Resume

Summary:

Broadly skilled sound designer interested in creating sophisticated, emotionally compelling, immersive sound environments for interactive media and AR/VR. An integrator of traditional and innovative design concepts. Strives for AAA audio excellence at all times. Self-driven yet thrives in the collaborative environment. Always up for whatever challenge presents itself.

Part Visionary. Part Soothsayer. Part Machine.

Skills and Qualification:

  • Full understanding of spatial audio for Rift, HoloLens and Vive using Oculus, Microsoft, Steam, Google, RealSpace3D and Qualcomm HRTF solutions.
  • Extensive recording, editing and mixing proficiency with large multi-track and multi-asset projects for AR/VR, music, games and video utilizing Pro Tools, Nuendo, Reaper, Audition, Wwise, Unity, Unreal, Premiere and Final Cut Pro.
  • Expert knowledge of acoustics, psychoacoustics, mic placement and preferred best practices.
  • Proficient with plugins, control surfaces, converters, clocks, patchbays and outboard equipment including preamps, compressors, equalizers and other standard recording studio hardware.
  • Experience with surround, spatial and ambisonic mixing pipelines.
  • Knowledge of AVB and Dante audio systems.
  • Ability to envision “big picture” media concepts, produce design documents and effectively communicate these ideas through interpersonal experiences.
  • Collaboration with cross-discipline teams both virtual and physical using Visual Studio, Teams, Slack, BlueJeans, Zoom, SourceTree, Bitbucket/Git, Preforce and Google Drive.
  • Proven ability to learn new hardware/software effectively as projects and teams develop.
  • Experience in research and documentation for software products.
  • Up-to-date knowledge of industry trends, including AGILE/SCRUM principles.
  • Experience with Office 365 and G-Suite.
  • Excellent problem-solving skills in extremely fast paced environments.
  • Synesthesia.

Work Experience:

Audio Engineer

Meta Reality Labs Research

Redmond, WA

September 2018 to present

MRL Research is engaged in cutting edge audio technologies for AR/VR concentrating on perception and super human hearing.

  • Managed and designed an NDA protected UX audio comparison app in Unity.
  • Designed and facilitated multiple perception user studies.
  • Project manager for the installation of multiple Ambisonic speaker arrays.
  • Designed, prototyped and co-produced a speaker alignment tool.
  • Orchestrated a 360 green screen capture stage for AV Speech Corpus production.
  • Co-authored a paper published by the Journal of the Acoustics Society of America.
  • Co-authored a patent on an NDA protected AR application.
  • Served as a knowledge base for incoming interns.
  • Video production manager for internal symposium videos.

Audio Lead

Microsoft

Redmond, WA

July 2016 to May 2018

Actiongram was a storytelling app developed for HoloLens. This shipped title contained nearly a thousand holograms, which users could interact with, record and upload to social media.

  • Identified audio opportunities and asset needs.
  • Created hologram voice, foley, sound effects and music.
  • Managed audio asset inventory dataset.
  • Designed a cohesive UI sound palette.
  • Implemented and optimized assets in Unity using MS HRTF for spatialization.
  • Proactively facilitated testing to assure the functional quality of all assets.

Canterbury was an NDA protected VR social app prototype for Microsoft Mixed Reality.

  • Implemented a networked voice communication system using Unity, Wwise, Krotos and Windows Sonic.
  • Integrated avatar voice foley and manipulation, realistic ambience, UI and SFX.
  • Full cycle app production from concepting and research through sound design, implementation and testing with telemetry and documentation.

MR Guides was an app concept for the Mixed Reality in the Modern Workplace initiative.

  • Conducted neuroscience research on human learning.
  • Produced the Audio Design document.
  • Prototyped several audio forward features.

Product Visualize 365 is a 3D model viewer app for mobile.

  • Conducted research on virtual meeting solutions.
  • Prototyped the audio system specifications.
  • Designed a user study to test virtual pointing.

VR Sound Designer

Chronos VR

Seattle, WA

December 2015 to April 2016

Astroderps is a puzzle game released on Steam for the HTC Vive.

