Advanced Composer/Sound Designer

Light & Wonder•Chicago, IL

About The Position

The Advanced Composer/Sound Designer creates music, sound effects, and voice and instrument recordings for land-based slot games. This role works in a collaborative, small-team environment alongside artists, animators, software engineers, and game designers to deliver an engaging gaming experience. The position requires working efficiently as part of a team, taking direction, and maintaining a positive attitude under pressure. The role composes, produces, and mixes music in styles selected for each game; creates and records sound effects; checks audio quality across target output devices; balances final sounds in gaming cabinets; and implements audio assets using proprietary or third-party middleware. The designer collaborates iteratively with game designers and development teams, organizes and archives working files using version control, and assembles audio assets for third-party and online use as needed. Because Light & Wonder operates in highly regulated gaming businesses, employees may be required to obtain gaming or other licenses, undergo background investigations or security checks, and meet standards required by law, regulation, or contract. As a condition of employment, applicants may be asked to consent to a due diligence or background investigation, to the extent permitted by law. The job description is not all-inclusive, and the employee may be asked to perform other job-related tasks and responsibilities.

Requirements

10 or more years of professional experience in MIDI sequencing and digital audio, including recording and editing with a commercially available digital audio workstation.
Experience recording and editing voiceovers and sound effects.
Ability to compose, arrange, and mix music across a wide variety of styles and genres.
High proficiency in Pro Tools, Logic Pro, or a comparable DAW, including advanced techniques, efficient workflows, and deep DAW customization.
Strong skills creating and editing sound effects with sound libraries, software synthesizers, and creative processing techniques.
Strong understanding of EQ, compression, reverb, delay, and spatial-audio techniques.
Strong understanding of audio interfaces, signal flow, and troubleshooting techniques.
Ability to work creatively and collaboratively with others.
Ability to receive direction and provide multiple music and sound-effect options.
Ability to adapt to new technologies and collaborate with immediate team members and senior-level professionals.
Must meet any role-related gaming or other licensing, background investigation, security check, or legal, regulatory, or contractual standards required by Light & Wonder.

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with FMOD Studio or other interactive audio middleware.
Gaming industry experience.
Ability to play an instrument and read and write musical notation.
Ability to work comfortably in both Macintosh and Windows environments.

Responsibilities

Compose, produce, and mix music for land-based slot games in the style or genre selected for each game.
Create custom sound effects using digital audio workstations and sound-effects libraries.
Record and edit Foley sound effects, voiceovers, and instruments as needed.
Critically listen and self-monitor to ensure sounds meet quality standards across target output devices.
Balance final game sounds in gaming cabinets for field use.
Implement game audio assets using proprietary and/or third-party audio middleware.
Communicate and collaborate with game designers and the development team throughout an iterative development process.
Maintain organized working files to support file sharing and collaboration.
Archive final working files for future use using version control software.
Assemble game audio assets for third-party and online use as needed.