Optomi, in partnership with our large enterprise client, are seeking an experienced and technical Media Engineer for a long term contract role, hybrid in Manhattan!

W2 only, no C2C

This role is a technical one that wears many hats!

A big plus if you have experience with Conviva!

Role Overview & Key Responsibilities:

As a Lead Media Performance Engineer within the Quality Team, you’ll be at the forefront of shaping the evolution of media technologies in a dynamic, multidisciplinary environment. Your expertise will be key in guiding a team that focuses on device lab architecture and enhancing the accessibility of tools for audio and video technologies, ultimately ensuring seamless integration across all OTT devices.

On any given day, you might be:

• Leading sessions focused on simulation, forecasting, and optimization strategies.
• Working cross-functionally to gather requirements and propose solutions that align business objectives with technical needs, tackling complex testing scenarios.
• Serving as a subject matter expert, evaluating device capabilities, and ensuring product feature specifications align across different platforms while staying current with industry trends.
• Tracking technical implementation, hardware constraints, and maintaining detailed documentation of test results across platforms.
• Managing and prioritizing project backlogs based on shifting business priorities.
• Developing strategies across departments to boost productivity and drive future operational improvements.
• Analyzing data to identify areas for improvement, and collaborating with engineering teams to formulate action plans.
• Presenting findings to leadership to advocate for meaningful change.
• Conducting research and benchmarking on topics relevant to your projects.
• Mentoring team members, helping them grow into their roles and take ownership of key projects.

Required Qualifications & Skills:

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
• 4–7 years of hands-on experience in streaming media, content distribution, or video technology.
• 5+ years of expertise in Live Video Streaming Systems, covering encoding, distribution, and playback.
• Deep knowledge of the end-to-end lifecycle of live and on-demand content delivery (“glass-to-glass”).
• Experience in designing and implementing distributed systems with a focus on microservices architecture.
• Proven success in a high-availability, large-scale production environment (AWS or other public cloud).
• Strong understanding of video compression technologies and codec standards (H.264/AVC, H.265/HEVC, AV1), including encoding bitrate ladders.
• Excellent collaboration and communication skills, with a track record of mentoring junior team members in a distributed, cross-functional setting.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making abilities.
• Proficient in working with OTT and mobile devices (Roku, Game Consoles, Apple TV, Android, iOS, etc.).
• Familiarity with network-level monitoring tools (e.g., ThousandEyes, Kentik, Catchpoint).
• Advanced expertise in data visualization tools (e.g., Grafana, Datadog, Kibana, Splunk).
• Solid understanding of CDNs and their interaction with network operations, transit, and peering.
• Ability to design and maintain a matrix of complex technical documentation.
• Proficient in setting up, upgrading, and maintaining test labs or CI/CD environments.
• Familiar with ticketing systems like JIRA and Confluence.
• Experience collaborating with third-party service providers and device manufacturers.
• Background in technical project management.
• Strong independent research and analytical skills, with a proactive approach to solving complex problems.
• Expertise in advanced data structures (SQL, NoSQL).
• Proven ability to deliver results in ambiguous, fast-changing environments.
• In-depth understanding of video streaming quality metrics and factors affecting the end-user viewing experience.
• Hands-on experience with tooling to analyze subscriber data, performance trends, and system metrics.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Advanced knowledge of video compression, codec standards (H.264/AVC, H.265/HEVC, AV1), encoding bitrate ladders, and rate control techniques.