This is a high-impact opportunity for a senior hearing-science expert to shape the next generation of hearing technology, translating audiology, acoustics, and signal-processing expertise into products that deliver measurable clinical benefit and an exceptional real-world listening experience. As a Principal Audiological Engineer, you'll provide technical leadership from concept through launch, influence cross-functional product decisions, solve complex audiological and system-level challenges, and mentor teams while helping define the future direction of Starkey's hearing solutions.
Starkey is a world leader in the manufacturing and distribution of advanced hearing technologies. We are in the business of connecting people and changing lives. Our teams come to work each day focused on ensuring people everywhere have the products and services they need to hear better and live better.
Founded in 1967 by Bill Austin, Starkey is known for our cutting-edge hearing health innovations, industry-leading research and development, and not being afraid to push the edge of what's possible.
We are headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, have over 5,000 employees in 29 facilities across the globe, and do business in more than 100 markets worldwide.
Watch this video to see more of what sets Starkey apart: _R_iINfrc6
JOB SUMMARY DESCRIPTION / PRIMARY PURPOSE OF JOBThe Principal Audiological Engineer, Product Development provides technical leadership for translating hearing science, audiology, acoustics, and signal-processing knowledge into market-ready hearing products. The role leads to product-focused definition, integration, evaluation, and optimization of hearing-aid features from concept selection through design transfer and launch readiness. Working across Product Development, Audio Systems, Algorithm, Firmware, Hardware, Fitting, Verification, Clinical, Quality, Manufacturing, and Product Management teams, the Principal Audiological Engineer drives evidence-based technical decisions, resolves complex product issues, and ensures that solutions deliver measurable clinical benefit, robust real-world performance, and a differentiated user experience. The role mentors technical teams and shapes practices, methods, and technology direction that support best-in-class hearing solutions.
Principal level expectation: Operates with little to no supervision, influences across functions and programs, and is accountable for decisions with significant product and business impact.
JOB RESPONSIBILITIES / RESULTS- Product Development Leadership
- Provide strategic vision and technical leadership for the audiological design, evaluation, and optimization of hearing aid features, ensuring the integrity of the end-to-end audiological experience.
- Provide audiological guidance for product and system design decisions, ensuring that audibility, speech intelligibility, listening comfort, sound quality, and patient benefit are appropriately represented in cross-functional tradeoffs.
- Lead audiological work for new product development programs, with a primary focus on hearing aids and their core audio and fitting capabilities.
- Translate patient, clinician, market, and business needs into clear product performance objectives, use cases, technical recommendations, and measurable acceptance criteria.
- Provide technical leadership from product concept and architecture through implementation, integration, verification, validation, design transfer, launch, and post-launch learning.
- Serve as the hearing-science and audiological technical leader for assigned product programs and drive cross-functional decisions and actions to closure.
- Feature Definition, Design and Integration
- Define and mature product concepts for amplification, compression, directionality, noise reduction, feedback management, frequency shaping, scene adaptation, personalization, and fitting-related capabilities.
- Partner with algorithms, firmware, hardware, acoustics, fitting, systems, and verification teams to integrate candidate solutions into product platforms.
- Lead product-level tradeoffs involving speech audibility and intelligibility, sound quality, listening comfort, stability, acoustic coupling, fitting flexibility, latency, power, memory, usability, manufacturability, schedule, and cost.
- Identify integration gaps and feature interactions early, establish mitigation plans, and verify that the integrated behavior remains robust across devices, configurations, acoustic fits, and real-world use conditions.
- Product Evaluation and Launch Readiness
- Define product-focused evaluation strategies that combine objective measurements, perceptual listening, electroacoustic testing, simulated use, field evaluation, clinical evidence, reliability data, manufacturing data, and user feedback.
- Lead prototype evaluation, product characterization, tuning, optimization, competitive benchmarking, and design verification support.
- Establish product performance baselines and recommend release criteria for audio quality, audiological behavior, clinical benefit, robustness, and user experience.
- Review product evidence at program milestones and clearly communicate readiness, unresolved risks, residual limitations, and recommended actions.
