Vice President of Technology

About the role

WQED Multimedia is looking for a Vice President of Technology to help lead us beyond traditional television and radio broadcasting. This is not a Chief Engineer role. We are building digital products, strengthening direct audience relationships, supporting more in-person community engagement, and planning for a future office move that will reshape how our teams work, tell stories, and serve southwestern Pennsylvania.

The Vice President of Technology will be a member of the executive team. This person will own WQED's digital product and technology strategy, oversee our outsourced IT managed service provider, supervise the Director of Broadcast Engineering, and help integrate the systems, vendors, workflows, and platforms that support and extend WQED's work.

We're seeking a systems thinker, a product-minded leader, and a practical integrator. You do not need to be a certified broadcast engineer, but you should understand enough about media technology to lead the people and partners responsible for keeping WQED's television, radio, streaming, production, and business systems reliable and ready for what comes next.

Key Responsibilities

Lead WQED's technology strategy

• Serve as WQED's senior technology leader and a strategic thought partner to the executive team.
• Build and lead a practical technology roadmap that supports WQED's mission, audience growth, digital engagement, operational resilience, and community presence.
• Help WQED move from legacy systems and workflows toward more flexible, integrated, cloud-based, and audience-centered approaches.
• Bring product thinking to organizational technology decisions: What are we trying to help people do? What problems are we solving? How will we know whether it worked?

Own digital product strategy

• Lead strategy for WQED's public-facing digital products and platforms, including WQED.org, streaming experiences, apps, newsletters, event technology, digital membership journeys, and related tools.
• Identify, test, improve, and retire digital products and tools based on usefulness, audience behavior, cost, sustainability, and mission impact.
• Oversee systems that support audience relationships, donor/member engagement, content distribution, digital measurement, CRM-related tools, data platforms, and integrations.

Oversee IT through WQED's managed service provider

• Manage WQED's relationship with its outsourced IT managed service provider, which supports help desk, networking, endpoints, cloud infrastructure, Microsoft administration, phones, printers, Wi-Fi, cybersecurity, backups, and related systems.
• Lead cybersecurity, disaster recovery, business continuity, and technology risk planning in partnership with the MSP and other vendors.

Lead and integrate media technology

• Supervise the Director of Broadcast Engineering, who will have primary day-to-day responsibility for FCC technical compliance, and the production air chain.
• Understand enough about broadcast, production, streaming, and media systems to evaluate needs, ask good questions, support the Director, and make sound organizational decisions.
• Help WQED evaluate the future of broadcast and production infrastructure, including cloud-based master control, IP-based workflows, remote production, and desktop editing environments.
• Ensure that broadcast, digital, IT, production, and business systems are treated as connected parts of one organizational technology environment.

Build teams, vendors, and capacity

• Over time, help recruit and manage future digital/product staff.
• Build strong relationships with vendors, consultants, contractors, and technology partners.
• Know when to build internally, when to outsource, and when to bring in specialized expertise.
• Create clear processes, documentation, ownership, and accountability across technology-related work.
• Support a culture where technical teams are trusted partners, not just emergency responders.

Qualifications

• 10+ years' experience leading digital product and technology strategy in complex environments.
• Strong product thinking, digital transformation experience, and sound judgment about when to build, buy, partner, or simplify.
• Ability to connect strategy and operations: seeing the big picture while building the systems, processes, and relationships to get there.
• Experience managing vendors, outsourced technology partners, consultants, or MSP relationships.
• Working knowledge of cybersecurity, business continuity, disaster recovery, and technology risk management.
• Strong project leadership skills, including prioritization, budgeting, vendor selection, implementation, change management, and communication.
• Comfort leading through ambiguity, creating clarity, and working well with both technical and non-technical colleagues.
• Prior experience in public media or nonprofits is NOT required.

Work environment and schedule

This is a Pittsburgh-based role with regular on-site presence at WQED. Occasional remote work is possible as assignments permit.

This role will sometimes need to be available outside normal business hours for urgent technology, cybersecurity, vendor, broadcast, or business continuity issues, but the Director of Broadcast Engineering will hold primary responsibility for the production air chain.

Compensation & Benefits

The annual compensation band for this full-time, salaried position is $160,000-$200,000, commensurate with experience. Benefits include a PPO health insurance plan; employer-paid dental, vision, disability, and life insurance; and, after 12 months, a 5% employer contribution to a 403(b) retirement plan.

Equal Employment Opportunity

WQED Multimedia is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate the diversity of the communities we serve and are dedicated to fostering an inclusive, supportive workplace for all. Applicants with disabilities or those needing reasonable accommodation may contact [email protected].