Sound Operator

An audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist, recording engineer, sound engineer, sound operator, or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including electronics, acoustics, psychoacoustics, and music. An audio technician is proficient with different types of recording media, such as analog tape, digital multitrack recorders and workstations, and computer knowledge. With the advent of the digital age, it is becoming more and more important for the audio technician to be versed in the understanding of software and hardware integration from synchronization to analog to digital transfers.

Audio engineering concerns the creative and practical aspects of sounds and music, in contrast with the formal engineering discipline known as acoustical engineering. Producer, engineer, mixer Phil Ek has described audio engineering as the "technical aspect of recording—the placing of microphones, the turning of pre-amp knobs, the setting of levels. The physical recording of any project is done by an engineer... the nuts and bolts." Many recording engineers also invented new technology, equipment and techniques, to enhance the process and art.