Sr Principal, System Architecture (Digital AdTech)

Our vision is to build a thriving entertainment ecosystem where stories and worlds are imagined, brought to life and experienced. We create for every age and audience, anchored by the strength of our content and experiences and the depth of our connection with fans. We are creator-first, audience-focused, tech-forward, globally scaled.

The Senior Principal, System Architecture reports to the VP Engineering, Converged AdTech & Linear Systems and leads the architecture for WBD’s most critical advertising technology platforms. This role owns and drives the systems automation architecture of core adtech platforms to improve scalability, reliability, performance, and cost efficiency across the ecosystem. This role is accountable for the architecture, scalability, and operational excellence of systems spanning converged planning, linear and digital advertising, scheduling, and affiliate distribution. By architecting the platform rationalization, cloud migration, and next-generation AI/ML-enabled capabilities, the Principal ensures WBD’s ad-tech stack is positioned to maximize monetization, enable automation, and deliver premium advertising experiences across all platforms.

Define and drive the long-term architecture for AI-powered and agentic systems across large-scale AdTech platforms.

• Architect autonomous and human-in-the-loop systems for deployment orchestration, infrastructure lifecycle, and incident response
• Establish guardrails for safe, observable, and governed AI adoption (reliability, explainability, failure handling)
• Integrate AI capabilities into core platform layers (decisioning, optimization, experimentation, operations)
• Drive standardization of agentic workflows across engineering and operations

Expectation: redefines how systems are built and operated using AI and not just adds features.

Own the design and evolution of foundational platforms with strong system engineering principles.

• Define architecture for core platforms (AdOps automation, optimization, identity, data, measurement, activation) with clear boundaries and contracts
• Apply system engineering rigor across reliability, scalability, fault isolation, and performance under extreme load
• Establish patterns for multi-region, high-availability, and disaster-resilient systems
• Drive platform standardization to reduce fragmentation and improve developer velocity

Expectation: builds platforms that are resilient, composable, and operable at scale.

Shape the long-term technology direction and elevate architectural capability across the organization.

• Evaluate emerging technologies (streaming, distributed systems, AI infra, Agentic AI, privacy tech) for strategic adoption
• Mentor Principal engineers and architects on system design and trade-offs
• Establish architectural governance and decision frameworks

Expectation: builds both systems and the people who design them.

Skydance is a next-generation global media and entertainment company, comprised of three business segments: Studios, Direct-to-Consumer, and TV Media. Skydance's portfolio unites legendary brands, including Paramount, Warner Bros., HBO and HBO Max, Paramount+, Pluto TV, CBS, CNN, CBS Sports, TNT Sports, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, MTV, Food Network, BET, HGTV, and Comedy Central.

We embrace the opportunity to build a workforce that reflects a wide array of perspectives, backgrounds and experiences. Being an equal opportunity employer means that we take seriously our responsibility to consider qualified candidates on the basis of merit. In line with the laws of the country or region in which the role is based, this includes consideration without regard to race, color, ethnicity, national origin, citizenship status, religion or belief, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, pregnancy, parenthood, physical or mental disability, genetic information, military or protected veteran status, union status or any other category protected by applicable law.

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