Principal Architect

NBCUniversal is one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies. We create world-class content, which we distribute across our portfolio of film, television, and streaming, and bring to life through our theme parks and consumer experiences. We own and operate leading entertainment and news brands, including NBC, NBC News, MSNBC, CNBC, NBC Sports, Telemundo, NBC Local Stations, Bravo, USA Network, and Peacock, our premium ad-supported streaming service. We produce and distribute premier filmed entertainment and programming through Universal Filmed Entertainment Group and Universal Studio Group, and have world-renowned theme parks and attractions through Universal Destinations & Experiences. NBCUniversal is a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation.

Our impact is rooted in improving the communities where our employees, customers, and audiences live and work. We have a rich tradition of giving back and ensuring our employees have the opportunity to serve their communities. We champion an inclusive culture and strive to attract and develop a talented workforce to create and deliver a wide range of content reflecting our world.

Comcast NBCUniversal has announced its intent to create a new publicly traded company ('Versant') comprised of most of NBCUniversal's cable television networks, including USA Network, CNBC, MSNBC, Oxygen, E!, SYFY and Golf Channel along with complementary digital assets Fandango, Rotten Tomatoes, GolfNow, GolfPass, and SportsEngine. The well-capitalized company will have significant scale as a pure-play set of assets anchored by leading news, sports and entertainment content. The spin-off is expected to be completed during 2025.

Our Media Group portfolio is a powerhouse collection of consumer-first brands, supported by media industry leaders, Comcast, NBCUniversal and Sky. When you join our team, you’ll work across our dynamic portfolio including Peacock, NOW, Fandango, SkyShowtime, Showmax, and TV Everywhere, powering streaming across more than 70 countries globally. And the evolution doesn’t stop there. With unequalled scale, our teams make the most out of every opportunity to collaborate and learn from one another. We’re always looking for ways to innovate faster, accelerate our growth and consistently offer the very best in consumer experience. But most of all, we’re backed by a culture of respect. We embrace authenticity and inspire people to thrive.

Be at the forefront of innovation in video streaming at a global scale. The Global Video Engineering team is looking for a visionary and technically accomplished Principal Video Architect to lead the design of next-generation content delivery and playback systems that serve millions of users worldwide. In this role, you architect and guide solutions across the entire video streaming pipeline, with deep expertise in Live and Video on Demand (VOD) workflows – including Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI), Content Protection (DRM, watermarking, tokenization), and Content Delivery Network (CDN) distribution.

This position will have a specialized focus on video orchestration metadata, including defining API interfaces, designing publishing workflows, and building metadata schemas. The ideal candidate will be a strong communicator and collaborator who thrives in a cross-functional environment and values diverse perspectives. We believe that inclusive teams create better solutions and welcome candidates who are passionate about building technology that reflects and serves a global, diverse audience. We are committed to building a workplace where everyone feels empowered to bring their full, authentic selves to work.

Job Responsibilities

Architecture & Design

• Architect scalable, resilient, and high-performance cloud-based video workflows across Live and VOD.

• Lead the design and implementation of ingest and metadata workflows, including:
  • RESTful and Asynchronous API interfaces.
  • Automated and manual content processing.
  • Metadata schemas for content discovery, rights management, and playback.
• Produce detailed architecture specifications and documentation for cross-team alignment.

Collaboration & Leadership

• Partner across internal teams (e.g. Delivery, Operations, Engineering, Product and Domain/End-to-End Architecture) and external teams to ensure architectural alignment with standards and best practices.
• Provide strategic updates to senior stakeholders on progress, risks, and opportunities.
• Facilitate architectural reviews and technical deep dives to align on long-term vision.

Innovation & Mentorship

• Drive innovation by researching and implementing emerging technologies.
• Mentor and support team members, encouraging knowledge sharing and continuous improvement across the organization.

• 10+ years in technical leadership roles with deep experience in video engineering.
• Proven experience in ingest workflows, metadata systems, and API design.
• Demonstrated ability to lead in agile, cross-functional environments.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to engage both technical and business audiences.
• Understands the needs of business, product, and technology. Demonstrates the ability to apply this knowledge to architecture design.
• A multi-discipline technology all-rounder with a broad knowledge of the technologies used within digital media processing and playback.
• Strong capability to balance and compare costs and benefits of different solutions.

Preferred Qualifications

• OTT video distribution platform at scale using public cloud.
• AI/ML-driven metadata enrichment and analysis.
• Contributions to open-source video projects or participation in industry standards bodies.
• Proficiency in video formats and streaming protocols (e.g., HLS, MPEG-DASH, CMAF, H.264/H.265, AV1).
• Enhanced video technologies (UHD, HDR, Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos).
• OTT Video delivery to diverse clients (mobile, tablet, web, Connected TV, Game Consoles, STB) over varied access networks.
• Experience with DRM, watermarking and token-based access control.
• CDN architecture and global content distribution strategies.

This position is eligible for company sponsored benefits, including medical, dental, and vision insurance, 401(k), paid leave, tuition reimbursement, and a variety of other discounts and perks. Learn more about the benefits offered by NBCUniversal by visiting the Benefits page of the Careers website. Salary range: $180,000 - $210,000 (bonus and long-term incentive eligible).

As part of our selection process, external candidates may be required to attend an in-person interview with an NBCUniversal employee at one of our locations prior to a hiring decision. NBCUniversal's policy is to provide equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, gender identity or expression, age, national origin or ancestry, citizenship, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, veteran status, membership in the uniformed services, genetic information, or any other basis protected by applicable law.

If you are a qualified individual with a disability or a disabled veteran and require support throughout the application and/or recruitment process as a result of your disability, you have the right to request a reasonable accommodation. You can submit your request to [email protected].