Director, Experience Intelligence

harman; United States; On-site; USD 180,000 - 250,000; Full time

Job summary

HARMAN Corporate is seeking a Director of Experience Intelligence to lead the applied research pod within Intelligent Audio, guiding a world-class team to invent and productize the next generation of spatial audio, adaptive sound personalization, and context-aware features.

You will define the research roadmap, manage researchers and engineers, and partner with product teams to translate breakthroughs into platform-ready capabilities with measurable impact on user experience.

Qualifications

• PhD in EE, CS, Acoustics or related field.
• Strong background in acoustics, signal processing, ML.
• Experience leading research teams and projects.
• Ability to transfer research to product-ready implementations.

Responsibilities

• Define and own Experience Intelligence research roadmap.
• Lead research projects from concept to prototype.
• Develop perceptual metrics and evaluation methods.
• Coordinate through productization to real-time DSP implementations.
• Collaborate with divisions to fit platform strategies.
• Mentor DSP engineers and researchers; publish patents.

Skills

Research leadership

DSP engineering

Machine learning

Acoustics

C/C++ embedded

Product collaboration

Patent filings

Education

Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Acoustics, or related

Tools

C/C++

DSP

Embedded systems

Testbeds

Job description

A Career at HARMAN

As a technology leader that is rapidly on the move, HARMAN is filled with people who are focused on making life better. Innovation, inclusivity and teamwork are a part of our DNA. When you add that to the challenges we take on and solve together, you'll discover that at HARMAN you can grow, make a difference and be proud of the work you do every day.

Introduction: A Career at HARMAN Corporate

We're a global, multi-disciplinary team that's putting the innovative power of technology to work and transforming tomorrow. At HARMAN Corporate, you are integral to our company's award-winning success.

• Enrich your managerial and organizational talents - from finance, quality, and supply chain to human resources, IT, sales, and strategy
• Augment your comprehensive skillset with expert training across decision-making, change management, leadership, and business development
• Obtain 360-degree support throughout your career life cycle, from early-stage to seasoned leader

About the Role

The Director of Experience Intelligence leads the applied research pod within Intelligent Audio, driving the fusion of perceptual audio science, machine learning, acoustics, and signal processing to create new user experiences. In this role, you will build and guide a world-class research team that invents and productizes the next generation of spatial audio, adaptive sound personalization, and context-aware features. Your focus is on the "intelligence" behind the audio experience - developing algorithms and models that make sound systems perceptually tuned, adaptive to context, and seamless across devices. You will define the research roadmap (for example, on topics like immersive spatial audio, personalized sound profiles, advanced noise management, perceptual metrics for audio quality, etc.) and ensure that breakthroughs transition into real-time implementations for product integration. This position is both technical and strategic: you will direct research projects, manage researchers and engineers, and partner with product teams to align innovations with platform needs. Success in 12-18 months would mean delivering platform-ready intelligent audio features (e.g. improved spatial rendering, perceptual tuning systems) that are integrated into flagship products, as well as establishing new evaluation frameworks that elevate how audio is tuned and measured.

What You Will Do

• Research Leadership: Define and own the Experience Intelligence research roadmap - e.g. spatial audio algorithms (upmixing, 3D rendering, beamforming), adaptive noise cancellation and hear-through enhancements for hearables, perceptual audio evaluation methods), multi-device audio coordination, etc. Prioritize research pillars that will most enhance user experience and product differentiation.
• Project Execution: Oversee the design and execution of research projects from concept through proof-of-concept and prototype. Ensure a rigorous approach to experimentation: develop perceptual metrics and data-driven evaluation so that perception becomes the objective function in algorithm design. Guide the team in building testbeds, collecting data (e.g. listening tests), and iterating on algorithms using both objective and subjective feedback.
• Technology Transfer: Work closely with the Productization team to transition mature research into real-time implementations (C/C++/embedded DSP) and ultimately into products. Plan for scalability and predictability - for each innovation, establish clear performance benchmarks and integration requirements so product teams can adopt them with confidence.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with other divisions -e.g. consumer audio, automotive audio BUs, and Samsung/Harman ecosystem teams - to co-develop platform capabilities and ensure research outcomes fit into broader product strategies. Coordinate with internal cross-divisional teams on multi-device user experience aspects. Communicate complex technical concepts and project status to executive stakeholders and product management regularly.
• People and Thought Leadership: Recruit, mentor, and develop top talent (DSP engineers, acoustic researchers, ML scientists, etc.). Foster a culture of scientific excellence and creative problem-solving. Set technical standards (technical and code reviews, experiment design, etc.) and ensure continuous learning. Drive thought leadership by publishing research when strategic, filing patents, and representing Harman in academic or industry forums.
• KPIs & Success Metrics: Define what success looks like for Experience Intelligence innovations (e.g. an AI-driven tuning system cuts manual tuning time in half). Track these outcome metrics and adjust research directions to meet them. Ultimately ensure that the team's work results in tangible improvements to user experience that can be quantified and are valued by the business.

What You Need to Be Successful

Education: Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Acoustics, Signal