piece of content, from inside Disney to audiences around the globe, in their preferred language and format. This team also manages technology operations in Latin America, Europe and Asia Pacific.

The Distribution Operations Mastering department are responsible for the mastering of all titles produced by 20th Television, ABC Signature Studios, Freeform, FX Productions, Disney Branded Television, Hulu, and other production entities, including content acquired for Disney+ and Hotstar. The Distribution Operations Mastering department liaise with studios, production companies, post-production, third party audio and QC vendors to acquire, QC, prepare and transform both preliminary and final materials for localization, servicing, and global archival purposes. The Mastering department are the gateway between production and consumption of over 300 television series enjoyed by global audiences on multiple platforms including Disney+, Hulu, Hotstar, FX, ABC Network, Disney Channels, and Freeform.

Job Summary:

The Director, Mastering is accountable and responsible for providing strategic direction for all mastering related tasks and functions. This includes tightly aligned coordination with various production entities to track and report material delivery timelines to key stakeholders including planning and scheduling teams, localization, servicing, and third-party vendors, to acquire preliminary and final materials for expedited localization and distribution of early-release and final master material. This role will lead, develop and manage a team responsible for project management tasks for 1000+ shows a year, in line with Content Operations goals for commonality in operating method, organizational structure, systems, and vendor partners. The reliability, consistency, flexibility and cost-effectiveness of the department is a key outcome.

The development of relationships with content producers, showrunners and other creative groups is key to success. Regular discussions with senior executives involved in release and production planning will be a significant part of the role.  This role manages and oversees vendors, driving vision for development and deployment to meet expectations. On time and right first-time deliveries are critical to meeting business expectations for strategic goals such as “day and date”; this role provides direction and deployment of team and resources to achieve them.

This is a transformative role. As a key provider of oversight for Distribution Operations mastering activity worldwide, a successful candidate in this role must have the ability to drive his or her department towards flawless execution of mastering workflows, while collaborating with external vendors to ensure on-time delivery of compliant content. This position requires a high-level of proficiency in diplomatic workflows and an ability to operate cross-functionally is essential. This person will serve as a primary mastering contact for business partners including Post-Production, Legal, Finance, Business Operations, Content Platforms, and others. In addition, the Director will work closely with his or her peers, production studios, vendors, and our worldwide teams in Europe, Asia Pacific, and Latin America.

Responsibilities / Deliverables:

• Develop and execute mastering business vision & strategy and translate into operational tactics that build the organizational support and infrastructure needed to achieve them. Optimize management and overhead structure.
• Develop strategies to establish and improve methodology to understand / manage budget.  Ensure accurate reporting of costs – forecast – actuals – variance analysis and Estimated Final Costs.
• Maintain volume and quality metrics; develop recommendations to improve tracking visibility and drive continuous operational improvements
• Develop and implement plans to create a flexible and efficient global mastering model that scales internal/external resources to the volume of content produced across the organization. Identification, testing and on-boarding process for new systems/technology
• Develop process and strategy to forecast volume/velocity demands and manage capacity.
• Manage multiple priorities and initiatives with high visibility in a fast-paced, global operation.
• Drive vision and execute formal quality management program. Establish productivity, cost, and compliance metrics to ensure optimum efficiency and quality. Initiate a reporting protocol that uses metrics and data to improve tracking visibility and drive operational improvements.
• Create objectives, both short and long term, that manage the daily workflows of internal teams and external vendors and ensure prompt delivery of content in a results-driven environment.
• Manage vendor strategies, allocations, and capacity planning.
• Effectively manage vendor relationships by tracking performance metrics. Collaborate with vendors in efforts to improve cost of services, capacity planning, workflow efficiency, and turnaround time. Strategize and create reliable planning and direction to Vendors for deliveries that are On Time and Right First Time.
• Align workforce strategy to address key business plans and facilitate organizational change initiatives.
• Foster a culture of customer focused behaviors that promote a high level of responsiveness.
• Provide strategic direction, leadership, and oversight for a team of managers and professional staff. Mentor and develop team members and create an environment that encourages personal and departmental growth.
• Understand all areas of accountability, worldwide. Coordinate and collaborate with other departments within the company in establishing and carrying out responsibilities in achieving goals.
• Lead efforts and meetings with internal postproduction teams and executives to ensure clarity on timelines
• Lead the development and implementation of strategies to create reliable planning and communication methods with post-production teams to for deliveries that are On Time and Right First Time.
•  Lead the development and implementation of strategies to and create reliable planning and communication methods with internal partner groups for creative and technical support.
• Manage business and delivery issues related to delivery timelines and shifting priorities

Required Education, Experience/Skills/Training:

Basic Qualifications 

• Minimum 12 years’ experience in audio/video containers, codecs, and digital video and audio file formats including UHD (4K), HDR, SDR, Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, encoding specifications, compliance standards, and troubleshooting techniques or other relevant experience.
• Minimum 5 years’ experience and proficient understanding of digital media assets, deliverables, workflows, and technical knowledge related to episodic and film workflows.
• Minimum 5 years of leadership experience managing operational teams with both direct and indirect reports
• Experience managing a hybrid (on/offsite) operational team within a global top-ranking motion picture, television, streaming or media/postproduction company, gaming and distribution organization.
• Proficient at preparing/creating/providing presentation materials, delivering presentations, facilitating and planning meetings.
• Working knowledge of Project Management methodologies and Collaboration systems and products such as Agile, Scrum, Jira, Smartsheet, Asana, Trello, Confluence.
• Familiarity with data insights and metrics tracking tools such as Domo, Google Analytics.
• Experience in the following areas –
  • Planning/Forecasting
  • Project management
  • Vendor management
  • Quality Management
  • Business management
• Experience working with key stakeholders across global territories (North America, LatAm, APAC, EMEA) and with clients from global, domestic, and local/territory platforms.
• Complete knowledge of technical aspects related to all mastering and QC activities with strength in reading and understanding video and audio QC reports to convey issues to post-production and technical teams to resolve a variety of issues all at once. 
• Able to speak confidently and clearly to large groups
• Excellent communication skills and an ability to participate with ease in collaborative efforts across departments and teams
• Will have held leadership and influencing roles with direct and indirect reporting relationships with operations and business executives.
• Will have knowledge of localization and dubbing workflows.
• Experience with Scenechronize, Pix, Airtable, Box, Google Suite, Microsoft Office Suite

• Subject matter expertise and knowledgeable in understanding television post-production delivery schedules, timelines, and workflows.

Personal Attributes

• Creative
• Methodical
• Collaborative
• Efficient

Required Education  

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience

The hiring range for this position in California is $182,200 to $222,400 per year based on a 40 hour work week. The amount of hours scheduled per week may vary based on business needs. The base pay actually offered will take into account internal equity and also may vary depending on the candidate’s geographic region, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience among other factors. A bonus and/or long-term incentive units may be provided as part of the compensation package, in addition to the full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the level and position offered.