Principal Engineer, Perceptual & Workflow Validation (m/f/d)

HARMAN International; Garching bei München; Vor Ort; EUR 90.000 - 130.000; Vollzeit

Benefits dieser Stelle

Employee discounts on Harman products

Flexible work environment

Company pension plan

Professional development programs

Recognition program

Zusammenfassung

HARMAN International in Germany seeks a Principal Engineer, Perceptual & Workflow Validation, to lead alpha validation for Sonic Trust and Workflow Trust within the API Team. You will combine deep perceptual expertise with hands-on development engagement and guide feature maturation with professional audio judgment.

You bring 10+ years in audio engineering and the ability to influence cross-brand teams, delivering structured perceptual feedback and overseeing formal listening experiments to

Qualifikationen

• 10+ years of professional experience in audio engineering or equivalent high-level domain.
• Proven ability to guide development teams with expert perceptual feedback.
• Strong listening expertise to detect artifacts and interaction effects.
• Experience influencing cross-functional teams and resolving complex quality issues.
• Excellent communication in technically complex environments.

Aufgaben

• Act as the expert alpha validator embedded in development teams, providing high-impact guidance throughout implementation.
• Deliver detailed perceptual feedback shaping feature behavior before certification.
• Identify artifacts, interaction issues, and workflow friction during early development.
• Lead perceptual validation strategies across projects and release trains.
• Design and oversee formal listening experiments with controlled comparisons.
• Interpret perceptual findings and drive resolution of audio quality issues.
• Define and evolve best practices for workflow integrity validation and perceptual certification.
• Mentor team members and elevate perceptual validation capability.

Kenntnisse

Audio engineering

Perceptual validation

DSP knowledge

Cross-functional collaboration

Mentoring

Ausbildung

Sound Engineering

Electrical Engineering

Signal Processing

Jobbeschreibung

About The Role

As Principal Engineer, Perceptual & Workflow Validation, you serve as the authority for Sonic Trust and Workflow Trust within the Audio Performance & Integrity (API) Team. You combine deep perceptual expertise with hands‑on development engagement, acting as an embedded expert who guides feature maturation through structured alpha validation and professional audio judgment. You influence complex projects across Domain and Cross Brand teams, ensuring that new technologies scale without compromising professional credibility. You act as both methodological authority and experiential expert in the development process.

What You Will Do

• Act as the expert alpha validator embedded in development teams, providing high-impact, experience-based guidance throughout implementation
• Deliver detailed, actionable perceptual feedback that shapes feature behavior before formal certification
• Identify subtle system-level artifacts, parameter interaction issues, and workflow friction during early development
• Lead structured perceptual validation strategies across complex projects and release trains
• Design and oversee formal listening experiments, including controlled comparisons and statistically supported evaluations
• Interpret complex perceptual findings and drive resolution of systemic audio quality issues
• Define and evolve best practices for workflow integrity validation and perceptual certification
• Mentor team members and elevate perceptual validation capability within the team
• Collaborate with benchmarking and user research teams when broader statistical or panel-based evaluation is required
• Act as authority during final Anchor-stage validation and release readiness discussions

What You Need

• Extensive professional experience (10+ years) in audio engineering, tuning, mastering, or equivalent high-level domain
• Academic background with a bachelor’s or master’s degree in Sound Engineering / Electrical Engineering / Signal Processing or equivalent
• Demonstrated ability to guide development teams through expert perceptual feedback during feature maturation
• Highly developed listening expertise with the ability to detect subtle artifacts and complex interaction effects
• Strong understanding of DSP behavior and its perceptual consequences
• Experience influencing cross-functional teams and driving resolution of complex quality issues
• Ability to balance innovation speed with professional integrity boundaries
• Excellent communication and negotiation skills in technically complex environments

What Is Nice To Have

• Experience conducting statistically rigorous listening studies
• Background in psychoacoustics or applied audio research
• Experience mentoring or leading technical specialists
• Experience working in automotive or embedded audio systems
• Exposure to benchmarking or large-scale listener panel methodologies
• Valid driver's license
• Proficiency in on site native language

What We Offer:

• HARMAN offers a diverse and inclusive work environment that fosters and encourages career development opportunities, professional training and competitive market base compensation
• You will also receive top-notch employee discounts on Harman’s Consumer Audio (JBL, AKG, HARMAN Kardon) and Samsung products
• Flexible work environment with a culture encouraging work-life integration and collaboration in a global environment.
• Attractive salary package based on the Metall & Elektro Tarif Baden Wurttemberg and an Employer contribution towards a company pension plan
• Professional development opportunities through HARMAN University’s business and leadership academies which also includes extensive technical trainings
• Internal talent management leadership acceleration programs
• “Be Brilliant” employee recognition and rewards program

You Belong Here

HARMAN is committed to making every employee feel welcomed, valued, and empowered. No matter what role you play, we encourage you to share your ideas, voice your distinct perspective, and bring your whole self with you – all within a support-minded culture that celebrates what makes each of us unique. We also recognize that learning is a lifelong pursuit and want you to flourish. We proudly offer added opportunities for training, development, and continuing education, further empowering you to live the career you want.

About HARMAN: Where Innovation Unleashes Next-Level Technology

Ever since the 1920s, we’ve been amplifying the sense of sound. Today, that legacy endures, with integrated technology platforms that make the world smarter, safer, and more connected. Across automotive, lifestyle, and digital transformation solutions, we create innovative technologies that turn ordinary moments into extraordinary experiences. Our renowned automotive and lifestyle solutions can be found everywhere, from the music we play in our cars and homes to venues that feature today’s most sought-after performers, while our digital transformation solutions serve humanity by addressing the world’s ever‑evolving needs and demands. Marketing our award‑winning portfolio under 16 iconic brands, such as JBL, Mark Levinson, and Revel, we set ourselves apart by exceeding the highest engineering and design standards for our customers, our partners and each other.

Important Notice: Recruitment Scams

Please be aware that HARMAN recruiters will always communicate with you from an '@harman.com', ‘@careers.harman.com’ or ‘harmanglobal.avature.net’ email address. We will never ask for payments, banking, credit card, personal financial information or access to your LinkedIn/email account during the screening, interview, or recruitment process. If you are asked for such information or receive communication from an email address not ending in one of the above email domains about a job with HARMAN, please cease communication immediately and report the incident to us through: [e-mail].

HARMAN is proud to be an Equal Opportunity employer. HARMAN strives to hire the best qualified candidates and is committed to building a workforce representative of the diverse marketplaces and communities of our global colleagues and customers. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. HARMAN attracts, hires, and develops employees based on merit, qualifications and job-related performance.(www.harman.com)