We aspire for hundreds of millions of people to use Microsoft Groove seamlessly across their everyday lives. Our team is growing and we are looking for a Technical Sound Designer to help us craft new engaging music experiences for the Windows customer of tomorrow. Our audio team is tightly embedded within a multi-discipline product team of program managers, creatives, engineers, and quality engineers. We are a collaborative and curious group who value creativity, open idea sharing, and having fun while we work. Most of all, we’re motivated by our millions of users. We want them to love our products and you can help define what that means.

As the Technical Sound Designer for Release Labs, you will be responsible for crafting compelling and engaging audio systems that inspire and drive Microsoft’s new music creation platform. You should have a consistent track record with examples of successful work in the area of musical composition and sound design for commercial media (TV, film, games, advertising etc.). A firm understanding of common audio production techniques and audio engineering tools is required as well as an in-depth understanding of the current virtual instrument marketplace.

Innovation and passion motivate your designs and you are excited to discover ways to advance audio software systems beyond convention by defining and organizing unique content.

Core responsibilities:
• Craft audio content data sets
• Define genre-specific production paradigms
• Generate content to increase product scalability

You are a great fit for this role if you have:  
• Strong verbal and written communication skills used to influence multi-disciplinary teams (especially engineers and creative designers)
• History of collaboration across disparate teams (e.g. product engineering marketing, platform teams, external partners, etc.)
• Excellent audio engineering skills, from mixing and mastering to mic technique and synthesis

Requirements:
• 5-10 years industry experience composing music for TV, film, games an advertising
• You should be able to accurately produce music across various genres
• Demonstrated understanding of virtual instrument frameworks, audio signal paths, and music production techniques
• You are a seasoned user of modern DAWs such as Bitwig, Ableton Live or equivalent
• You are proficient at building sample libraries in various formats (Kontakt, EXS, Giga)

Useful experience:
• Background in software engineering
• BA/BS in Computer Science or related field
• 2-3 audio products shipped to market containing your work

If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or the recruiting process, please send a request to askstaff@microsoft.com.

We are DICE Los Angeles. Our mission is to create world class entertainment and we work in a manner that is different from the rest of the industry. We believe that our games reflect the means by which they are produced. The ones that are crafted in an inspiring climate have qualities that resonate to gamers. At DICE LA, you will be empowered to have a creative stake in everything you do. We have a studio culture where everyone is a game maker, no matter what they do. We also firmly believe that in order to achieve peak performance one must have a balance between work and personal life. We want this to be the studio where you do the best work of your career.

We are looking for wildly creative applicants who have a real passion for games, great social and communication skills as well as a positive, teammate mentality.

Responsibilities:
• Help our Audio Team craft a world class audio experience
• Be a key sound design contributor within our Audio Team
• Use Steinberg’s Nuendo to edit, name and organize sound files (sound effects, speech, music)
• Work within our development pipeline to set up sounds for in-game playback
• Set up visual scripting logic to trigger in game sounds
• Work within the FrostED game editor to import, name, and organize audio assets
• Help the Audio Team with location sound recording: foley, weapons, ambience, sfx, etc.
• Testing and Quality Control of in-game audio assets
• Take direction from the Audio Director, and work as a positive and productive member of the Audio Team

Requirements:
• BA, Technical School Degree, or equivalent work experience in Audio Engineering, Sound Design or Recording Arts
• In depth knowledge of audio theory and sound design practices; includes knowledge of waveform editing, equalization, compression, mixing, plug ins, etc.
• Proficiency with audio software DAW, such as Nuendo, Pro Tools, Sound Forge, Vegas, Cubase, Logic
• Proficiency with audio plug in software such as Waves, FabFilter, iZotope, etc.
• Some experience or knowledge of audio game development tools, such as Wwise or FMOD
• Strong technical proficiency
• Knowledge or experience with any visual scripting program is a plus (such as Reaktor, Max, Pure Data, UDK)

At DICE LA we live in a “shooter” play space. Therefore, part of this position entails weapon sound design, a basic knowledge of firearms, and the sound of their mechanics and reflections. A qualified candidate for this position must have the desire and interest to learn and improve their skillset in this area. You must be committed to growing within your craft, and continuously improving your skillset as a sound designer.

Blizzard Entertainment is looking for a talented localization audio visual specialist to supervise the creation and timely delivery of technical and artistic audio visual assets. This person will supervise both the performance and style during recordings, and the post-production for Simplified Chinese audio visual assets. Native level Chinese language skills, capacity to effectively communicate in English and professional experience with voice over (VO) recording are required for the position.

