Senior Systems Engineer

Posted on 11/7/2023

201-500 employees

Produces high-quality films, television series, and interactive games

Company Overview

Skydance Media, founded in 2010, has established itself as a leading player in the entertainment industry, producing high-quality, event-level content for global audiences across multiple platforms including film, television, and interactive media. The company's competitive advantage lies in its diversified portfolio, which includes blockbuster franchises like Mission: Impossible and Star Trek, critically acclaimed television series such as Grace and Frankie, and immersive virtual reality experiences like Archangel. The culture at Skydance fosters creativity and collaboration, with a commitment to bringing to life immersive stories and worlds, positioning it as an exciting and dynamic place to work.

VR & AR

Company Stage

N/A

Total Funding

$275M

Founded

2010

Headquarters

Santa Monica, California

Growth & Insights

Headcount

6 month growth

↑ 13%

1 year growth

↑ 19%

2 year growth

↑ 47%

Locations

Los Angeles, CA, USA

Experience Level

Entry

Junior

Mid

Senior

Expert

Desired Skills

AWS

Bash

Docker

PowerShell

Linux/Unix

Management

Microsoft Azure

Operating Systems

Ruby

Kubernetes

Python

Ansible

Chef

Datadog

CategoriesNew

Software Engineering

Requirements

The Senior Systems Engineer at Skydance Animation is a member of the Information Technology team and will be responsible for designing, deploying, operating, and maintaining the studio's systems architecture. This includes identity management, directory services, cloud systems, storage infrastructure, server compute, data centers, operating systems, application infrastructure, thin clients, automation, and networking. The IT team provides a wide range of services including Client Services, Systems Engineering, Media/AV Engineering, Networking, and Information Security
8+ years as a Systems Engineer, or relevant experience
Extensive experience installing and configuring Linux (CentOS/RHEL)
Experience with Microsoft Active Directory (DFS, DNS, DHCP, GPO's, SCCM, SCOM)
Experience with identity management infrastructure/architecture with multi-factor authentication (Okta, Duo, etc..) with understanding of standard authentication protocols such as LDAP, Active Directory, SAML, and OAuth
Experience with O365 administration and support
Experience with administration of file sharing, file transfer infrastructure (e.g. Signiant, Aspera, OneDrive, Box, Dropbox, FTP, etc..)
Experience in the design and support of Enterprise Storage infrastructure, and Cloud Object Storage (e.g. Isilon, NetApp, Qumulo, Pure, XtremeIO, VAST, S3, etc..)
Experience with NFS/SMB file protocols and how they operate in Mac, Windows, and Linux environments
In-depth knowledge of VMWare Virtualization w/ VSphere 6.x Administration & VM Backup Technology
Strong system monitoring expertise with LogicMonitor, DataDog, Sensu, Prometheus, Xabbix, or similar
In-depth knowledge of Networking Infrastructure, WAN Design, and Administration
Experience or familiarity with cloud architectures and platforms such as Docker, Kubernetes, OCI, AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure in a multi-region deployment
Scripting knowledge (e.g. PowerShell, bash scripts, Python, Ruby, Go)
Experience with automation/configuration management software (Ansible, Salt, Chef, etc..) a plus
Experience with VDI, Teradici, or another Thin Client technology a plus
Experience with Media Asset Management Infrastructure a plus
Experience in the Visual Effects, Animation, or media and entertainment industries a plus
Share a 24×7 on call production support rotation with your team and respond to service incidents
Demonstrated ability to manage projects and to deliver them on time and with quality
Excellent written and verbal communication skills and the ability to work closely and efficiently with studio teams
We realize that skills and expertise can come from many different experiences and paths, and we encourage you to apply even if you don't meet all of the requirements as written in the job description
Skydance is a diversified media company founded by David Ellison in 2010 to create high quality, event-level entertainment for global audiences. The Company brings to life stories of immersive worlds across its feature film, television, interactive, and animation divisions
Recruitment Fraud Alert
It has come to our attention that there may be fraudulent activity by individuals impersonating our Talent Acquisition team. Skydance will only contact you from an official “@skydance.com” email address. If you suspect that you are being contacted by an unauthorized person or believe that the correspondence you have received is suspicious, please do not click on any links or attachments in such emails and submit any questions or concerns to our information security team at [email protected]

Responsibilities

Develop technical “vision” for projects, translate targeted solutions into end-to end architectural designs, set proper priority and lead implementations
Maintain a strong understanding of studio workflows/pipeline and collaborate with Production Technology group to provide proper systems services and automation
Design, implement and maintain the studio's data center, server infrastructure, storage, virtualized environment, networking and hybrid cloud environment
Design, implement and maintain other studio services, including identity, domain, dns, alerting, monitoring, file transfer systems, code repos, media/digital asset management, syslog centralization, and many others
Implement and maintain operating systems and standards for both servers, client machines, and/or mobile devices
Design, implement and maintain render farm including configuration, deployment, performance and capacity monitoring, forecasting, and cloud bursting capabilities
Design, implement and maintain a containerized environment in collaboration with the production technology team
Identify areas of improvement and present those opportunities to technology leadership including options, cost-benefit breakdown, and integration plans
Must proactively seek out trends, technologies and information to keep overall studio current and aware of possible solutions to studio challenges
Author and deliver project presentations/updates to technical/non-technical audiences that include milestones and scheduling
Foster positive relationships with peers, supervision, stakeholders, 3rd parties, and mentor junior team members

Desired Qualifications

The annual range for this exempt position in Los Angeles is $140,000-180,000/year. The rate offered may vary based on the candidate's location, qualifications, experience and relevant expertise, among other factors. The range indicated is for base salary only and does not reflect the total compensation package, including , benefits, etc

Skydance offers a dynamic, inclusive, and ever-evolving culture where innovative ideas are welcomed, and growth fostered. The partnership between unique creativity and technological advancements are demonstrated within each pillar of the company. At the heart of it all is a commitment to boldly entertaining and relevant storytelling.

