Director, Production Operations
Title: Director, Production Operations
Reporting to: VP, Production Operations
Classification: Full-time
Location: Hybrid in Los Angeles, CA with availability to travel
Compensation: $145k - $165k base annual salary
Company Summary:
Wave Sports & Entertainment (Wave) is the leader in digital storytelling for the next generation reaching more than 130 million highly engaged followers globally. Wave’s award-winning, programming is led by some of the most popular athletes and personalities in culture today-- including the hit digital series’ “Not Gonna Lie with Kylie Kelce,” “7PM in Brooklyn with Carmelo Anthony”, and “So True with Caleb Hearon” - dishing out entertaining commentary, unique perspectives, expert analysis, and behind-the-scenes stories about the biggest moments and trends shaping sports and entertainment.
Wave’s Media Agency (WMA) collaborates with leading sports leagues and rights holders to create engaging, data-driven digital programming. Our partners include major organizations such as the WNBA and CONCACAF, and we deliver always-on content experiences that engage the internet’s largest and most passionate fan communities.
Role Summary:
Wave is seeking a Director, Production Operations to join the Wave Content Team. This role will lead the physical production, logistics, and operational execution of our digital unscripted content slate, multi-episodic full-season series. The Director will also oversee custom branded content, and experiential tentpole activations, including oversight of Wave’s owned-and-operated studio facilities.
The ideal candidate is both a strategic production leader and a hands-on executor — someone who can manage production teams and vendors while also owning and running their own productions end-to-end. This role requires deep experience across the full production lifecycle, strong budget and operational discipline, and the ability to oversee day-to-day studio operations, including set flips, scheduling, and coordination of freelance crews and contractors, while bringing together creative, production, post-production, finance, legal, and external partners to deliver high-quality content at scale.
This is a hybrid role, with an expectation of being in the Wave LA HQ office and studio a minimum of three days per week, and additional in-office/studio presence during active productions and shoots.
Responsibilities
- Lead physical production and production operations across Wave’s digital unscripted slate, multi-episodic series, branded content, and live/experiential tentpoles.
- Translate creative briefs into executable production plans, aligning creative vision with budget, schedule, and operational constraints.
- Own end-to-end production workflows and pipelines from development and pre-production through production, post, and delivery, building scalable systems for studio, remote, and live/event productions.
- Build, manage, and track production budgets, partnering with Finance and Legal on forecasting, cost reporting, contracts, clearances, and compliance.
- Source, negotiate, and manage vendors, crews, and production partners across markets, including RFPs and bids for branded and custom client projects.
- Proactively manage risk, resources, and communication across concurrent productions, aligning cross-functional teams, stakeholders, talent, and partners around shared timelines and goals.
- Champion innovation and best practices in digital production, fostering a collaborative, solutions-oriented culture focused on quality, efficiency, and operational excellence.
Qualifications
- 7+ years leading physical production and production operations within digital content, media, or entertainment; in-house or agency experience a plus.
- Proven track record overseeing multi-episodic, full-season series from development through final delivery.
- Deep expertise in end-to-end production workflows (pre-production, production, post, delivery) and studio / remote operations.
- Experience producing branded content, including RFPs, bids, and client-driven deliverables.
- Strong background in budgeting and cost management, including building, tracking, and reconciling complex production budgets.
- Demonstrated leadership and cross-functional collaboration skills, with the ability to align creative, production, finance, legal, and external partners.
- Proven ability to manage a high volume of concurrent productions while staying organized, detail-oriented, and deadline-driven.
- Calm, solutions-oriented problem solver who anticipates risks and operates effectively under pressure.
- Strong understanding of digital platforms and audience consumption trends, with a passion for sports, entertainment, and premium digital storytelling.
Wave’s 5 Core Company Values
- Simplify and Get It Done
- Master Your Craft
- Practice Hospitality
- Be Direct
- Fearlessly Pursue New Ideas
Pay Transparency & Benefits
At Wave, we’re transparent from the get-go and we want our candidates to know as much about us as possible, even before applying. We’re excited about our candidates and want them to feel the same about us!
This role is a full-time position with a base salary range of $145,000 to $165,000/year, and may be eligible for an annual bonus and equity. Actual salary at the time of offer may vary based on multiple factors, including an individual's experience level and qualifications. We believe in investing the very best in our employees, so in addition to the base salary for this role, all eligible full-time employees at Wave receive:
- Unlimited paid time off and 11 paid holidays
- 100% company-paid premiums for Employee medical, dental, vision, and life insurance coverage
- Flex-benefit options (FSA, HSA, Commuter)
- Company sponsored 401(k) plan
- Stock options
- Paid Parental Leave
- Monthly Phone/Internet Reimbursement
Physical Requirements & Work Environment
- Capacity to operate a computer and other office productivity machinery and hardware.
- The ability to communicate and exchange information clearly and accurately.
- Work is sedentary and involves sitting for the majority of work hours.
- Able to work full-time M-F and nights and weekends as needed.
- The worker is not substantially exposed to adverse environmental conditions and work is performed in a business office environment.
- The worker may be exposed to variable lighting conditions (brightness or darkness) and noise during production when in the office.
At Wave Sports & Entertainment, we are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, national origin, gender, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital or parental status, disability, veteran status, victims of any “qualifying act of violence”, or other class protected by applicable law. We are proud to be an equal-opportunity workplace.
We are a Bullpen Sports Network, Inc. affiliate company
Direct Applicants Only