Brian Simmons

About Brian Simmons

As an Engineering Manager, I’m passionate about building high-performing teams that consistently deliver projects and features with dependable results.I believe the best engineering leadership comes from clear communication, thoughtful prioritization, and a strong balance between achieving business goals and supporting individual career development. Every project is an opportunity not just to move the company forward, but also to invest in the growth of the people behind the work.I’m committed to fostering collaboration between engineering and product teams, communicating with clarity and transparency, and creating a culture of continuous improvement. Whether it’s launching a new product or refining an existing process, I strive to lead with empathy and a focus on sustainable success.

Experience

1. Engineering Manager

   Makemusic Inc

   Feb 2022 — Present

   Lead a diverse team of engineers, from junior to senior, remote and in-person and both across national and international locations; Conduct annual performance reviews focused on celebrating achievements, delivering actionable feedback, and setting measurable goals that align company objectives with personal career growth, including technical and professional development areas.Key contributor in the successful adoption of Shape Up as our project management framework, improving our deliverable frequency by over 50%; Fostered a stronger collaboration model between product and engineering teams, which has since been adopted across the organization leading to less surprises and late projects due to technical oversights.I have an excellent track record for continually shaping, scoping and delivering projects on time; improving metrics such as trial start rate, number of plays, number of rostered classrooms, average student practice time, account churn, NPS score, time to value, etc.Experienced in engineer hiring and onboarding; continually refining our onboarding process; new hires deploy code to production in as little as 1-2 days; a massive improvement compared to the weeks it took before.

Education

• UCAB - Universidad Católica Andrés Bello

  Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA), Business Administration and Management, General

  2005 — 2010

• The Iron Yard

  Ruby on Rails Back End Development, Computer Software Engineering

  2016 — 2016

• Berklee College of Music

  Bachelor's degree, Dual Major in Music Production and Engineering & Electronic Production and Sound Design

  2010 — 2013

Skills

• Javascript
• Sound Mixing
• Html
• Ruby on Rails
• Dialogue Editing
• Percussion
• Microsoft Office
• Microsoft Excel
• Video Game Production
• Audio Editing
• Sql
• Audio Engineering
• Project Management
• Studio Recording
• Sound Fx Editing
• Film Sound
• Music
• Pro Tools
• Video Games
• Sound Design
• Cascading Style Sheets (Css)
• Ruby
• Audio Post Production
• Sound Editing
• Web Development
• Recording
• React.js
• Music Theory
• Postgresql
• Sound
• Logic Pro
• Music Production
• Jquery