Acoustic Integration Engineer

About Hark

Hark is an artificial intelligence company building advanced, personalized intelligence. One that is proactive, multimodal, and capable of interacting with the world through speech, text, vision, and persistent memory.

We're pairing that intelligence with next-generation hardware to create a universal interface between humans and machines. While today's AI largely operates through chat boxes and decade-old devices, Hark is focused on what comes next: agentic systems that interact naturally with people and the real world.

To get there, we're developing multimodal models and next-generation AI hardware together - designed from the ground up as a single, unified interface for a new era of intelligent systems.

About the Role 

We're looking for an experienced Acoustic Integration Engineer to own the speaker and microphone subsystems across Hark products, from early prototype through factory ramp. You will start with our first product and scale your scope as the product line grows. This is hands-on work close to the hardware: characterizing transducers, integrating them into compact enclosures, tuning the system for peak subjective performance, and bringing up the audio test stations that gate every unit before it ships. The role bridges acoustics, mechanical, electrical, firmware, and operations, with direct impact on how every user hears the product. International travel is expected

Responsibilities

• Characterize speaker drivers (Thiele-Small parameters, distortion, power handling, excursion limits) and inform transducer selection for each product
• Characterize microphone array geometry: inter-mic spacing, port acoustics, gasket sealing, baffle diffraction, and report on trade-offs
• Quantify speaker-to-mic coupling and hand pre-conditioning targets to the Mic DSP chains (AEC and beamforming)
• Measure self-noise, sensitivity matching, frequency response, harmonic and intermodulation distortion, rub-and-buzz and more
• Specify the audio FATP and sub-system audio test sequences for the factory line
• Lead acoustic FA on-site at contract manufacturers 
• Validate acoustic robustness across temperature, humidity, drop, and aging in coordination with the Reliability team

Requirements

• 3+ years of professional experience in acoustic integration, transducer design, or audio test engineering on consumer hardware that has shipped at scale
• Strong fluency in transducers, loudspeakers of all sizes, and microphone array geometry
• Hands-on use of acoustic measurement systems such as Klippel, SoundCheck, or Audio Precision
• Comfort with mechanical and acoustic CAD review; able to read schematics and mechanical drawings 
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• BS in acoustics, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, or equivalent industry experience

Bonus Qualifications

• 5+ years scaling acoustic systems into mass-market consumer hardware with overseas contract manufacturers
• Working knowledge of electrodynamic and MEMS transducer design, including acoustic porting simulation with lumped-parameter, FEM, BEM, or COMSOL workflows
• Familiarity with IP-rated audio path design (water, dust, particulate, and chemical exposure)
• Programming fluency in MATLAB or Python for acoustic data analysis pipelines
• Background in voice-first or far-field audio products

Compensation

The US base salary range for this full-time position is between $120,000 and $300,000 annually.

The pay offered for this position may vary based on several individual factors, including job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. The total compensation package may also include additional components and benefits depending on the specific role. This information will be shared if an employment offer is extended.