How This NBCU Engineering Director Succeeded as a Leader

Since being promoted to Sr. Director, Production Engineering at NBCUniversal in November 2020, Janet Tsang has been making magic happen. In her new role, Janet leads Production Engineering teams based at the Universal Lot in LA and works alongside the two sites at Telemundo Center in Miami and 30 Rock in New York. “We’re a soup-to-nuts organization; designing, building and supporting all aspects of production technology for NBCUniversal’s diverse portfolio of content.” she says.

Janet believes that one of the most important parts about being a leader is leveraging the experience of the other leaders in the organization and involving people in the process. “Leadership is a team sport,” she says. “I like to empower and encourage growth in my teams. Helping my team understand the ‘why’ behind the ‘what we do’ also encourages collective ownership of our environment. Given responsibility and a runway to perform, good people will usually find their way.”

She doesn’t only get her team involved either. Janet is also focused on supporting the company’s female talent and has been sponsoring young women through NBCU’s Internship & Media Technology programs. “Aside from the functional aspects of the rotations, a big part of being a sponsor is taking the time to listen to and see how you help someone in their career. Are there introductions I can make? What questions can I ask to help someone understand if this path is for them? At the end of their rotations, I also keep in contact regularly to continue supporting them.” says Janet.

Fierce advocate of diversity and inclusion, Janet shares how she uses engineering to do so. “Engineering is all about technical curiosity. I like to create safe environments where people can test theories, fail (just a little) and ask questions without the stigma of judgement. I like to promote diversity of thought and the idea that everyone brings something to the table to make the team successful” says Janet.

What Janet finds most exciting is getting to be constantly creative by using technology. “Our environment is constantly challenging. The productions that we support are always looking to change things up creatively and it's our job to enable that vision through technology,” she says.

Janet also credits the entertainment company’s various leadership programs for the ongoing career development she’s received. “At NBCUniversal, I’ve had opportunities to coach, speak at leadership and technology panels and work with up-and-coming engineers,” she says. “These are all invaluable learning experiences and have helped to build my understanding of people and the way that they interact with technology.”

Want to know Janet’s most memorable piece of career advice? “Never apply for a job that you can already do 100%. Don’t limit your potential to grow.”

She reminds other women looking to grow into leadership roles not to forget to pay it forward. “Be genuine. Be kind. Stop and pull women up behind you. Don’t forget the opportunities you were given and remember to pay it forward.” 

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