Senior Systems and Infrastructure Architect

TELLING CAPTIVATING STORIES TO AUDIENCES EVERYWHERE

Blue Ant Media is an international streamer, production studio and rights business. The company's studio creates and distributes a premium slate of programming, in all content genres, for streaming and broadcasting platforms around the world. Blue Ant also operates free streaming and pay TV channels under several media brands internationally, including Love Nature, Cottage Life, Smithsonian Channel Canada, BBC Earth Canada, HauntTV, Homeful, Total Crime, Declassified and Love Pets. Blue Ant is headquartered in Toronto, with operations in Los Angeles, New York, Singapore, London, Washington, Sydney, Halifax and Ottawa. ⼁Instagram⼁LinkedIn

Our employees are passionate experts in all of our business areas. They are fanatical about creating outstanding content and experiences, and about delivering them on new and evolving platforms. We actively seek new employees who embody our core values. We want them to think big, act with purpose, celebrate creativity, do the right thing, respect one another, and succeed together. We attract creative talents who are optimistic about the evolving future of content and who take pride in recognizing opportunities where others see challenges. At Blue Ant Media, we give them the flexibility to think like entrepreneurs, take ownership of their projects, take risks, and embrace innovation in a rapidly evolving media landscape. Our team members excel at collaborating with internal and external partners by building trusting, respectful working relationships.

Senior Systems & Infrastructure Architect

The Senior Systems & Infrastructure Architect is a senior technical leader responsible for the design, implementation, and ongoing evolution of Blue Ant Media's enterprise infrastructure. This role provides architectural ownership across hybrid cloud platforms, core systems, storage environments, Microsoft 365 workplace services, and select media technology workflows.

Balancing strategic design with operational expertise, the Architect serves as a senior escalation point for complex infrastructure challenges while ensuring enterprise platforms remain secure, scalable, and aligned with business needs. This role partners closely with Technology leadership, internal IT teams, and media operations stakeholders to support both corporate services and critical production environments.

This is a new role which will report to the Senior Director, I.T. and is a hybrid position requiring in-office attendance at our head office in Toronto for a minimum of three (3) days per week. 

The anticipated salary range for this role is $110,000 - $125,000 per year, with final compensation determined by experience and qualifications.

Core Responsibilities & Duties

Enterprise Infrastructure Architecture & Strategy

• Lead the architecture and modernization of enterprise infrastructure across on-prem, hybrid cloud, and SaaS environments.
• Define standards, best practices, and reference architectures for systems, identity, collaboration, networking, and storage platforms.
• Drive lifecycle planning, capacity forecasting, and technology roadmap initiatives.
• Evaluate emerging technologies and recommend solutions that balance security, scalability, cost, and operational sustainability.

Cloud, Systems, Network & Core Infrastructure Support

• Architect and support hybrid cloud environments, leveraging AWS core services (EC2, S3, VPC, IAM) and secure connectivity to on-prem infrastructure.
• Manage Linux-based server environments (RHEL/Rocky, Ubuntu) across physical, virtual, and cloud platforms.
• Provide senior-level administration and architectural guidance for Linux and Windows server environments across physical, virtual, and cloud deployments.
• Lead enterprise storage design and support (NAS/SAN/object storage), ensuring backup, replication, and performance meet business and production needs.
• Guide virtualization and container strategies using VMware vSphere, Proxmox, Docker, and related technologies.

Microsoft 365 & Workplace Platform Ownership

• Administer and optimize Blue Ant Media's Microsoft 365 environment, including:
  • Exchange Online
  • SharePoint Online & OneDrive
  • Teams collaboration and governance
  • Identity and access management via Entra ID (Azure AD)
• Ensure secure configuration, conditional access controls, and alignment with enterprise security posture.
• Support adoption, governance, and integration of productivity services across the organization.

Network & Infrastructure Operational Support

• Provide architectural oversight and senior support for core network services, including routing, switching, firewalls, VPN connectivity, and segmentation.
• Serve as an escalation point for complex network, systems, or cloud infrastructure issues impacting business operations.
• Collaborate with internal IT teams to design, maintain high availability, performance, and secure enterprise connectivity.

Media & Broadcast Technology Enablement

• Partner with broadcast and production teams to support infrastructure platforms that underpin media workflows.
• Provide Tier 3 escalation and architectural guidance for select IP-based media services and production-critical systems.
• Support broadcast networking standards such as multicast, SMPTE ST 2110/2022, and PTP where required, ensuring operational continuity for key services.

Automation, Documentation & Technical Leadership

• Drive automation initiatives where possible.
• Maintain architecture documentation, network/system diagrams, operational runbooks, and technical standards.
• Mentor junior administrators and engineers, promoting architectural thinking, best practices, and professional growth.
• Act as a trusted advisor to Technology leadership, contributing to infrastructure strategy and long-term planning.

• 7+ years of progressive experience in infrastructure engineering, systems administration, or cloud architecture roles.
• Strong expertise across enterprise platforms including:
  • Windows and Linux server environments
  • Hybrid cloud infrastructure (AWS and/or Azure)
  • Storage, backup, and virtualization ecosystems
  • Microsoft 365 administration and governance
• Solid understanding of core networking concepts (firewalls, VPNs, routing, switching).
• Exposure to media or broadcast technology environments is an asset.
• Certifications (AWS, Microsoft, Cisco/Fortinet) are an asset.
• Proven ability to translate operational needs into scalable architectural solutions.

While we may use digital tools to support the efficiency of our recruitment process, we do not use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to screen, assess or select candidates. Applications are personally reviewed by a member of the Talent Acquisition team or one of the hiring leaders, ensuring a fair and human-centered experience or all applicants.