Ears Behind the Gear: Allan Timms — High Level Engineering at Universal Audio

As media converges, so do the job responsibilities of those who make audio production possible.

That’s exactly the experience of Allan Timms, who was announced as the new VP of Engineering for Universal Audio earlier this year. As the prolific creator of Apollo and Arrow audio interfaces, accelerators like the Satellite, hardware including the LA-2A, 1176, and 2-610 tube mic pre, plus the ever-expanding array of UAD plugins, Universal Audio has given Timms plenty to wrap his head around.

An avowed audiophile, Timms’ qualifications to lead UA’s technical dev spring from long stints at other high-tech powerhouses. He was Head of Software Engineering for  consumer/professional electronics maker Logitech (whose brands include Blue Microphones and Ultimate Ears), and before that spent 10+ years at mobile technologies provider Qualcomm, where he became  Director of Engineering, Smart Gateway Products.

Allan Timms is getting an artful earful as VP of Engineering for Universal Audio.

In this interview with SonicScoop, Timms let us in on the challenges and opportunities that come with this big gig. Between minding a well-paced expansion of UA’s product line, differentiating their solutions, and maintaining max interoperability, Timms and his team have a lot to lean into.

Before coming to UA, you were at consumer/professional electronics maker Logitech, and prior to that mobile technologies provider Qualcomm. How does your role at UA represent a natural progression from these previous experiences?

I’ve spent my entire career chasing my ultimate “work goal” — to find something that would be my hobby if I didn’t have to work for a living. I’ve been involved in the audio world professionally and personally, on and off, for my whole life. My very first job out of college was with Philips Electronics, where I worked on branching audio for interactive CDI player movies.

At Qualcomm, I was lucky enough to pick my way through some amazing products, particularly in the areas of smart home and smart A/V. The Qualcomm Skifta product (later AllPlay) became the bridge between my software/internet background and the world of audio technology. The greatest takeaway from Logitech was design philosophy — approaching every detail from the user perspective is a discipline I value highly as a result.

I see my role at Universal Audio as the ultimate convergence of creativity, design, scale, and most importantly, craftsmanship. I get to facilitate all these facets coming together to produce a full ecosystem of products that aligns with my hobbies and interests. I still get to be the “big scale guy”, but in a rapid—growing and innovative company. Pioneering audio technology on a daily basis is amazing. Ultimately, my passions are now my job.

 I won’t ask you to describe a typical day, but is there such a thing as a typical week with your job? What are some of the primary activities that you find yourself involved with?

I think I’d get very bored if a day or a week were ever really “typical.” Working with technical people and producing cool products is where I flourish. It sounds humorous, but my favorite part of any engineering project is always the argument, or should I say “heated discussion.” However, I’m also a very visual person — white boards are still my favorite canvas!

I spend most of my time dealing with people, one way or another — I joke that my job is to talk to people. If you ask my wife, she’ll tell you that’s all I do, in or out of the office. I write code when I can — I doubt anyone would let me commit code these days though, play guitar when the schedule allows, and spend the rest of my time mostly in meetings or on email. My calendar is an engineering challenge itself.

The people at UA are some of the smartest engineers I’ve ever worked with, but the amazing talent is nothing compared to the passion and love for music. It’s extremely inspiring to be part of this team.

Bill Putnam, Jr. identified your talents at developing scalable systems as one of your key attributes. Why is this of particular importance in the development of UA’s offerings?

UA has some incredible products in the pipeline, and our ambition continues to grow. Developing multiple products at any time requires large company scale, but we don’t necessarily want to behave like a big company. It’s vital to maintain the collaborative and creative culture that was firmly entrenched before I arrived.

The scale element demands we realize new product ambitions without needing to add hundreds of people. Solid product foundations and structured approaches to developing technology are ways to promote scalability. As we continue to grow and differentiate our products, our ecosystem will be a critical factor — how products work together is equally important as individual functionality.

Another element of scale I bring experience in is sheer numbers — our ambitions for customer reach are substantial. Building online systems to interact with a large base is vital to our future.

How do you see the tools that artists and engineers use for recording, mixing and mastering evolving?

I envision more modern paradigms becoming useful for sound engineers and musicians. For example, cloud computing and collaboration and ubiquitous access (mobile, tablet, computer, etc.).

I also think our job is to provide the best tools possible and lower technical barriers to creativity. There are technologies that we’ve only scratched the surface of regarding music creation — machine learning, AI, and big data to name a few. The more we can get technology out of the way and unleash users’ creativity, the better.

In turn, how would you describe UA’s approach to engineering and product development to best meet those evolving needs?

We have an interesting culture at UA Engineering. We have strict quality standards created by a supremely talented engineer set, whom are creatives as well. Many engineers are also working musicians (or musicians who are engineers, if you ask them). This makes for a great dynamic because the passion and drive is incredible. The diverse disciplines each play their part in producing the best products.

We meld the hardware, software and cloud systems together in a very collaborative way. We have a varied level of process to suit the functions, from strict Agile programs to a traditional waterfall in others. QA and automation is something we take very seriously and every detail is followed to its absolute optimal point. Again, craftsmanship is the foundation of every effort.

Overall, I’d describe our approach as pragmatic — everyone does the right thing and strives to move in the same direction.

You describe yourself as a lifelong “audiophile and engineer.” In what ways are those two passions connected for you? In other words, in what ways do they complement each other?

To me, the word “audiophile” is most significant within the search for audio perfection. Engineering is about creating something. Both have components of art and beauty. At UA, we talk a lot about quality, craftsmanship in particular — this identity joins the audio and engineering worlds together for us, guiding our creative and technical aspirations.

Finally, an Off Duty question: When you’re only wearing your audiophile hat, what are some of your favorite things to listen to?

I recently got back into vinyl. Partly because I love to buy new gear, but also for the art and ritual. I had strayed into the world of lossless, super-fidelity and lost the fact that music brings emotion. Kicking back and listening to Steve Vai or The Eagles on vinyl is something very special — an event all of its own.

— David Weiss

Please note: When you buy products through links on this page, we may earn an affiliate commission.