- Issue Resolution and Improvement
- Lead root-cause analysis and resolution of complex product issues involving interacting audiological, acoustic, DSP, hardware, firmware, fitting, and user-interface behaviors.
- Ensure issues are reproducible, supported by objective evidence, documented with configuration and conditions, and resolved at the appropriate design level.
- Use field, quality, manufacturing, repair, clinical, and customer feedback to improve current products and strengthen requirements, design guidance, risk controls, and future product platforms.
- Technical Influence and Capability Development
- Provide expert technical consultation to product teams and leadership on hearing science, audiology, product performance, competitive differentiation, and development risk.
- Mentor engineers, audiologists, scientists, technicians, and interns; establish reusable methods for product evaluation, listening assessment, benchmarking, data interpretation, and technical decision-making.
- Contribute to invention disclosures, intellectual-property reviews, external technical collaborations, standards activities, and relevant professional forums when they directly support product development.
JOB REQUIREMENTSEducation- Master's degree in Audio Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Audiology, Hearing Science, Biomedical Engineering, or a related field.
- PhD is preferred
Experience- Minimum of 15 years of relevant professional experience in hearing-aid, audio, or related product development, including demonstrated delivery of impactful products.
- Demonstrated technical leadership of complex, multidisciplinary product-development efforts involving audio-engineering, audiology, signal processing, acoustics, or fitting technologies.
- Proven ability to influence product decisions, lead technical teams without direct authority, and move ambiguous product challenges from concept to validated solution.
Knowledge / Technical Requirements- Expert knowledge of audiology, hearing science, hearing-loss characteristics, prescriptive fitting approaches, hearing-aid features, acoustic coupling, clinician workflows, and patient needs.
- Advanced knowledge of hearing-aid signal processing, including gain and compression, noise reduction, directionality, feedback management, frequency shaping, scene analysis, personalization, and sound-quality assessment.
- Strong understanding of product architecture and interactions across DSP, acoustics, hardware, firmware, fitting algorithms, controls, and user interfaces.
- Advanced knowledge of product-development practices, including concept evaluation, requirements input, design tradeoffs, risk management, integration, verification, validation, design reviews, configuration control, issue tracking, design transfer, and post-launch support.
- Ability to integrate objective, perceptual, clinical, field, reliability, manufacturing, and competitive evidence into product decisions.
- Working knowledge of regulated medical-device development, quality systems, applicable standards, and documentation expectations.
Competencies, Skills & Abilities
- Exceptional product judgment and ability to balance clinical benefit, sound quality, user experience, technical feasibility, risk, quality, cost, and schedule.
- Excellent analytical, experimental design, troubleshooting, and root-cause analysis for complex multidisciplinary product problems.
- Strong oral and written communication skills, including the ability to convert technical evidence into concise product recommendations for engineering and leadership audiences.
- Proven ability to create alignment, make critical technical decisions, manage competing priorities, and drive actions to successful closure.
- Hands-on proficiency with relevant hearing-aid, acoustic, electroacoustic, probe-microphone, test-box, audio-analysis, simulation, and data-analysis tools.
- Self-motivated, adaptable, collaborative, and effective in a fast-paced product-development environment with minimal guidance.
WORK CONTEXT
- Working Conditions
- Standard office and laboratory conditions. Travel as needed to support product development, clinical evaluation, external collaboration, and technical reviews.
Equipment Operation - Standard office equipment and hearing-aid, acoustic, electroacoustic, laboratory, and data-analysis tools.
Salary and Other Compensation:
The target pay rate for this position is between $137,000 - $178,500 annually. Factors which may affect starting pay within this range may include: geography/market, skills, education, experience and other qualifications of the successful candidate.
This position is eligible for a bonus based upon performance results. There is no guarantee of payout.
The following benefits for this position, subject to applicable eligibility requirements, include medical, dental and vision insurance, 401(k) retirement plan with company match, company-paid life and short-term disability insurance, long-term disability insurance, employee assistance plan, hearing aid benefits, Paid Time Off, paid holidays, paid floating holidays, paid volunteer service day, paid paternity and maternity leave and tuition reimbursement.
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Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities
This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws.
For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.
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