Sr. Software Architect and Development Manager

The Sr. Software Architect and Development Manager is responsible for establishing and ensuring best practice software development, scalable, robust architecture, and excellent quality across our digital and streaming properties. This person will be responsible for successful and effective delivery across software development projects and initiatives. They are responsible for ensuring the capabilities, productivity, performance, training, management, and resources of the teams conform with delivery requirements, business needs, and high QoE.

The ideal candidate is passionate about building high quality digital products our customers will love and will foster strong team collaboration and a culture of innovation, pushing the boundaries, and rapid delivery. In addition, they are expected to lead strategic conversations and guide development standards, resourcing, and direction. This person will also oversee QA to ensure efficient development and high customer satisfaction across digital platforms.

This position will require an onsite presence at our Watertown, MA offices 4 days/week.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Provide technical, architectural, and people leadership for internal and external software development teams, including front-end and backend, across platforms (e.g., web, iOS, tvOS, Android, Roku, FireTV).
• Define and execute against next generation application architecture, and ensure reliability, redundancy, scalability, and quality of experience across user flows.
• Establish and oversee a SDLC to drive high quality, efficient, rapid software delivery.
• Ensure all applications are secure, scalable, and observable.
• Oversee direct and 3rd party billing infrastructure and development.
• Evolve billing and advertising capabilities to meet business and revenue objectives.
• Scope development efforts and trade-offs as appropriate with business partners.
• Guide team development efforts towards successful project delivery.
• Manage the timeline, scope, and tasks of the development projects.
• Manage resource and staffing assignments for multiple projects across internal resources and external development partners.
• Establish and continuously improve software performance metrics.
• Connect the dots for the overall team across the content delivery pipeline, with the end-user experience across our client applications in mind.
• Partner with engineering, OVP partners, and streaming infrastructure vendors to ensure end-to-end stream quality, reliability, and optimizations.
• Ensure that software development features and objectives are consistent with overall product roadmap and contribute to business objectives.
• Ensure development best practices are followed and new techniques are introduced as appropriate.
• Partake in code reviews and development efforts as needed.
• Ensure regulatory and other compliance of our software systems and processes.
• Recruit, mentor, and develop staff as appropriate.
• Review test plans and oversee the bug tracking lifecycle, metrics development and tracking, test automation and performance testing.
• Evolve QA processes to ensure that products meet required specifications for quality, function, and reliability prior to delivery including creating automated and manual test libraries.
• Communicate and oversee quality standards and parameters to vendors and development team.
• Establish, track, report on, and gradually improve quality metrics.
• Ensure maximum uptime and reliability of web services, billing, ad serving, and streaming infrastructure.

Qualifications:

• 8+ years of relevant software development or engineering experience across web, mobile, and/or connected TV platforms
• 2+ years of people management experience, managing engineers and/or external vendors
• Strong knowledge of streaming technologies and protocols, including 4K, HD, HLS, DASH, Cloud DVR, Token Authentication, DRM, and Trickplay; Video player architecture knowledge is a plus
• Experience with SWIFT, Kotlin, BrightScript/RSG, PHP, Wordpress, React/Javascript, Chromecast, serverless.js, ephemeral environments, etc.
• Proven track record of leading lean Software Development and QA teams
• Start-up experience is a plus
• Versality with data and analytics
• Experience scaling software applications and/or building SaaS platforms a plus
• Experience leading the delivery of large-scale systems and/or growing existing systems to support multiple enterprises and/or much larger user bases
• Experience leading multiple projects simultaneously
• Experience with cloud computing or large-scale distributed systems for commercial online services that require high availability and performance
• Experience in test automation for front-end / back-end and end-to-end systems
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, ability to present complex technical information in a clear and concise manner to a variety of audiences, including non-technical
• Excellent collaboration skills including cross functional collaborations
• Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to troubleshoot and resolve issues

Who We Are

NESN (New England Sports Network) is owned by Fenway Sports Group, which also owns the Boston Red Sox and Pittsburgh Penguins among other holdings, and Delaware North, owners of the Boston Bruins. NESN is delivered throughout the six-state New England region and nationally as NESN National. The definitive source for New England sports programming, NESN consistently has been one of the top-rated regional sports networks in the country, with a reputation for innovative and award-winning production of sports events and specials.

As of Fall 2023, NESN manages SportsNet Pittsburgh, a newly branded regional sports network that televises Pittsburgh Penguins and Pirates games, as well as local college sports, original content and more in PA, WV, and portions of MD, OH and NY.

Our professional environment is passionate, adaptable, creative, and filled with aspiring individuals who are driven to grow with our company. Our core values are at the heart of who we are. We have a spontaneous and vibrant culture, and we truly believe in team spirit and collaboration.

NESN is proud to be a diverse and inclusive employer. We are committed to Equal Employment Opportunities for all qualified individuals without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, marital status, genetic information, military service, veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable law. Minorities, Women, Individuals with Disabilities, and Veterans are especially encouraged to apply.