Category Engineering Leader - Audio Technology Licensing

About the Role

Key Responsibilities

• Accelerate the adoption of research-stage audio algorithms into commercially viable software deliverables, ready for integration into partner products.
• Act as the primary technical point of contact between the business unit and the corporate technology platform team, ensuring alignment with broader compute architecture strategies and hardware roadmaps.
• Evaluate and integrate external technologies—including third-party IP, open-source components, and partner contributions—that enhance our product offering.
• Guide the design and evolution of scalable software architectures for audio playback, ANC, and wireless audio pipelines on embedded platforms.
• Lead technical due diligence for potential technology partners and licensing engagements.
• Work closely with Product Management and Business Development to identify market pain points, emerging trends, and customer needs that inform technology strategy.
• Support internal teams with architectural oversight, technical mentorship, and cross-functional coordination.
• Represent engineering in strategic partner discussions and internal roadmap planning efforts.

Requirements

• 15+ years of software engineering experience, including architect-level leadership on embedded or real-time systems.
• Proven expertise in developing and shipping embedded audio systems in consumer electronics, such as wearables, earbuds, or Wi-Fi connected speakers.
• Deep understanding of audio playback pipelines, active noise cancellation (ANC), wireless audio streaming, and DSP-based audio processing.
• Familiarity with embedded Linux, RTOS platforms, audio middleware (e.g., ALSA, PipeWire), and wireless protocols (Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Chromecast, AirPlay).
• Experience working with centralized platform or architecture teams in a multi-business-unit corporate structure.
• Strong system thinking skills and the ability to drive alignment across organizational boundaries.
• Excellent technical communication skills, with a track record of influencing decisions across product, engineering, and business teams.

Nice to Have

• Experience in technology licensing or IP-focused business models.
• Exposure to SDK development and delivery workflows for partner enablement.
• Experience coordinating hardware-software co-design for compute-constrained platforms.
• Graduate degree (M.S. or Ph.D.) in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related field.

Qualifications

• Graduate degree (M.S. or Ph.D.) in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related field.
• 15+ years of relevant software engineering experience, including architect-level leadership.

Benefits & Perks

• Opportunity to shape the trajectory of advanced audio technology as it moves from research into real-world deployment across diverse products and global markets.
• Operate as a senior technical leader in a nimble, entrepreneurial environment.
• Connect innovations to a broader technology platform strategy that supports consumer products at scale.
• Work in an environment that values diversity, inclusion, and provides reasonable accommodations.