Senior Research Acoustic Engineer

HARMAN International; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 98,000 - 143,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Employee discounts on JBL devices

HARMAN University training

Wellness benefits

Tuition reimbursement

Be Brilliant program

Inclusive environment

Job summary

HARMAN seeks a Senior Research Acoustic Engineer in Northridge, CA to advance acoustic science and associated signal processing from modeling to product-ready demos.

You will lead hands-on research, collaborate with Audio ML and Perceptual Audio teams, and help translate insights into scalable reference implementations for product teams.

Qualifications

• Degree in acoustics, EE, ME, physics, CS, or related field.
• At least five years of experience in acoustic research or engineering.
• Strong foundations in acoustics, signal processing, and psychoacoustics.

Responsibilities

• Advance acoustic research; translate ideas into validated prototypes.
• Model, build, test, and tune acoustic systems across devices.
• Create repeatable evaluation methods and tests.
• Collaborate with Audio ML and Perceptual Audio teams.
• Prepare technologies for product adoption with cross-functional teams.
• Lead AI-assisted tooling to accelerate experimentation and testing.

Skills

Acoustic research

Signal processing

Cross-functional influence

Documentation

Mentoring

Education

Degree in acoustics / EE / ME / physics / CS or related field

Tools

Python

MATLAB

3D CAD

Acoustic test fixtures

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.

About the Role

The HARMAN Research Intelligent Audio team is working to set a new standard for audio: create experiences that understand the listener, adapt to their environment, and become more personal and useful over time. As a Senior Research Acoustic Engineer in HARMAN Research, you will turn acoustic science and signal processing into the systems and technologies that make these experiences possible.

Reporting to the Director of Intelligent Audio, you will lead research from modeling and prototyping through evaluation and technology transfer. This is a senior, hands-on individual contributor role for someone who combines scientific depth, engineering judgment, and cross-functional influence. Success means acoustic technologies create a perceptible benefit that product teams can adopt with confidence.

What You Will Do

• Advance acoustic research: Follow relevant advances, frame business-relevant technical questions, and turn promising ideas into validated prototypes.
• Design intelligent audio systems: Model, build, test, and tune acoustic systems and signal processing algorithms across relevant devices and listening environments.
• Build evaluation systems: Create repeatable simulation, measurement, and critical listening methods and tests.
• Connect acoustics, machine learning, and perception: Work with Audio ML and Perceptual Audio colleagues to combine physical, algorithmic, data-driven, and human evidence.
• Prepare technologies for product adoption: Work with a cross-functional team of engineers and user experience designers to build reference implementations. Stay engaged as product teams adopt the technology.
• Use modern AI tools: Lead in continuously improving results by applying AI-assisted tools to accelerate experimentation, coding, testing, analysis, and documentation.
• Strengthen shared practice: Communicate results clearly, mentor colleagues, and create methods, tools, and technical assets that teams across HARMAN can reuse.

What You Need to Be Successful

Essential

• A degree in acoustics, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, physics, computer science, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• Significant relevant experience, typically at least five years, in acoustic research or engineering.
• Strong foundations in acoustics, signal processing, acoustic systems design, measurement, psychoacoustics, and critical listening.
• Evidence of taking an idea from research question through modeling, prototyping, reproducible evaluation, and product integration or a product-ready demonstration.
• Practical fluency with Python, MATLAB, or equivalent tools for acoustic modeling, measurement, analysis, and automation.
• Ability to explain technical results and product implications clearly, and to influence research, engineering, and product teams without relying on formal authority.

Preferred

• Depth in one or more areas such as headphones, loudspeakers, microphones, transducers, active noise control, beamforming, or adaptive signal processing.
• Experience designing for real-time audio systems and explaining hardware, software, latency, compute, and power tradeoffs.
• Experience correlating instrumented acoustic measures with perceptual results and product experience.
• Working knowledge of machine learning methods for audio and the data pipelines used to evaluate them.
• Experience with physical prototyping, 3D CAD, rapid fabrication, or acoustic test fixtures.
• Patents, publications, standards work or shipped audio technologies. Demonstrated technical and product impact matters more than credentials alone.

What Makes You Eligible

• Willingness to travel up to 10 percent of the time, domestically and internationally.
• Willingness to work on site at the Northridge, California, office with the flexibility defined for the position.
• Successfully complete a background investigation and drug screen as a condition of employment after an offer.

What We Offer

• Access to employee discounts on world-class products from JBL, HARMAN Kardon, AKG, and more.
• Extensive training opportunities through HARMAN University.
• Competitive wellness benefits.
• Tuition reimbursement.
• The Be Brilliant employee recognition and rewards program.
• An inclusive and diverse work environment that encourages professional and personal development.

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_ Salary Ranges: _

$ 97,500 - $ 143,000

HARMAN is proud to be an Equal Opportunity / Aff