Responsibilities:
• On time delivery of excellent quality localized multimedia assets, both technically and artistically
• Participate in the selection and evaluation of external partners, best practices, and tools
• Collaborate closely with all global internal and external audio-visual stakeholders across all projects
• Responsible for the casting of actors
• Supervise the recording of VO assets and act as the contact point for product related questions
• Supervise or perform technical and language checks, and editing of audio visual assets

Requirements:
• Work experience managing the recording of interactive localized VO or with related game audio technology
• Native level Simplified Chinese language skills and capacity to communicate in English in a clear, concise, professional and effective manner
• Drive to improve quality and efficiency through creative, practical, and collaborative solutions
• Able to help achieve artistic goals through technology approaches
• Experience with multi-projects work
• Good knowledge of Chinese dubbing business practices and key stakeholders
• Able to teamwork in a proactive and positive manner to achieve shared objectives
• Experience with Blizzard Entertainment games

Pluses:
• Experience working in multicultural environments
• Experience in voice acting, post processing and audio, graphics or video editing software

As a Lead Audio Designer, you are a visionary individual contributor responsible for recording – an expert in your profession and the game audio industry. You are responsible for editing and processing sound to create and develop professional quality audio assets, including sound effects, music, and voice-overs. You may be active in the recording and editing of voice-over (VO) as well as support overall creative guidelines for audio design and audio placement in the game. You are able to contribute broadly, but also have advanced experience in multiple areas of specialization (including, but not limited to, music, VO, Foley, systems, mixing, scripting).

As Lead, you are engaged in a highly collaborative role that requires close working relationships with members across multiple disciplines. As the champion for the vision of the game and the franchise, you work to establish a compelling audio-scape that supports the game’s creative direction while following established processes, contributing both on paper and through hands-on in-engine achievements. You are multifaceted, leveraging both your technical and artistic expertise to achieve on-screen results.

A pillar of the studio, you make a positive and meaningful impact on the studio, projects, and the team. You are an excellent role model who strives to uphold the studio values. Exuding dedication and helps set the tone.

Essential duties & responsibilities:
• Works on the most nuanced and mission critical tasks, achieving success with rare guidance
• Interfaces with team lead on a daily basis
• As required, manages the audio creation process as well as directs audio team members against the creative goals of the project
• Edit and process both new and pre-existing library materials to create new audio assets
• Field record new audio assets and sound effects
• Edit, mix, and master music
• Coordinate work flow and assume a supervisory role on VO-recordings
• Edit and process VO
• Ensure files are clean, easy to use, and of reliably high quality
• Ensure assets are stored and processed optimally
• Organize and maintain assets with the studio sound effects library
• Deep understanding of audio design principles and development processes; consistently delivers work at quality bar above industry standards
• Works within the constraints of established system and level design processes; helps evolve process to improve quality and time
• Advanced knowledge of the principles of audio design
• A leader in modular development techniques as demonstrated in their work
• Understands the vision for projects and franchise and is able to verbalize it to others; and take a holistic view of the game and look at the game through a multi-discipline lens
• Understands industry quality standards and competitive bar and exceeds it in their work
• Completes assignments quickly at great quality
• Work with external sound designers as necessary
• Mentors less senior audio designers
• Contributes to team critiques, works to establish a positive team work environment
• A key driving force that regularly pitches their ideas and pushes for quality
• Participates in critiques with peers and supervisors to work towards larger game goals
• Communicates progress against schedule and not afraid to ask for help when blocked / off track
• Successfully drives and facilitates the collaboration between multiple disciplines coming together to create elements of the game on a regular basis
• Accepts and implements constructive feedback from other members of the team; mentors and trains others at the studio

Technical requirements:
• 12-15 years of professional experience related to the field
• Experience working on at least 5 published titles, preferably developed on current generation consoles
• Must work under limited supervision and make educated judgment calls
• Expert in MS Office Suite and Outlook
• Ability to navigate around online systems/tools
• Strong skills in Microsoft Suite Applications
• Strong organizational skills
• Expert knowledge of Nuendo, Sound Forge, Protools and other common audio editing programs
• Solid demonstrated ability to create content using more than one proprietary toolset (Actiongraph, Horizon)
• Demonstrated ability to design, create, edit, and implement music files with a focus on one or more of the following specialties: sound effects, music (ambient or orchestrated), or voice-over production
• Ability to handle multiple tasks/projects simultaneously
• Uses the screen as a guide to achieve quality; develops content with a player-centric view
• Demonstrates understanding of audio processes and techniques with a proven ability to establish or work within a given style
• Checks their work before submitting it and rarely breaks the game
• Understands how to properly debug their own scripting with little guidance
• A passion for gaming and a broad understanding of the current games market
• A strong closer with the ability to independently take their work through the last 20 percent of polish and iteration to complete

Leadership requirements:
• Strong interpersonal, written and oral communication skills
• Exceptional project management skills
• Excellent interpersonal communication skills
• Constant Team player
• Ability to collaborate as a team member working towards common goals
• Ability to define process and manage individuals against project’s overall audio needs
• Ability define high-level creative goals, and direct others towards those goals
• Strong collaborator who takes pride in the final product

Education & training:
• College or university diploma in sound design or equivalent training