Hello! I'm Dave Austin
​In my near two-decade journey building the infrastructure behind some of America's largest media entertainment brands, I've steadfastly pursued a guiding principle – the belief that everything I do revolves around enabling individuals to discover their utmost potential. My compass directs me to unite these individuals, leveraging their collective strengths to collaboratively tackle intricate technical challenges. All in the service of bringing great content wherever and however our fans want to experience it.
Dave Austin
Solutions Engineering, Director
860.940.0464
Email:
Address:
57 Whistling Straits Drive
Southington, CT 06489
Phone:
EXPERIENCE
DISNEY
September 2022 - Present
Director, Solutions Engineering
Currently leading a multidisciplinary team comprising engineers and analysts, directing strategic communications and delivery orchestration within Disney's Entertainment & ESPN division. Spearheaded strategic planning initiatives and played a pivotal role in achieving substantial outcomes for our direct-to-consumer endeavors.
2017 - 2022
Director, Media Engineering
Led the 24/7 Sustainment and Operations teams dedicated to supporting broadcast and production teams at ESPN's state-of-the-art production facility in Bristol, CT. Similarly, I oversaw the 24/7 SupportCenter which provided Service Management services including incident, change and problem management across Disney's Entertainment and ESPN Division.
2013- 2017
Associate Director, Video & Audio Platform Engineering
Working alongside industry-leading engineering teams to design, build, launch and support the WatchESPN streaming platform, delivering the first digital and non-linear product offering for ESPN to market.
2006 - 2017
Audio Technology Engineer
Started my Disney journey as a Radio engineering responsible for the design, build and sustainment of the ESPN Radio Network infrastructure including studio, edit and distribution support. Led the creation of ESPN Radio's first mobile streaming product for iOS and Android and supported the creation and growth of PodCenter, ESPN's hub for podcast distribution.
NEW YORK STATE SENATE
2001 - 2006
Deputy Director of Legislation
Managed high-priority legislative portfolios for the New York State Senate Transportation and Mental Health Committees. Wrote the initial Workzone Safety Act of '05.
EDUCATION
1997-2001
Political Science & Legal Studies
Bachelor's Degree
Graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science with minors in Legal Studies from the State University of New York at Geneseo.
SKILLS
Program Management
Leadership
Strategic Planning
Team Management
Broadcast Technology
Streaming Technology
Key Highlights
Bridge Builder
Leveraging experience, relationships and technical expertise, I led the technical documentation process and technical system deliverables for the merger between MLB Advanced Media Division and The Walt Disney Company. This led to the eventual launch of ESPN+
Innovation
As a Product Manager, I led the development, launch and operation of the first ESPN Radio mobile experience. From the initial inception, through wireframe, development, quality assurance and sustainment, this was the first truly mobile experience for ESPN Audio, merging live audio and on-demand podcasting.
Strategic Planning
Leveraging advanced observability technology and automation, our Service Management team had a 50% reduction in incidents year-over-year for three years, generating an estimated $450K in operational cost avoidance annually.
Similarly, bringing engineers and business analysts together to review observability technology; creating $50M in annual cost savings.
