Senior Principal Sound Designer - Games

Job Description

Next Games, founded in 2013 and based in Helsinki, Finland, crafts cutting-edge, approachable games for a global audience inspired by popular Netflix shows and movies and our own fresh ideas. We combine the Finnish game development culture with Netflix's global entertainment culture, embracing the strengths of both and empowering our talented and diverse teams to do the best work of their careers.
The Role
Do you love making sounds, creating music, and immersing players in their games?
As a Senior Sound Designer, your role will be both hands-on and strategic, shaping the creative direction, building processes and pipelines, and representing the audio craft at the studio level. As a Sound Designer, your first priority is creating high-quality custom audio assets within different styles and techniques, and working hands-on with audio implementation. You will help set the standards for audio excellence and ensure that all our games consistently deliver immersive and delightful audio experiences.
You will work directly with project teams, producers, the Design Director, and other department leads to ensure all projects meet our high standards for audio quality. You will also manage the integration of internal and external audio talent and champion the role of audio in game development across the studio.
We are seeking a proactive problem-solver who is committed to their craft and ideas, but also flexible and open to feedback and change when needed.

Responsibilities
• Creative Direction: Define and realize the audio vision for your projects, ensuring alignment with gameplay, narrative, and player experience goals.
• Collaboration: Work closely with the Design Director and your game teams from concept to release.
• Hands-on Sound Design: Create, implement, and polish audio assets (voice, music, SFX); participate in prototyping and QA.
• Music Production: Oversee or compose game music, collaborating with narrative design and external composers for dynamic, high-quality scores.
• Process & Pipeline Development: Establish and refine audio processes and best practices for efficiency and scalability.
• Production Oversight: Collaborate with Production to develop audio production roadmaps and budgets, allocate resources, and track progress across multiple projects.
• Cross-Disciplinary Advocacy: Educate teams on audio best practices and ensure early integration of audio into development.
• External Talent Management: Identify, contract, and manage external audio professionals, ensuring seamless integration of their work.
• Studio Representation: Represent Next Games' audio discipline within Netflix's wider game studio network.
• Proactive Problem Solving: Anticipate and address audio-related challenges, balancing conviction in your expertise with openness to new ideas.

Skills and Experience
• Years of professional game audio experience, demonstrating growth through both successes and setbacks. You bring a mature, well-honed process, strong collaborative skills, and the ability to inspire and elevate those around you. You are self-aware and able to handle conflict, change, or stress, ensuring a positive and resilient team environment.
• In-depth experience designing and implementing SFX, Dialogue, and Music for a variety of genres and game styles.
• Demonstrated experience owning and executing audio efforts for multiple projects and/or studios, including setting creative direction and building effective processes.
• A strong portfolio showcasing a diverse range of audio styles and high production values.
• Deep understanding of audio pipelines, tools, and middleware (e.g., Wwise, FMOD, Unity/Unreal integration).
• Experience with creating and implementing surround sound for games.
• Experience working with external vendors and contractors.
• Excellent communication, leadership, and collaboration skills in English.
• Ability to advocate for audio needs and educate non-audio team members on the value and impact of great audio.
• Strong problem-solving skills, with the conviction to champion your ideas and the flexibility to adapt to evolving needs and feedback.
• Experience working with creating and implementing Surround SFX and music.
• Passion for games and a player-centric mindset.

Preferred Skills and Experience
• Proven track record of delivering high-quality audio for shipped titles across a wide range of platforms, from mobile to AAA.
• Experience making music as a musician or composer for different genres of music.
• Experience building in a fast-paced, multi-project environment.
• Familiarity with production planning, budgeting, and resource allocation.
• Experience working with diverse teams and fostering an inclusive, collaborative environment.
The Team
You'll join a diverse studio environment, working primarily from our Helsinki office. We value transparent communication, proactive problem-solving, and enthusiasm for crafting accessible experiences. As the Senior Sound Designer, you will play a key role in shaping the future of audio at Next Games.
Ready to lead the audio vision at Next Games? Apply today and help us create unforgettable game experiences!
Inclusion is a Netflix value and we strive to host a meaningful interview experience for all candidates. If you want an accommodation/adjustment for a disability or any other reason during the hiring process, please send a request to your recruiting partner.
We are an equal-opportunity employer and celebrate diversity, recognizing that diversity builds stronger teams. We approach diversity and inclusion seriously and thoughtfully. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, ancestry, national origin, caste, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, age, disability, medical condition, pregnancy, genetic makeup, marital status, or military service.

Jobcode: Reference SBJ-mk4673-216-73-216-18-42 in your application.