Audio Localization Manager

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Job Description:

Your Mission:

At Blizzard, our mission is to transcend language and cultural barriers, making our immersive experiences universally accessible. As we expand our global footprint, we are currently seeking an Audio Localization Manager to lead our efforts in making our audio content resonate with audiences worldwide, ensuring the integrity and impact of our storytelling across languages and cultures.

This role will oversee the entire audio localization process, from strategy development to execution, ensuring that our content meets the highest standards of quality and cultural sensitivity. This role requires a unique blend of dubbing and technical audio skills, linguistic expertise, and project management abilities. If you're passionate about creating a seamless and culturally relevant user experience through audio localization, we invite you to join the team to fulfill our Localization Team’s mission of ‘It Feels Blizzard in Every Language’.

This role is anticipated to be a hybrid work position, with some work on-site and some work-from-home. The potential home studio is Irvine, CA.

Priorities can often change fast-paced environments like ours, so this role includes, but is not limited to, the following responsibilities:

• Production Oversight: Lead all phases of localization lifecycle, including budgeting, pre-production planning, recording, editing, mixing, and final delivery of multilingual audio content
• Team Management: Lead a complementary team of in-house professionals and external partners globally distributed in more than one time zone, fostering collaboration, innovation, and excellence in localization projects
• Cultural Adaptation: Ensure audio content is culturally adapted for target markets without compromising the original narrative’s integrity or emotional depth
• Quality Control: Implement quality control measures to maintain high linguistic accuracy, cultural relevance, and technical precision in localized audio outputs
• Vendor and Talent Management: Cultivate relationships with top localization vendors, recording studios, and voice talent agencies worldwide. Oversee casting, negotiations, and performance quality
• Budget and Resource Allocation: Develop and handle budgets for audio localization projects, ensuring optimal resource allocation and cost efficiency
• Innovation and Process Improvement: Stay abreast of industry trends and technological advancements, integrating innovative practices and tools to streamline audio localization workflows and enhance output quality
• Market Intelligence: Conduct and apply market research to understand regional audio content preferences, trends, and regulatory considerations, informing strategy and production decisions
• Partner Collaboration: Work closely with internal collaborators, including content creators, marketing teams, product managers and localization colleagues, to ensure audio localization aligns with overall business objectives

Minimum Requirements:

• BA or BS degree in related field
• Experience: 7 years within audio production and localization within a global entertainment, gaming, or media company
• Language Skills: Fluency in English and proficiency in at least one other language. Additional language skills are highly advantageous
• Technical Expertise: Expert-level proficiency in DAWs, audio editing software, and localization platforms. Familiarity with AI localization tools is a plus.
• Cultural Competence: The ability to navigate and adapt content for complex cultural landscapes. Knowledge of global media consumption habits and legal frameworks
• Leadership and Vision: At least 3+ years in people management with strong leadership and interpersonal communication to inspire a team around the globe across multiple time zones. Ground-breaking thinking with a strategic, analytical approach to problem-solving
• Communication: Strong communication and negotiation skills, capable of building partnerships and articulating nuanced concepts across cultural divides
• Adaptability and Resilience: Comfortable operating in a fast-paced, evolving industry landscape. Ability to work with cross-functional teams to deliver high-quality localized audio content, as well as running multiple projects simultaneously under tight deadlines

Pluses:

• Education in Translation Studies, Media Localization, Dubbing.
• Experience with Blizzard Entertainment games.
• Experience shipping multiple games ranging from mobile to AAA titles.
• Experience working in multicultural environments.

Your Platform

Best known for iconic video game universes including Warcraft®, Overwatch®, Diablo®, and StarCraft®, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (www.blizzard.com), a division of Activision Blizzard, which was acquired by Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment experiences. Blizzard Entertainment has created some of the industry’s most critically acclaimed and genre-defining games over the last 30 years, with a track record that includes multiple Game of the Year awards. Blizzard Entertainment engages tens of millions of players around the world with titles available on PC via Battle.net®, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android.

Our World

Activision Blizzard, Inc., is one of the world's largest and most successful interactive entertainment companies and is at the intersection of media, technology and entertainment. We are home to some of the most beloved entertainment franchises including Call of Duty®, World of Warcraft®, Overwatch®, Diablo®, Candy Crush™ and Bubble Witch™. Our combined entertainment network delights hundreds of millions of monthly active users in 196 countries, making us the largest gaming network on the planet!

Our ability to build immersive and innovate worlds is only enhanced by diverse teams working in an inclusive environment.  We aspire to have a culture where everyone can thrive in order to connect and engage the world through epic entertainment. We provide a suite of benefits that promote physical, emotional and financial well-being for ‘Every World’ - we’ve got our employees covered!

The videogame industry and therefore our business is fast-paced and will continue to evolve. As such, the duties and responsibilities of this role may be changed as directed by the Company at any time to promote and support our business and relationships with industry partners.

We love hearing from anyone who is enthusiastic about changing the games industry. Not sure you meet all qualifications? Let us decide! Research shows that women and members of other under-represented groups tend to not apply to jobs when they think they may not meet every qualification, when, in fact, they often do! We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment and strongly encourage you to apply.

We are committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with physical and mental disabilities. If you are a disabled individual requiring an accommodation to apply for an open position, please email your request to accommodationrequests@activisionblizzard.com. General employment questions cannot be accepted or processed here. Thank you for your interest.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status, among other characteristics.

Rewards

We provide a suite of benefits that promote physical, emotional and financial well-being for ‘Every World’ - we’ve got our employees covered!  Subject to eligibility requirements, the Company offers comprehensive benefits including:

• Medical, dental, vision, health savings account or health reimbursement account, healthcare spending accounts, dependent care spending accounts, life and AD&D insurance, disability insurance;
• 401(k) with Company match, tuition reimbursement, charitable donation matching;
• Paid holidays and vacation, paid sick time, floating holidays, compassion and bereavement leaves, parental leave;
• Mental health & wellbeing programs, fitness programs, free and discounted games, and a variety of other voluntary benefit programs like supplemental life & disability, legal service, ID protection, rental insurance, and others;
• If the Company requires that you move geographic locations for the job, then you may also be eligible for relocation assistance.

Eligibility to participate in these benefits may vary for part time and temporary full-time employees and interns with the Company.  You can learn more by visiting https://www.benefitsforeveryworld.com/.