While all Animation studios look to hire people who are creative and hard-working, Skydance Animation is specifically looking for pioneers who seek to push the limits of what the world’s most collaborative art form can achieve, and to give those pioneers the space and the resources to build a new studio that’s doing something different.

If you’ve ever dreamt of what the early days of Hollywood must have been like, of what it takes to roll up your sleeves and break new ground, figure out a new process, and to one day say, “I was there when it all began,” then welcome aboard…

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The Senior Systems Engineer at Skydance Animation is a member of the Information Technology team and will be responsible for designing, deploying, operating, and maintaining the studio’s systems architecture. This includes identity management, directory services, cloud systems, storage infrastructure, server compute, data centers, operating systems, application infrastructure, thin clients, automation, and networking. The IT team provides a wide range of services including Client Services, Systems Engineering, Media/AV Engineering, Networking, and Information Security.

Responsibilities

Develop technical “vision” for projects, translate targeted solutions into end-to end architectural designs, set proper priority and lead implementations
Maintain a strong understanding of studio workflows/pipeline and collaborate with Production Technology group to provide proper systems services and automation
Design, implement and maintain the studio’s data center, server infrastructure, storage, virtualized environment, networking and hybrid cloud environment
Design, implement and maintain other studio services, including identity, domain, dns, alerting, monitoring, file transfer systems, code repos, media/digital asset management, syslog centralization, and many others
Implement and maintain operating systems and standards for both servers, client machines, and/or mobile devices
Design, implement and maintain render farm including configuration, deployment, performance and capacity monitoring, forecasting, and cloud bursting capabilities
Design, implement and maintain a containerized environment in collaboration with the production technology team
Identify areas of improvement and present those opportunities to technology leadership including options, cost-benefit breakdown, and integration plans
Must proactively seek out trends, technologies and information to keep overall studio current and aware of possible solutions to studio challenges
Author and deliver project presentations/updates to technical/non-technical audiences that include milestones and scheduling
Foster positive relationships with peers, supervision, stakeholders, 3rd parties, and mentor junior team members

Requirements

8+ years as a Systems Engineer, or relevant experience
Extensive experience installing and configuring Linux (CentOS/RHEL)
Experience with Microsoft Active Directory (DFS, DNS, DHCP, GPO’s, SCCM, SCOM)
Experience with identity management infrastructure/architecture with multi-factor authentication (Okta, Duo, etc..) with understanding of standard authentication protocols such as LDAP, Active Directory, SAML, and OAuth
Experience with O365 administration and support
Experience with administration of file sharing, file transfer infrastructure (e.g. Signiant, Aspera, OneDrive, Box, Dropbox, FTP, etc..)
Experience in the design and support of Enterprise Storage infrastructure, and Cloud Object Storage (e.g. Isilon, NetApp, Qumulo, Pure, XtremeIO, VAST, S3, etc..)
Experience with NFS/SMB file protocols and how they operate in Mac, Windows, and Linux environments
In-depth knowledge of VMWare Virtualization w/ VSphere 6.x Administration & VM Backup Technology
Strong system monitoring expertise with LogicMonitor, DataDog, Sensu, Prometheus, Xabbix, or similar
In-depth knowledge of Networking Infrastructure, WAN Design, and Administration
Experience or familiarity with cloud architectures and platforms such as Docker, Kubernetes, OCI, AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure in a multi-region deployment
Scripting knowledge (e.g. PowerShell, bash scripts, Python, Ruby, Go)
Experience with automation/configuration management software (Ansible, Salt, Chef, etc..) a plus
Experience with VDI, Teradici, or another Thin Client technology a plus
Experience with Media Asset Management Infrastructure a plus
Experience in the Visual Effects, Animation, or media and entertainment industries a plus
Share a 24×7 on call production support rotation with your team and respond to service incidents.
Demonstrated ability to manage projects and to deliver them on time and with quality
Excellent written and verbal communication skills and the ability to work closely and efficiently with studio teams

The annual range for this exempt position in Los Angeles is $140,000-180,000/year. The rate offered may vary based on the candidate’s location, qualifications, experience and relevant expertise, among other factors. The range indicated is for base salary only and does not reflect the total compensation package, including bonus, benefits, etc.

We realize that skills and expertise can come from many different experiences and paths, and we encourage you to apply even if you don’t meet all of the requirements as written in the job description.

Skydance is a diversified media company founded by David Ellison in 2010 to create high quality, event-level entertainment for global audiences. The Company brings to life stories of immersive worlds across its feature film, television, interactive, and animation divisions.

Skydance is proud to be an equal opportunity employer committed to building and fostering a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workforce. We welcome and consider applicants for employment regardless of race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, citizenship, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, pregnancy status, military/veteran status, disability, or any other protected category. Diversity in the workplace is not just a commitment, it is who we are and a reflection of what makes our world special.

Recruitment Fraud Alert

It has come to our attention that there may be fraudulent activity by individuals impersonating our Talent Acquisition team. Skydance will only contact you from an official “@skydance.com” email address. If you suspect that you are being contacted by an unauthorized person or believe that the correspondence you have received is suspicious, please do not click on any links or attachments in such emails and submit any questions or concerns to our information security team at [email protected].