  • Collaborated on the full cycle development of this title from concept to marketing.
  • Integrated linear and interactive audio design using Unreal and Phonon.
  • Unique design features include binaural music and quadraphonic ambiences as well as randomized foley, SFX and characterizations.

Sound Designer

Dragon Foundry

Seattle, WA

November 2014 to July 2016

Nova Blitz was a real time digital card trading game released on PC and Mobile.

  • Conceptualized and produced high quality audio assets.
  • Collaborated with team developers to improve proprietary audio tools.
  • Soundscape supported UI, animations, transitions, music and gameplay interactions.

Other Experience:

Archivist/ Mastering Engineer

Cryptic Corporation

San Francisco, CA

August 2017 to January 2022

  • Restored and preserved nearly 500 analog audio master tapes.
  • Performed digital audio transfers of The Residents archives.
  • Facilitated archival storage of this collection at the Museum of Modern Art (New York).
  • Mastering of ongoing “Preserved”series of releases.

Instructor

University of Washington Continuum College

Seattle, WA

January 2000 to present

This is a continuing education class in audio production for music and sound design.

  • Teaching Excellence Award 2013.
  • Classes include: Audio Production in the Studio and Audio Production Project: Music.
  • Converted classes to online format in 2020.

Freelance Media Producer

Gravelvoice

Seattle, WA

September 1995 to July 2016

  • Music production and recording (Grammy winning).
  • Sound design for linear and interactive media.
  • Sound design for Location Based Entertainment.
  • Digital archiving and restoration.
  • Audio books.
  • Podcasts.
  • Music composition.
  • Commercials.
  • Video Editing.

Curriculum Vitae (Selected Projects)

Sound Design
Canterbury Microsoft Mixed Reality app
Actiongram Microsoft Hololens app
Jump! Endeavor One Rift/Vive VR experience
Nova Blitz Dragon Foundry iOS/Android/PC/Mac/Linux game
Zombies of Mass Destruction, Colony and Junk directed by Kevin Hamedani
Walking to Werner directed by Linas Phillips
A Glimmer of Hope or Skin or Light and Collision Theory by KT Niehoff and Lingo Dance Company
Petruchska by Donald Byrd and Spectrum Dance Theater

Music Production
Animal Collective – Feels, People, Strawberry Jam and Water Curses (Fat Cat and Domino)
Arcade Fire – Neon Bible (Merge) Grammy nominated
Nurses – Dracula (Dead Oceans)
Prince Rama – Trust Now and Top Ten Hits of the Apocalypse (Paw Tracks)
Sun City Girls – All works between 1993 and 2010 (approximately 30 records)
Mudhoney – Since We’ve Become Translucent (Sub Pop)
Ken Stringfellow – “Soft Command” (Yep Rock)
Captain Beefheart – Grow Fins box set (Revenant) Grammy award
Over a hundred live radio mixes for KEXP, Seattle that included The Polyphonic Spree, Clinic, The Doves, Ben Gibbard, The Church, and others.

Music Composition
Score to Session 9 directed by Brad Anderson (USA Films)
Score to “People and Arts” channel ID’s (Discovery Channel)
Incidental music for Junk directed by Kevin Hamedani (Breaking Glass)

Voice Overs
25 audio books including recordings of Kirk Douglas, Adrienne Barbeau, Gary Owens and Michael York
Poe Boys – A Bakers Dozen: 13 Poems and Tales by Edgar Allan Poe (Audible)
Disciple: A Novel of Mary Magdalene (Audible)

Writing
Various articles for TapeOp, Mix and EQ magazines.

Awards
2002 Grammy Award for Charlie Patton – Screamin’ and Hollerin’ the Blues box set (Revenant)
2007 Grammy nomination for Arcade Fire – “Neon Bible” (Merge)
2013 Teaching Excellence Award from the University of Washington
2008 Les Victoires de la Musique nomination for Cali – l’espoir(EMI France)
2008 Teaching Excellence Award from the University of Washington Nomination
2001 Parent’s Choice award for Oyasumi by Elizabeth Falconer and Aiko Shimada

Education and Training

Bachelor of Arts (BA)

Audio Arts and Acoustics

Columbia College

Chicago, IL

Wwise Certification

Audio Kinetic

Conservatory of Recording Arts and Sciences

Tempe, AZ