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Dolby

Senior Applications Engineer

Join the leader in entertainment innovation and help us design the future. At Dolby, science meets art, and high tech means more than computer code. As a member of the Dolby team, you’ll see and hear the results of your work everywhere, from movie theaters to smartphones. We continue to revolutionize how people create, deliver, and enjoy entertainment worldwide. To do that, we need the absolute best talent. We’re big enough to give you all the resources you need, and small enough so you can make a real difference and earn recognition for your work. We offer a collegial culture, challenging projects, and excellent compensation and benefits.

Dolby’s applications engineers serve as the key experts providing technical guidance and support for our licensees in the adoption of our technologies and in the planning, design, manufacture, testing, and field deployment of products offering our technologies and wearing our logos. Internally, they serve as experts and trainers for Dolby staff on our licensees, our business systems, and the current state of the market segments for all of our technologies. In carrying out these missions, our applications engineers work on a variety of different tasks which include evaluating product performance during testing and persuasively communicating results to Dolby’s licensees through formal written reports; negotiating with licensee companies to find optimal design solutions that expediently support Dolby’s brand promises without undue hardship for the customer in terms of timeline or cost; maintaining our product and customer databases as a part of our technical correspondence with customers; serving as a beta testing and consulting resource during creation of new and revised test procedures, signals, and specifications; hosting and traveling to visit customers as needed to stay in touch with strategic accounts; and providing close technical support for sales, marketing, tradeshow operations, and our valued industry partners.

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The successful candidate will therefore have a BS degree or higher in a technical field and a broad understanding of home and mobile entertainment products, technologies, and markets. S/he will also grasp the role played by Dolby’s offerings in these areas. The most competitive candidates will have detailed technical knowledge and experience in video or imaging technologies in broadcast or CE markets; close familiarity with planning, design, manufacture, and/or QA testing of these or similar products; and advanced language skills in Mandarin, Korean, Cantonese, or Japanese. Also strongly desirable is fluency with relevant standards such as those related to ATSC and DVB broadcast, MPEG program and transport streams; S/PDIF, TOSLINK, and HDMI interfaces; and other material of interest such as HE-AAC, MPEG1L2, DVD, Blu-ray, and similar.

Job Functions

  • Correspond and collaborate extensively to provide technical support to licensee companies by email, by phone, and in person during product planning, design, development, manufacture, and sale. Escalate cases and customer issues to other departments as needed.
  • Continually and unflaggingly maintain comprehensive, accurate, and accessible records and documentation in both personal and company files and databases describing product evaluations, products, and correspondence with licensees.
  • Occasionally supervise junior staff members and coordinate apps engineering group activities on such projects as the group’s manager may delegate when the need / opportunity arises.
  • Produce complete and accurate product evaluation reports to describe performance of licensed products and encourage our licensees to promote and maintain the quality and value associated with Dolby trademarks by achieving compliant performance.
  • Assist with product testing as needed.
  • Complete, process, and file e-paperwork needed to track production of licensed products and report/recognize royalty revenue.
  • Maintain a detailed and expert knowledge of relevant standards, technologies, and specifications, garnered where possible in advance of industry adoption. As needed, train junior staff members on same. Maintain the ability to provide in real time a seasoned and predictive view to internal staff regarding how these standards may affect or constrain Dolby’s current and future technologies (and vice-versa).
  • Work with cross-functional teams across Dolby as the “voice of the customer” providing feedback on and driving improvements to Dolby’s licensing deliverables.
  • Train internal staff, liaison offices, and management in system-level implementation of Dolby’s technologies as well as in the use of our internal systems such as database and reporting tools.
  • Participate in recruiting and interviewing as needed.
  • Attend trade shows, seminars, conferences, and educational events to support internal and external customers and stay abreast of industry developments. Occasional international travel may be required.

Skills, Education, and Experience

  • Absolute, unwavering, and unconditionally honest conscientiousness, even when nobody is watching. This is more important than anything else. Repeat: This is more important than anything else.
  • BSEE or MSEE or similar (Physics, Engineering Technology, Mathematics, Computer Science, etc.) and 3-5 years of experience in consumer audio/video or related fields.
  • Experience should include expertise / knowledge / familiarity with several of the following areas: home theater and multimedia systems, equipment and technologies; ATSC and/or DVB broadcast standards as well as technologies and standards related to other terrestrial, cable, and satellite broadcast systems; audio/video hardware design; hardware and architectures of popular small computers; audio/video test and measurement; IPTV; analog and digital circuitry; technical writing; manufacturing and related processes; audio and/or video DSP; perceptual coders; embedded systems; technology licensing; multimedia interfaces such as HDMI, Firewire, DLNA, etc.; testing and quality assurance.
  • Especially preferred is knowledge of video standards, experience with video/image processing, image/video encoding/decoding, testing video systems, related fields, or experience supporting customers in these areas.
  • Capacity to speak / read / write any of Mandarin, Shanghainese, Korean, Japanese, Cantonese, is something we hope for but is not required. International travel and/or work experience is a plus.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills are expected.
  • Ability to quickly understand complex technical and/or business issues and explain the same to technical and non-technical personnel without resorting to big words or complex grammatical structures.
  • Ability to make decisions based upon criteria that are often fuzzy and to justify those decisions to senior management if needed.
  • Knowledge of music, audio/video production, recording engineering, broadcast engineering, film production, home theater, or acoustics desirable.

Dolby will consider qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of San Francisco Police Code, Article 49, and Administrative Code, Article 12

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Job ID: 14a9fbd2bc104aadc76406b85d26fdb6
Employment Type: Other

Perks and Benefits

  • Health and Wellness

    • Dental Insurance
    • Vision Insurance
    • Life Insurance
    • Fitness Subsidies
    • On-Site Gym
    • Mental Health Benefits
    • Virtual Fitness Classes
    • Health Insurance
    • Short-Term Disability
    • Long-Term Disability
    • FSA
    • HSA With Employer Contribution
  • Parental Benefits

    • Fertility Benefits
    • Adoption Assistance Program
    • Family Support Resources
  • Work Flexibility

    • Flexible Work Hours
    • Remote Work Opportunities
    • Hybrid Work Opportunities
    • Four-Day Work Week
  • Office Life and Perks

    • Commuter Benefits Program
    • Casual Dress
    • Snacks
    • Happy Hours
    • Company Outings
    • On-Site Cafeteria
    • Holiday Events
  • Vacation and Time Off

    • Paid Vacation
    • Paid Holidays
    • Personal/Sick Days
    • Leave of Absence
    • Volunteer Time Off
    • Summer Fridays
  • Financial and Retirement

    • 401(K) With Company Matching
    • Company Equity
    • Stock Purchase Program
    • Performance Bonus
    • Relocation Assistance
    • Profit Sharing
    • 401(K)
  • Professional Development

    • Tuition Reimbursement
    • Promote From Within
    • Mentor Program
    • Access to Online Courses
    • Lunch and Learns
    • Work Visa Sponsorship
    • Leadership Training Program
    • Associate or Rotational Training Program
    • Learning and Development Stipend
  • Diversity and Inclusion

    • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Program
    • Employee Resource Groups (ERG)

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