Lead Network Engineer - Audio Visual (AV)

Role Purpose

Holovis is a world-leading experience design and technology company delivering immersive themed entertainment, attractions, and large-scale experiential installations across the globe. Our Riyadh Base is at the forefront of some of the most ambitious and technically complex projects in the region.

The Lead Network Engineer – AV is accountable for the architecture, technical standards, and design authority of IP networks supporting complex Audio Visual, show control, and media systems across themed entertainment and attraction projects.

This is a hands-on senior engineering role at the intersection of AV/show systems engineering. You will set standards, make design decisions, and personally engineer the most complex and critical networks underpinning guest-facing, critical show environments from dark rides and immersive theatres to large-scale outdoor spectaculars.

Key Responsibilities

Technical Leadership & Design Authority

• Act as technical authority for AV and show network architecture across themed entertainment projects.
• Define, own, and evolve AV network standards including redundancy, segmentation, multicast, and QoS strategies appropriate to live show environments.
• Review, challenge, and approve network designs to ensure consistency, robustness, and fitness for purpose.
• Make risk-based engineering decisions appropriate to live, safety-critical, guest-facing environments.

AV & Show Network Architecture

• Design scalable and resilient IP network architectures supporting themed entertainment systems, including:
• Core, distribution, and access layer topologies
• Redundant core designs and defined failure domains
• Media, show control, and guest system network segregation
• Engineer networks to support:
• Video-over-IP and media server distribution (e.g. 7thSense, disguise, Pixera)
• LED and display processing (e.g. Novastar systems)
• Audio-over-IP (e.g. Dante, AES67, Q-SYS)
• Show control systems (e.g. Medialon , Alcorn McBride, Etc)
• AV control and DSP platforms (e.g. Q-SYS, Crestron, Extron)
• Own performance characteristics including latency, determinism, multicast behaviour, and failover in show-critical scenarios.

Configuration, Commissioning & Deployment

• Lead configuration and deployment of managed network infrastructure within themed entertainment environments using platforms such as HPE, Juniper, and Cisco.
• Implement and validate VLAN and IP addressing schemes, multicast and redundancy.
• Provide senior technical leadership during installation, testing, commissioning, and system handover on site.

Show Control & Systems Integration

• Work closely with AV, media, show control, and ride systems engineers to ensure networks are engineered around real-world system behaviour and show requirements.
• Support integration with:
• Show control platforms (Medialon, Alcorn McBride)
• Media servers and content playback systems (7thSense, disguise)
• LED processing and video distribution (Novastar)
• Show timing, synchronisation, and trigger systems
• Ride and safety control interfaces where applicable
• Lead troubleshooting of complex, cross-disciplinary issues where network behaviour directly affects show performance or guest experience.

Standards, Documentation & Continuous Improvement

• Produce and maintain high-quality technical documentation including network architecture diagrams, configuration standards, commissioning checklists, and as-builts.
• Contribute to continuous improvement of AV and show networking practices through lessons-learned and post-project review.
• Act as a subject-matter expert and escalation point for complex AV networking challenges across the Holovis project portfolio.

Skills & Experience

Essential

• Deep, practical experience in IP network design and implementation for AV, show, media, or broadcast environments.
• Strong understanding of switching and routing fundamentals, VLAN design, subnetting, multicast, QoS, and traffic management.
• Proven experience delivering networks for themed entertainment, attractions, live events, or large-scale AV installations.
• Hands-on experience with AV-over-IP systems including Dante, AES67, video-over-IP, and associated network requirements.
• Familiarity with show control platforms such as Medialon and Alcorn McBride, and the network behaviours these require.
• Experience with AV control and DSP systems including Q-SYS, Crestron, and Extron.
• Working knowledge of media server environments such as 7thSense and LED/video processing platforms such as Novastar.
• Comfortable working in live, time-critical show environments with zero tolerance for unplanned downtime.
• Able to communicate technical decisions clearly to non-network specialists including AV engineers, project managers, and clients.
• Confident operating as a senior engineer with design authority, without formal people management responsibility.

Desirable

• Hands-on experience with HPE, Juniper, and/or Cisco enterprise switching platforms in production show environments.
• Experience designing high-availability, fault-tolerant networks with defined failure modes for mission-critical systems.
• Background in themed entertainment, dark rides, immersive attractions, or large-scale visitor experience installations.
• Familiarity with show timing and synchronisation systems, including timecode, PTP/IEEE 1588, and trigger networks.
• Relevant professional certifications in networking (e.g. CCNP, Juniper JNCIS) or AV (e.g. CTS-D, Dante certification).

About You

• You are an engineer first you take pride in doing things properly, especially when no one is watching.
• You understand that show networks must behave predictably under load, during failure, and during a live guest experience.
• You are calm, methodical, and decisive during commissioning and live deployment.
• You enjoy technical ownership and influencing engineering direction without needing a management title.
• You are excited by the scale and ambition of themed entertainment and want your work to create exceptional guest experiences.
• You are willing to travel internationally as project programmes require.