---
title: 'DSP and Hearing Engineer at Fortell'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/dsp-and-hearing-engineer-fortell-new-york-1gsy4p96ejsy'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-08'
---

# DSP and Hearing Engineer at Fortell

- **Company:** Fortell
- **Location:** New York, NY
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** hybrid
- **Posted:** 2026-05-27
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-08
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/fortell/715060fd-d830-4e77-b394-7fc9bbc08d69

## Job description

Fortell is a deep tech consumer hardware company. We build breakthrough hearing aids (powered by AI on custom silicon) that transform how people experience sound and connect with the world. We came out of stealth last December and the consumer response has been overwhelming. Every day, we hear profound anecdotes from our customers and their loved ones: a dad who’s grateful to hear his daughter’s wedding vows; a college student who can finally join conversations in the dining hall; a couple that’s reconnecting after years of drifting apart. Our engineering team is hard at work building the next generation of life changing technology, and we’re hiring exceptional operators to scale our distribution.

We're seeking a DSP Engineer with experience in the audio or hearing aid industries to join our team based in New York City. This role will strongly emphasize evaluation of our hearing aids and competitor devices via critical listening and acoustic measurement, but also encourage direct contribution to signal processing algorithms that drive sound quality on our devices.

## CORE RESPONSIBILITIES

- Sound Quality Ownership: Work across DSP, machine learning, and audiology teams to understand how our product configuration translates into sound quality perceived by our users, and understand how we can improve it without impacting speech intelligibility.
- Acoustic Measurement and Analysis: Evaluate hearing aid performance using industry-standard equipment (Kemar, Ear and cheek simulators). Define test protocols and analyze acoustic data with common techniques (spectral analysis, speech intelligibility metrics). Where appropriate, apply judgement using critical listening.
- Competitive Benchmarking: Learn about the industry state of the art using acoustic measurement and critical listening, and use this understanding to improve our product.
- Algorithm Development: Contribute directly to authoring and tuning DSP algorithms in Python. Embedded development experience is nice to have, but not required.

## PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

- Hearing Aid Fitting Algorithms: Have experience translating audiograms, user preferences, and physical hearing aid configuration into customized user configurations.
- Hearing Aid Signal Processing: Have experience authoring and tuning classical hearing aid signal processing algorithms (e.g. noise reduction, feedback cancellation, wide dynamic range compression, beamforming, limiting).
- Acoustics: Have a working knowledge of physical acoustics and psychoacoustics, as well as practical experience making acoustic measurements with head-worn audio devices.
- Python: Be able to read, write, and modify Python code that supports modeling, testing, and interaction with embedded algorithms. Proficiency in Matlab is sufficient, but you will be asked to transition to Python as your daily driver for this role.
- Technical Communication: Have experience communicating with non-engineers and translating their feedback into what could be happening at the signal processing layer. This role will likely interact frequently with our audiology team.

#LI-Hybrid

## About Fortell

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Fortell builds AI-powered hearing aids that use custom silicon and advanced signal processing to clarify speech in noisy environments, helping people understand more of what they hear.
- **Entity Type**: Private (backed by prominent venture capital firms)
- **Headquarters**: New York, New York, United States
- **Founded**: 2021
- **Founders**: Matthew de Jonge (CEO), Andrew Casper (CTO), Igor (last name not publicly available), Cole (last name not publicly available)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Medical device manufacturing (hearing aids), artificial intelligence, healthtech
- **Target customers**: B2C – individuals with hearing loss, especially those who struggle with speech comprehension in noise; also works with audiologists and clinics
- **Mission statement**: "To restore effortless connection through better hearing."

## Products & Services
- **Fortell AI Hearing Aids**: A hardware + software product featuring custom AI chips that separate speech from background noise in real time. The device is fitted and programmed through Fortell’s own audiology clinics (first clinic at 530 Park Ave, New York, NY). The product is marketed as a medical device and is available only after a personalized hearing evaluation and fitting by an audiologist.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation**: Not publicly disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Total funding amount not disclosed; backed by Thrive Capital, Founders Fund, Valor Equity Partners, Optum Ventures, Lux Capital, Vast Ventures, Good Friends, Positive Sum, Stonecroft, and Atreides Management.
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Thrive Capital, Founders Fund, Valor Equity Partners (lead investors); advisors include Dr. Barbara Weinstein (Professor of Audiology, NYU), Dr. Kevin Franck (former Chair, Hearing Loss Association of America), Dr. Matt Fitzgerald (Stanford), Dr. Jan Blustein (NYU School of Medicine).
- **Growth Signals**: 
  - 52 employees (LinkedIn) with +1.6% monthly headcount growth
  - 15 active job postings (as of mid-2025), with a 200% monthly increase and 1400% quarterly increase in postings
  - First clinic in New York City; planning to expand to multiple major U.S. cities (e.g., Palm Beach Gardens, FL; Bay Area; Boston; Greenwich, CT)
  - Clinical trials show 50x more words understood vs. leading AI hearing aid in challenging noise; 95% of participants preferred Fortell over 5 top-spec competitors

## Competitive Advantages
- **Custom AI silicon**: Proprietary chips designed specifically for real-time speech separation, not just amplification.
- **Clinical validation**: Randomized controlled trials overseen by external academics demonstrating significant improvement in speech comprehension.
- **Integrated clinic model**: Direct-to-consumer fitting and support through owned audiology clinics, ensuring proper tuning and customer satisfaction.
- **Strong investor syndicate**: Backing from top-tier VCs (Thrive, Founders Fund, Valor) provides credibility and resources.

## Strategic Focus
- **Clinic expansion**: Opening new clinics across the U.S. to increase accessibility.
- **Talent acquisition**: Aggressively hiring across engineering (firmware, DSP, AI, hardware), audiology, quality, supply chain, and operations.
- **Product refinement**: Continuous improvement of AI algorithms and hardware based on real-world feedback and clinical data.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Described as fast-moving, intentional, and mission-driven. Emphasis on cutting-edge science, human-centered design, and improving lives at scale.
- **Work environment**: Hybrid roles available (e.g., Firmware Engineer listed as hybrid on Built In). Office located in New York City with free lunch.
- **Compensation & benefits**: Competitive salary and stock options; top-notch healthcare for employee and family; free lunch; generous paid time off; 401(k) plan; parental leave.
- **Engineering culture**: Opportunity to work on custom silicon, AI/ML, DSP, and hardware in a startup environment with strong scientific backing. Team includes pioneers from Google, Butterfly Network, Mount Sinai, and other top organizations.

## Sources
1. [Fortell.com – Homepage](https://www.fortell.com/)
2. [Fortell.com – About Us](https://www.fortell.com/about-us)
3. [Fortell.com – Careers](https://www.fortell.com/careers)
4. [LinkedIn – Fortell Research Inc](https://www.linkedin.com/company/fortell-research)
5. [Built In – Fortell Research Inc Jobs](https://builtin.com/company/fortell-research-inc/jobs)

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