Engineering Director

What you actually own

You are the final accountable owner for all engineering and audio-related outcomes at The Recording Club. Execution can be delegated; responsibility cannot. Any recurring technical issue, member complaint, or system failure inside engineering is owned by this role until permanently resolved. Silence or inaction in the face of a known issue counts as failure of the role.

What this actually looks like

The days vary, which is the point. Some days are heavy on sessions, others on systems, others on hospitality and events. What stays constant is the standard: every room session-ready, every member taken care of, every problem either solved or escalated with a plan. A representative day might look like this.

Other days are different. Some days are full of producing for a client. Some days are heavy on opening or closing because of an event schedule. Some days are pure systems work, in the back of house, building the next plug-and-play upgrade. The role flexes between hands-on engineer, building-systems architect, and member-facing host. You should love all three.

The full picture, by domain

1. Engineer sessions across every room and every format

Track recording sessions for vocals, instruments, live ensembles, podcasts, livestreams, and post sessions. Mix and master to professional standards aligned with the client's creative direction. Microphone selection and placement for every kind of source. Signal flow through consoles, DAWs, outboard gear, and patchbays. Editing, noise removal, processing, and delivery of polished mixes. You should be fluent across Pro Tools, Ableton, and Logic at a working professional level, comfortable switching between them inside a single day.

2. Live sound and front-of-house mixing

The Live Room hosts events, livestreams, ticketed shows, and recorded performances. You should be strong on FOH: console operation (Allen & Heath SQ-7 in the Live Room, Midas M32 in Recording and Rehearsal), monitor mixes, signal flow, gain staging, fast troubleshooting under pressure. You should be able to mix a band for a room of 100 people while also keeping the recording rig running and the stream live.

3. Plug-and-play studio experience, every room

This is the single biggest priority of the role. Every room must be easy enough that a new member, without a guided tour, can start creating in minutes. That means, in every room:

• Ableton, Logic, and Pro Tools templates built, maintained, and bug-free
• All cables available, labeled, and stored in a designated place
• Bluetooth connection always available and easy to find
• Easy startup procedure for the room, documented and verifiable
• Wifi smart plugs installed and programmed so room components can be powered on and off by Alexa
• Recallable headphone mixes, monitor calibration, and stable I/O
• A printed or screen-mounted quick-start card so the member never has to ask

You will rebuild the Lounge audio system to be more robust, user-friendly, and elegant. You will re-imagine the Rehearsal Room to be plug-and-play for both recording and rehearsals. You will set the Podcast Room up with an automatic startup procedure (AppleScript and the Innovation Director can help glue the software). These are concrete, near-term projects.

4. Quality control across all engineers and all sessions

Engineers you book hit TRC standards without supervision. If an engineer consistently creates poor outcomes, that engineer is never hired again and is quickly replaced. You build a feedback loop that catches drift early: client input, internal observation, post-session debriefs, documented action items. Standards are not a vibe; they are a written, enforced set of expectations.

5. Room reset, every booking, every time

Every room is impeccable at all times, session-ready. You author and own the reset procedures for every studio. You build the compliance system that ensures the procedures are followed by every staff member. You design the monitoring that catches non-compliance and the corrective process that fixes it, including training, re-training, or replacement. Photos before and after when needed. Texts to the right number when a room is in disarray and the reset fee is unpaid.

6. Hospitality and the member experience

Members are ecstatic about every session they have here. That is the standard. You bring an "unreasonable hospitality" mentality to engineering: anticipate what a session needs before they ask, greet members warmly, offer coffee, leave the room when it is time for them to work, and reappear when needed. You never frame a mid-session fix as a paid add-on. Cost conversations belong to a separate, post-session conversation. The room is theirs.

7. Produce full tracks for clients, from the ground up

Some clients walk in with a half-formed idea (a melody, a lyric, a vibe, a reference track) and want to walk out with a finished song. You sit with them, brainstorm the concept, find the sonic direction, then build the record. You pull samples. You play the instruments yourself across our backline (Yamaha C2 grand and Steinway-class pianos, Moog Sub37, Hofner bass, Fender Strat and Jazz basses, Roland and Yamaha keyboards, Custom Birch and Catalina drum kits, vintage and modern synths). You program drums, lay down bass and keys, comp the vocal, arrange, mix, and deliver. Arrangement input, vocal comping, performance guidance, sonic direction, full instrumental tracking.

8. Post-production as a standalone revenue stream

You lead and organize audio post-production as a vertical for TRC. Set prices. Create offers for members and external clients. Create awareness of those offers through staff, signage, and Marketing. Manage execution and quality. We want post-production to grow into a real revenue line, and the Engineering Director is the person who makes that happen.

9. AI Voiceover program: quality control and growth

TRC produces voiceover content for AI companies as an additional revenue stream. You are responsible for the audio quality of every deliverable, the consistency across batches, and the integrity of the billing log (we bill for every piece we deliver). You work with the Innovation Director to expand the program and report on cycles of improvement.

