Meyer Sound’s Katharine “Katie” Murphy Khulusi Leads with Innovation and Inclusivity

A Rising Authority in Loudspeaker Design Inspires the Next Generation of Engineers

Katharine “Katie” Murphy Khulusi’s path to success is a testament to her curiosity, resilience, and collaborative spirit. As the youngest Senior Engineering Director, Loudspeaker Development in Meyer Sound’s history, her significant contributions to loudspeaker design and her dedication to elevating the next generation underscore her expanding influence in the live sound industry. Whether troubleshooting systems in the field, mentoring aspiring engineers, or leading teams to push the boundaries of product design, Murphy Khulusi exemplifies the qualities of a pioneering leader in engineering.

We recently sat down with Murphy Khulusi to discuss her career journey, her collaborative approach to leadership, and her bold visions for loudspeaker design.

What first sparked your interest in the intersection of music and engineering?

I started playing music around 10 or 12—first saxophone, then oboe—and was always doing musical theater. In high school, I got an opportunity with the theater club to work on the technical side of theater, running sound and lights and even directing a few one-act plays. That opened my eyes to everything it takes to put on a production. Then I went into college understanding, “I am going to major in engineering, but there is something about live performance that I am drawn to, and I want to be involved in that in some capacity.”

What’s your approach to loudspeaker design? Would you agree it’s both a science and an art?

Absolutely. I describe it as a science until it’s an art, because there’s so much we know about physics and math as it relates to acoustics, but there are a lot of elements we don’t fully understand—we just know that every time you measure it, it works that way. And we need to try to replicate that and make it happen every time.

I’d like to think that one of the things that I bring to the table is I’ve had all of these interesting cinema and live sound event experiences, be they live or recorded, which have given me an understanding of everything from wanting to be able to have my art replicated exactly as I am putting it out, to the audience’s expectations, to practical concerns like what fits the budget, what fits in the truck, what is easy to put up and take down. So I really think of myself as the person who is putting the puzzle pieces together, and I’m never going to know the most about any of these individual puzzle pieces, but I can see the whole puzzle.

Are materials, innovations, and technologies like machine learning and AI making it easier to design a great loudspeaker, or are they opportunities to tackle more complex challenges?

I think it’s a little bit of both, but eventually, these tools will make things easier. Right now, we’re asking questions like, “Are we doing this because it’s the way we’ve always done it, or are we making informed decisions?” These technologies are helping us reexamine everything—from materials to processes—to make smarter choices. In a few years, I think they’ll help us work faster and more efficiently, focusing our energy on entirely new possibilities instead of revisiting the same questions.

You’re known for your mentoring and guest lecturing. What motivates you to give back?

I feel so lucky to have found my path at Meyer Sound. I like to give myself credit—I’m good at my job; I earned my job. But a lot of it came down to fortunate connections, like working as an audio tech at my school’s performance venues, where I was introduced to Meyer Sound systems. If I hadn’t had that experience, I don’t know how I would have found this company.

I want people to understand what kind of opportunities are out there. There are so many career paths in live sound and engineering that people don’t even realize exist. If even one person feels slightly better off after talking to me, that’s the best feeling.

As a team leader, why is it important to bring diverse voices and perspectives to the table?

We know from decades of studies that diversity drives innovation. Bringing people together from a bunch of different backgrounds to look at problems and solve them in different ways is what leads teams to develop breakthrough technologies.

Diversity can mean anything from people’s personalities to the way that they speak up or don’t speak up in meetings, to the way that they work, where they’re from, what level of education they have, where they got that education, anything about their background.

The music industry is incredibly diverse. If we are going to be a major player in the music industry and in the live events industry, and in cinemas and studios, we need to have people working on these products that reflect that diversity, because if we don’t, we’re not going to necessarily capture all of the magic that makes this industry what it is.

How can the industry be better at attracting and keeping diverse talent?

I think the bar to entry needs to be lowered. In tech, and in the music industry, there are a lot of entry-level jobs that require multiple years of experience. You’re cutting out an entire pool of candidates, and you don’t know what they could grow into because they’re not getting that opportunity.

There certainly are the jobs where you need to have a degree, or you might need many years of experience for a senior role. But for me, and for a lot of the company, it’s about giving people an opportunity to grow into roles and to learn, because you can’t teach that. Meyer Sound really benefits from developing people who show a passion and aptitude and promoting them from within.

I think the industry needs to, like John Meyer has done, give people more opportunities to prove themselves and to show that they can do something instead of just setting a rigid set of rules where you either meet this criteria or you don’t.

How do you define success?

Success for me is defined at both the company level and at the level of my teams. If my teams are happy and working well together and doing their jobs and putting out new products, that’s a success. Nobody burns themselves out. When we launch something and we say as an engineering team, “We worked well together on that and we’re proud of that,” that’s success for me.

On the global company level, when we are being talked about, the feedback is, Meyer Sound is really reliable. What you see is what you get. The company is making products where you get out what you put in. We are releasing products that solve problems, not just releasing boxes for the sake of releasing boxes. For me, that’s success on the company scale.

About Meyer Sound

Founded by John and Helen Meyer in 1979, Meyer Sound is a global leader in providing integrated solutions for sound reinforcement, spatial sound, acoustic systems, studio monitoring and high-end residential systems. Recognized as an audio technology pioneer, Meyer Sound was the first to introduce dedicated loudspeaker processors, source independent measurement, large-scale self-powered loudspeakers, and cardioid subwoofers, among other innovations. The premium professional brand maintains rigorous quality control in its design and manufacturing of sustainable solutions for concert touring and festivals, houses of worship, cinema, education, corporate offices and residential. Scientific research and innovative product development have earned more than 100 US and international patents along with numerous industry awards. Headquartered in Berkeley, California with operations globally, Meyer Sound is a company where employees are innovators and diversity, equity and inclusion are embraced in the workplace and the community.

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