Role Overview
As a Music Specialist, you are a Music × Level / Beatmap Designer responsible for turning music into playable, interactive experiences.
You work at the intersection of:
- Music creation & curation
- Beatmap / level design
- Audio-driven gameplay
- Interactive learning experiences
You will design playable musical content for:
- Learning Mode — learning-first mini-games that deliver specific music skills
- Musicverse / Game Mode — fun-first game content designed for flow, challenge, and replayability
This is a hands-on role for someone who thinks in sound, timing, interaction, and player feel, and who can translate music into engaging gameplay moment by moment.
What You’ll Do
Music Direction & Musical Content
- Define musical direction for learning units or game levels (genre, mood, groove, difficulty intent).
- Select, curate, adapt, or create songs and musical phrases for interactive gameplay.
- Analyze music by structure, rhythm, density, and phrasing to support gameplay and learning intent.
- Ensure all musical content is stylistically coherent, musically correct, and appropriate to its target difficulty.
Level Design & Beatmap Creation (Core Responsibility)
- Design beatmaps / playable levels for:
- Learning Mode mini-games
- Musicverse / Game Mode content
- Define:
- Note timing and placement
- Density and pacing
- Lane usage and gesture patterns (tap, hold, swipe, multi-finger)
- Shape moment-to-moment gameplay to ensure:
- Clear rhythm perception
- Satisfying flow
- Appropriate challenge
- Adjust beatmaps based on:
- Learning-first vs fun-first intent
- Player skill level
- Device and interaction constraints
Learning Mode Content (Learning-first)
- Translate learning goals and constraints provided by Music & Learning Designers into playable levels.
- Create beatmaps that:
- Reinforce specific musical skills (e.g. steady pulse, subdivision, coordination)
- Minimize unnecessary cognitive load
- Remain musical and engaging
- Respect defined constraints such as:
- BPM ranges
- Input methods
- Allowed rhythmic patterns
- Iterate on content based on playtests, learner feedback, and performance signals.
usicverse / Game Mode Content (Fun-first)
- Design expressive, engaging game levels optimized for:
- Flow
- Challenge
- Replayability
- Visual–musical synchronization
- Push musical and gameplay complexity beyond Learning Mode constraints.
- Experiment with higher density, expressive gestures, and dynamic patterns.
- Optimize for enjoyment and engagement first, with learning transfer as a bonus.
Audio Production & Sound Design
- Design and implement high-quality SFX and audio feedback tightly synced to gameplay.
- Edit, mix, and master music and SFX for interactive use.
- Work deeply with DAWs, MIDI, and audio systems to support responsive gameplay.
- Ensure all audio assets meet Musea’s quality and technical standards.
Collaboration & Iteration
- Collaborate closely with:
- Music & Learning Designers (learning intent, progression, constraints)
- Game Designers (mechanics, UX, feedback)
- Engineers (technical implementation)
- Participate in playtesting to evaluate:
- Musical clarity
- Gameplay feel
- Learning effectiveness (when applicable)
- Iterate on beatmaps and audio content based on qualitative and quantitative feedback.
What We’re Looking For
🎵 Experience & Background
- 1–3 years of relevant experience in music production, game audio, rhythm games, interactive music, or level/beatmap design — or equivalent hands-on experience through projects or shipped content.
- Strong portfolio demonstrating playable musical content (games, beatmaps, interactive audio, rhythm-based experiences).
Music & Audio Craft
- Strong musical judgment and curation skills.
- Solid foundation in rhythm, groove, song structure, and musical elements.
- Ability to compose, arrange, remix, or adapt complete musical pieces.
- Deep hands-on experience with a DAW (Ableton, Logic, FL Studio, etc.).
- Experience working with MIDI and audio systems.
- Ability to deliver production-ready audio assets.
Game & Level Design Thinking
- Experience designing or contributing to:
- Beatmaps
- Rhythm game levels
- Audio-driven interactive content
- Strong intuition for:
- Timing windows
- Difficulty curves
- Player flow and fatigue
- Comfortable iterating rapidly based on playtesting and feedback.
- Ability to think in moment-to-moment gameplay, not just high-level structure.
Product & Learning Awareness
- Ability to distinguish between learning-first and fun-first content.
- Comfortable working within constraints when learning outcomes are the priority.
- Able to collaborate with Learning Designers without owning pedagogy decisions.
- Clear, structured communication and documentation skills.
AI-Assisted Workflow (Expected)
- Comfortable using AI tools to support music research, ideation, variation, or workflow acceleration.
- Ability to critically evaluate AI outputs and maintain human ownership over musical quality and intent.
Nice to Have
- Experience with music learning apps, rhythm games, or audio-driven mobile games.
- Background in music education or learning design.
- Experience working in startups or small, cross-functional teams.
- Familiarity with Duolingo-style learning systems or Musea-like products.
Why Join?
- Shape how people learn and experience music through play.
- Work at the intersection of music, games, and learning.
- Design real, playable musical systems — not just content.
- Collaborate with a team that deeply values musical craft, gameplay feel, and learning quality.
- Build something meaningful — and musical.