10. Lighting, video, and multimedia capture

Every room at TRC is moving toward being a full multimedia capture environment, not just an audio room. You design, install, and maintain lighting setups for performances, music videos, and livestreams. You work with the video team on camera, switcher, and lighting integration. You provide full A/V support during events. You do not need to be a lighting designer at day one, but you should be eager to learn on the job from Ari Brelig, our Studio Director, and from the outside lighting designers who come through to run shoots, livestreams, and events.

11. Events: load in, run, strike

TRC hosts gala-style events, ticketed concerts, brand activations, podcast tapings, and member showcases. You are central to event execution: stage plot, FOH, monitors, stream integration, lighting cues, end-of-night reset. You should be calm under event pressure and clear with contractors.

12. Opening and closing the studio

You participate in opening and closing checklists. You know the room turn-on sequence cold (FOH speakers via Furman, sub at stage left, monitors, drum sub, SQ-7 boot, computer, Ableton template, OBS, restream, lights, cameras). You know the close-down order cold (Ableton "collect all and save," speakers off, monitors off, board off, stage box off, cameras off, lens caps on, breaker flipped after 5-minute lighting cool). You are not above sweeping a stage or vacuuming a drum riser.

13. Hiring, booking, and managing contractor engineers

You recruit, hire, train, and book engineering contractors. You maintain the balance of cost-effectiveness and quality. You make the call when an engineer is not meeting standards. You have authority to hire and fire contractor engineers; rates at our existing standard are yours to set, and you discuss with the CEO when a rate would fall outside the standard.

14. Audio systems: constant improvement, never static

Look for opportunities to improve and upgrade. Keep everything cable-managed and organized. Listen to member needs and adjust systems accordingly. The expectation is iterative, not heroic; small refinements every week add up to a studio that gets better, not one that decays.

15. Piano and instrument maintenance

The pianos are sacred instruments. Live-room piano is tuned monthly, recording-room piano quarterly, and before any big piano-centric session or event (especially when the CEO is performing). Yoshie is first-call tuner; we keep a backup list. You also maintain the backline (drum kits, basses, guitars, keyboards) in a session-ready state.

16. Technical documentation, end-to-end

Every audio system, signal chain, room turn-on procedure, reset procedure, and recurring troubleshooting fix is documented. Documentation lives in a known place, is searchable, and is taught to every new contractor. If a problem happens twice, a documented system or procedure is the result. Temporary fixes for recurring problems are unacceptable.

17. File management and data integrity

Clients can easily access and understand every file from their session. Session backups are routine. Live Room ATEM ISO files and one stereo audio mix are always immediately offloaded to a redundant backup. File organization is documented, and every contractor is trained to follow it precisely.

18. Inventory and gear tracking via our custom storage system

TRC runs a custom-built inventory system at stuff.therecording.club: 21 QR-coded shelves and 55+ labeled bins across Storage A (cables, mics, monitors, lighting, cameras, instruments) and Storage B (events, consumables). Every item is scanned out by the person using it and scanned back in when returned, location-tracked to the shelf and bin. You are responsible for knowing that gear is being checked in and out properly by you, by contractor engineers, by studio assistants, and by members.

19. Software licenses and vendor relationships

You track WAVES license expirations (renew at the one-month mark via the WAVES rep), Pro Tools licenses (Gaurav is the contact), and any other software the studio depends on. Vendor relationships are part of the role: WAVES, Blackmagic, Yamaha, Korg, Kali Audio, StudioLogic, Manley, Apollo. You represent TRC professionally with these vendors and look for sponsorship and gear partnerships where possible.

20. Cross-domain problems: you own getting them fully resolved

Some problems sit at the edge of audio and facilities: electrical buzz in the Live Room (channels 2, 20, 22), sub bleed from the Mixing Room into the Recording Room, stomp noise from upstairs, AC noise. You are the accountable owner for getting each of these fully resolved, with a permanent fix and documentation. You have help from Eric Lloyd and Tai Long Lee on facilities and construction, the Studio Director (Ari Brelig) on operations and scheduling, and the Business Director on vendor and contractor coordination.

21. General facility ownership

If you see something that needs cleaning or attention, you either do it yourself or assign it to someone immediately. You support other staff in their roles as needed. This is a leadership role, not a task role, but leadership at TRC includes getting your hands dirty.

AI is part of how you work

We want our next Engineering Director to be AI-fluent and AI-curious. Not as a buzzword, as a daily practice. The work is too much for one person to do the old way, and the studio gets better when we put intelligent automation behind the repeatable parts of the job. Concretely, we expect this role to actively use AI for:

The Innovation Director is your collaborator on this. We have an internal GPT, we have AI integrated across operations, and we want engineering to be a leading edge of that, not a lagging one.

