Distribution Engineer

Role Overview:

Our team of skilled technical experts keeps Formula 1 moving, and as a Distribution Engineer, you will play a vital role in ensuring the reliable delivery of all video and audio feeds that power F1’s global broadcast and digital output.

Based at the Formula 1 Media & Technology Centre in Biggin Hill, you will provide crucial operational support during race weekends - establishing, monitoring, and routing feeds essential to live production and worldwide distribution.

Outside of event weekends, you will contribute to ongoing upgrades across our technology stack, improving reliability, performance, and scalability to meet the growing distribution demands of the sport.

Main Duties and Responsibilities:

• Manage the switching of services during normal and emergency conditions to ensure all outputs remain on air.
• Liaise with thirdparty fibre, uplink and connectivity providers during fault investigations.
• Routinely check the health and performance of all contribution and distribution equipment.
• Proactively identify and mitigate risks or vulnerabilities across the distribution infrastructure.
• Develop a solid understanding of Formula 1’s broader technical ecosystem and how operational departments collaborate during race weekends.
• Create and maintain documentation, diagrams and operational procedures.
• Implement, or support the implementation of, upgrades, changes and improvements to distribution systems and infrastructure.

What Are We Looking For?

A technically strong, calm under pressure engineer who thrives in a live broadcast environment and is committed to delivering highly reliable services during the most demanding operational windows of the F1 season.

Experience

Prior to the role it would be essential that you:

• Have experience working in a broadcast, media, or telecommunications environment.
• Ideally have experience within Live Sports or similarly high-pressure operational contexts.

Some desirable experience that you may bring to the role:

• Experience working directly with high availability distribution or transmission systems.
• Familiarity with troubleshooting real time broadcast chain issues across multiple vendors, technologies and signal types.
• Previous experience supporting projects involving system upgrades or infrastructure modernisation.

Knowledge & Skills

Prior to the role it is essential that you demonstrate:

• In-depth knowledge of television distribution systems, platforms and standards.
• Working knowledge of HD & 3GSDI baseband video signals.
• Understanding of AES, MADI, Dolby E and AES67 audio signals.
• Good practical knowledge of TCP/IP networking, including multicast traffic.
• Experience with SMPTE 2110 standards.
• Working knowledge of h.264/h.265/HEVC encoding configuration.
• Understanding of MPEG2 Transport Streams and TR101290 analysis.
• Hands-on experience with control/monitoring systems such as Cerebrum, TAG or Data-miner.
• Ability to operate signal test and analysis equipment for both baseband and
• transport stream workflows.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to explain technical issues to both technical and nontechnical stakeholders.
• Ability to remain focused and effective in high-pressure, time-critical environments.

Qualifications

Not essential to be successful in the role but you may also have the following qualifications:

• Certifications related to broadcast engineering, IT networking, or media transport (e.g., SMPTE, Cisco, or equivalent).
• Vendor-specific training linked to encoding, routing, monitoring, or IP-based media workflows.

Personal Qualities

In this role it is essential that you are:

• Calm and composed when working under pressure.
• Methodical, detailoriented and proactive in identifying potential issues before they impact service.
• Adaptable, with the ability to switch focus quickly during live operational environments.
• A clear communicator who builds trust with colleagues and external partners.
• Willing to work unsociable hours, including weekends, when supporting live race events.