Podcast
Directing Arturia's Software Development | Kevin Molcard (Arturia) | Ep 13
Arturia's Kevin Molcard discusses building world-class audio software, managing legacy code, and why passion and continuous learning matter more than perfect technical skills when hiring developers.
Kevin Molcard, Director of Software Development at Arturia, shares his journey from teenage computer music enthusiast to leading one of the most respected teams in audio software development. Starting as an intern in 2007, Molcard has witnessed Arturia's growth from 15 to over 100 employees while working on iconic products like the Origin hardware synthesizer, Spark drum machine, and the V Collection. His path exemplifies how passion for music technology, combined with strong problem-solving skills and continuous learning, can lead to a fulfilling career in audio development. Throughout the interview, he emphasizes the importance of hiring curious, open-minded developers who are willing to grow, noting that Arturia's software team consists mostly of young developers between 20 and 30 years old.
The technical challenges at Arturia are significant, particularly managing legacy codebases spanning nearly two decades. Molcard discusses the company's ongoing efforts to modernize their infrastructure, including standardizing on JUCE framework and developing custom DSP frameworks to replace aging code. The recent V Collection 8 release showcases this evolution, featuring a completely rewritten Jupiter-8V engine that demonstrates how far analog modeling has progressed since 2007. Looking ahead, Molcard sees AI-assisted development and hybrid hardware/software products as the future of the industry, while acknowledging that established technologies like C++ and VST will remain dominant due to the practical realities of maintaining large-scale commercial products.
Originally recorded on Dec 18, 2020