What you are working with

Five rooms, 4,800 sq ft of usable space across two floors, plus a lounge, kitchen, patio, mezzanine, and a private rear lot with 6 parking spaces. The building is at 1660 9th Street in Santa Monica, a turnkey sound studio with polished concrete floors and high ceilings.

Storage A is the cable and gear library, organized across 21 QR-coded shelves and 55+ labeled bins, with check-in and check-out tracked at stuff.therecording.club. Storage B holds event consumables, cleaning supplies, and bulk items. The building has 7 rooftop AC units, fingerprint-controlled lockers for members, and a Tesla EV charger in the rear lot.

The session standards we enforce, no exceptions

These standards were written after a real client experience that fell short. They are how we operate now, in every room, with every member tier (Club, Gold, Platinum), every session type, and every tech requirement (audio, video, lighting, remote monitoring). The Engineering Director is the engineering owner of this rule.

Our studio goals

This is what we are building toward. Everything you do should push toward these.

Cultural pillars

• Trust and safety: members and staff feel secure, respected, and cared for.
• Excellence and constant improvement: every detail matters, and we are always elevating the experience.
• Ease and luxury: comfort, simplicity, and sophistication define everything we do.
• Mutual support: team members feel supported by each other.
• Uncompromising productivity: a rock-solid team, sprinting together to build a world-class business. Sense of urgency, even during downtime. Everyone is a leader and an individual contributor. We make decisions quickly. We get our hands dirty.

How decisions move in this role

Decision authority

You have final decision-making authority over:

• Audio system design, configuration, and upgrades
• Engineering workflows and standards
• Studio usability and plug-and-play implementation
• Approval of engineering quality for sessions and deliverables
• Hiring and firing of contractor engineers (rates at standard, CEO discussion for off-standard rates)
• Equipment purchases up to $250; CEO approval required above that

You are expected to make decisions decisively and move forward without unnecessary escalation.

Escalation triggers (same-day to CEO)

• Any safety risk related to audio or equipment
• Any recurring engineering issue affecting members
• Any system failure that cannot be resolved same-day
• Theft of any kind

Engineering issues that affect member sessions are addressed same-day or escalated.

Leadership standard

This is a leadership role. You are expected to identify problems before they surface, design systems that reduce dependence on individual knowledge, and continuously raise standards across all engineering staff. The role is evaluated on outcomes, reliability, and ownership, not on effort alone.

How you will be evaluated

The candidate profile

• Strong recording engineering skills across Pro Tools, Ableton, and Logic.
• Strong live sound and FOH mixing skills, including monitors, consoles, signal flow, and fast troubleshooting under pressure.
• Fluent in signal flow: patching, consoles, interfaces, headphones, microphones, and diagnostic troubleshooting.
• Strong bias toward action. Proactively identifies and solves problems. Does not wait for permission to fix something obvious.
• Takes ownership of studio systems and the member experience end-to-end.
• High awareness of overall studio operations; steps in wherever needed.
• Highly organized, detail-oriented, and calm under pressure.
• Hospitality-minded, with a focus on delivering an exceptional client experience.
• Fluent with AI tools for building systems, documenting workflows, troubleshooting issues, and improving operational efficiency.
• Music production capabilities: able to produce full tracks from the ground up. Brainstorming with clients, sourcing samples, playing instruments across our backline (keys, bass, guitar, drums, synths), programming, arranging, comping, mixing.
• Excited to build systems and improve workflows, not just to run sessions.
• Bonus: podcasting, Dolby Atmos, video, lighting, post-production.

To save everyone time

This is not a button-pushing engineer role. You are not here to passively run sessions and leave. We do not need someone whose ceiling is "I can engineer a good session." Plenty of people can engineer a good session.

This is a leadership role with hands-on engineering responsibilities and a building-systems mandate. The work is varied, the hours flex around sessions and events, and the stakes attached to a session going well are real. If you want a 9-to-5 with a fixed scope, this is not it. If you want to architect what a modern studio can be, with real authority and real autonomy, this is exactly it.

How the role is structured

Notice and transition

Either side can end the relationship at-will. We request 30 calendar days written notice, and we ask the outgoing Engineering Director to do their best to identify and train an adequate replacement before leaving. TRC handles all communications with members and contractors about staffing changes.

Confidentiality, IP, non-compete, and non-circumvention

Engineering Director work product (templates, presets, session files, documentation, automation, recordings, configurations) is the property of TRC. Confidentiality covers everything from a client's unreleased work to the signal chains and workflows refined during sessions. A one-year non-compete and non-circumvention apply: working with clients introduced through TRC, after leaving the role, requires going through TRC for one year. Full agreement provided before signing.

If this is your role

Send a note to greg@therecording.club. Tell us, in your own words, what you would do in the first 30 days. Show us one example of a system or workflow you built that made a studio (or a studio's clients) measurably better. Send links to work you are proud of. If you have ideas about how AI could change the way a studio runs, tell us those too.

We move quickly when we meet the right person.