What's your job about?
Dolby Australia is a research and development branch of Dolby Laboratories in Sydney. I work in Orchestrated Play and Listen (OPaL), a research team developing signal processing for diverse, multi-device systems distributed around a space so that the devices cooperate to sound great and interact with users. A lot of this involves rapid prototyping of algorithms through code and then testing in real-time in our labs on actual devices to measure their performance. I get to work on some of the newest technology in the area, so I also have opportunities to file patents for completely new ideas. Another aspect is creating demos of our work to communicate its potential benefits to both internal and external customers.
What's your background?
I grew up in Melbourne and have long been interested in the science and engineering space. I taught myself to code at a pretty young age whether it was for website building or toy applications. Having a love of maths and physics meant that choosing an engineering degree at university seemed like a no-brainer. I have always been indecisive, so when I learned that mechatronics was a combination of mechanical, electrical, and software engineering it seemed like the right choice. Throughout university, I joined student engineering teams in unmanned aerial systems and autonomous vehicle research. I also completed several internships in manufacturing, academia and consulting. It was through these experiences that I realised that research was potentially the path forward for me. I interned at Dolby in my penultimate year of university in an engineering team focusing on cross-collaboration and had the opportunity to work with the research team that I was offered a role in following the internship. Flash forward and I have been working full-time for almost two years.
Could someone with a different background do your job?
Yes! Having a diverse skillset is valued at Dolby – many of my team members have different educational backgrounds. Knowledge in software engineering, DSP, and machine learning are all beneficial but nitty gritty details can be learned and it is more about how you think, break down problems, and your ability to communicate and work with others.
What's the coolest thing about your job?
I get to learn about and contribute to the latest technologies in the audio space, working with some of the brightest people industry. Problems that may seem simple on the surface are often considerably more complex when needing to consider real-world applications and aspects of human perception (auditory and visual).
What are the limitations of your job?
Since I am in a research and development team, deadlines are generally longer, and you are more likely to set your own priorities and tasks based on business needs. This also means there is more uncertainty around projects and whether they could be changed.
3 pieces of advice for your university-self?