Senior Advanced Acoustic Engineer – Hardware Engineering

Brady Corporation; Pittsburgh (Allegheny County); On-site; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive insurance coverage

401(k) with match

Paid time off

Job summary

Brady Corporation is seeking a Senior Advanced Acoustics Engineer to lead development of wearable industrial audio systems. You will drive acoustic design, DSP strategies, and system-level integration with cross-functional teams to deliver robust products for harsh environments.

You will collaborate with mechanical, electrical, and industrial design engineers, evaluate new technologies, and ensure compliance with relevant safety and performance standards.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or advanced degree in a related field.
• 8+ years in acoustics or electroacoustics engineering, preferably in audio or consumer electronics.
• Strong collaboration and communication across teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead acoustic, electroacoustic, and system design from concept to production.
• Design audio systems to perform under extreme environmental conditions.
• Develop solutions meeting ruggedization and PPE integration constraints.
• Collaborate with mechanical, electrical, and industrial design teams.
• Conduct acoustic simulations, build prototypes, and validate performance.
• Evaluate new technologies like beamforming and ANC for harsh environments.

Skills

Acoustics

Electroacoustics

DSP

MATLAB/Python

Speaker design

Beamforming

MEMS microphones

Education

Bachelor's or advanced degree in Acoustics/CE/Physics

Tools

COMSOL Multiphysics

Creo/SolidWorks

APx500/Listen, Inc

SoundCheck

Job description

What We Need

As a Senior Advanced Acoustics Engineer within the Voice Hardware Engineering team, you will play a critical role in bringing innovative wearable audio solutions to market, from early-stage concept development through mass production. You will help create products used by thousands of customers in demanding industrial environments, delivering exceptional acoustic performance, durability, and user experience.

Our products are designed to operate reliably in harsh real-world conditions, including extreme temperatures ranging from -40°C to +50°C, high-noise warehouse and industrial settings, and exposure to dust, moisture, vibration, and electrostatic discharge (ESD). Many of our solutions are wearable and must integrate seamlessly with personal protective equipment (PPE) while maintaining superior comfort, speech intelligibility, and overall usability. In this role, you will be responsible for ensuring consistent acoustic performance across these challenging operating environments.

You will collaborate closely with cross-functional teams, including Mechanical, Electrical, Industrial Design, Platform / DSP engineers, to drive system-level hardware research and development. You will also partner with our Speech Recognition team to optimize product performance and support customer investigations and issue resolutions. As a technical leader, you will drive acoustic system development activities including requirements definition, component selection, architecture design, simulation, prototyping, measurement, testing, validation, and production readiness.

The role requires the development of complex audio systems that integrate multiple microphones, speakers, and advanced signal-processing technologies into user-facing products. Working with both internal and external partners, you will guide system-level design decisions and ensure products meet all relevant acoustic, reliability, safety, and regulatory requirements.

Limited international travel may be required to support engineering development, supplier engagement, and manufacturing activities.

What You'll Be Doing

• Lead acoustic, electroacoustic, and system design and validation efforts from concept through production for industrial audio products.
• Design and validate audio systems that maintain performance across extreme environmental conditions, meeting use ranges from -40°C to +50°C, high humidity, and high-noise settings.
• Develop solutions that meet ruggedization requirements such as IP-rated protection against dust and water ingress.
• Design for and validate performance in environments with electrostatic discharge (ESD) exposure, high RF environments, ensuring system robustness and reliability.
• Ensure audio system designs meet wearable and PPE integration constraints, including comfort, fit, and usability over extended periods.
• Collaborate with hardware engineering teams (mechanical, electrical, and industrial design) to influence product architecture and component selection.
• Contribute to digital signal processing strategies to achieve best-in-class audio quality and speech recognition performance.
• Define microphone architecture, including placement, quantity, and technology selection.
• Partner with suppliers to design and validate custom microphones and speakers optimized for loud, industrial environments.
• Conduct acoustic simulations, build prototypes, perform measurements, and analyze results to guide design decisions.
• Evaluate emerging technologies such as bone conduction, MEMS microphones, beamforming, and both passive and active noise cancellation (ANC) for use in high-noise industrial environments.
• Drive improvements in speech intelligibility in noisy warehouse environments in collaboration with product management, technical support, and engineering teams.
• Ensure compliance with applicable audio safety and regulatory standards.
• Support cross-functional efforts to optimize comfort, durability, and performance in challenging acoustic and environmental conditions.

What You Will Need To Be Successful

• Bachelor's or advanced degree in Acoustics, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, Electrical Engineering, or a related field
• 8+ years of experience in acoustics or electroacoustics engineering, preferably in audio or consumer electronics.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively across teams

Preferred Qualifications

• Strong foundation in acoustic theory, including electroacoustics and physical acoustics
• Hands-on experience with acoustic transducers and equivalent circuit modeling (headphones or wearables preferred)
• Strong working knowledge of speaker and microphone designs and use cases
• Experience integrating microphones and speakers, including designing for water and chemical resistance
• Proficiency with acoustic simulation and measurement tools, and data acquisition systems
• Experience with Audio Precision equipment and APx500 Software
• Experience with Listen, Inc test equipment and SoundCheck software suite
• Experience supporting manufacturing, product validation, and failure analysis
• Programming experience in MATLAB or Python for data analysis and modeling
• Experience with COMSOL Multiphysics or similar simulation tools
• Experience with 3D CAD tools such as Creo or Solidworks
• DSP familiarity and working knowledge of its innerworkings – EQ, ANC, Beamforming, Echo Cancellation, compression
• Demonstrated ability to develop packaged electronics, wearable product development preferred.
• Understanding of the hardware development lifecycle
• CAD Vaulting/PLM system experience. Siemens Teamcenter experience preferred.

About Us

Brady makes products that make the world a safer and more productive place. We are a global leader in safety, identification and compliance solutions for a diverse range of workplaces. From the depths of the ocean to outer space, from the factory floor to the delivery room - we're just about everywhere you look. Companies around the world trust Brady because of our deep expertise and knowledge across a wide range of industries and applications - powered by our world-class manufacturing capabilities.

We have a diverse customer base in industries including electronics, telecommunications, manufacturing, electrical, construction, healthcare, aerospace and more. As of July 31, 2025, Brady employed approximately 6,400 people in our worldwide businesses. Our fiscal 2025 sales were approximately $1.51 billion. Brady stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol BRC. You can learn more about us at www.bradycorp.com.

Why Work At Brady

A career at Brady means working for a global company that has thrived for over 100 years, and whose innovative spirit drives our future growth.

Brady offers competitive pay and great benefits, supported by a culture that encourages collaboration and innovation. We strive to foster an inclusive workplace where diverse talent can learn, grow, and succeed. And with deeply rooted values, no matter where you work at Brady, you'll feel connected to the community through our charitable contributions and opportunities to give back.

Our headquarters are in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but we have more than 70 locations globally, giving our employees the opportunity to work with colleagues around the world.

Our Benefits

• Comprehensive insurance coverage starting on your first day of employment, including medical, dental, and vision
• Generous 401(k) with company match
• Paid time off and holidays
• Opportunity to participate in incentive programs for all full-time employees
• Family planning benefits including paid parental leave, fertility coverage, adoption and surrogacy assistance
• Education reimbursement opportunities
• Scholarship program for children of Brady employees
• A variety of Employee Resource Groups to provide you with unique networking, development, and volunteer opportunities
• Employee Assistance Program and related wellness programs (mental and behavioral health, family counseling, financial management)
• Dress-for-your-day dress code
• Charitable contributions matched through Brady's Matching Gift program