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Music Composition Jobs in Seattle, WA (NOW HIRING)

... Music, Computer Engineering, and Digital Art and Animation, as well as Master's degree programs in ... Tone, color, and composition * Perspective * Other courses as needed This is an ongoing posting.

Music Composition information

See Seattle, WA salary details

$34.7K

$65.7K

$138.3K

How much do music composition jobs pay per year?

As of Sep 3, 2026, the average yearly pay for music composition in Seattle, WA is $65,700.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $45,500.00 and $72,800.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is music composition?

Music composition is the process of creating original music by combining melodies, harmonies, rhythms, and other musical elements. Composers write music for various purposes such as performances, films, games, or personal expression, often using notation software or traditional sheet music. The field encompasses a wide range of styles and genres, and composers may work independently or as part of a larger creative team. Developing skills in music theory, instrumentation, and digital audio tools is common for those interested in music composition.

What are the qualifications to get a job in music composition?

The qualifications that you need to start a career in music composition depend on your career goals and your composing skills. You may wish to pursue a degree in music theory, writing, or music performance, especially if you wish to teach at a college level. Composers often need to show their skills through a portfolio of previously-composed work. You can write and record pieces as part of a postsecondary degree program or on your own without any formal training. Most composers are also qualified as musical instrumentalists or performers.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a music composer, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Music Composer, you need a strong foundation in music theory, composition techniques, and proficiency with at least one instrument, often supported by a degree in music or related field. Familiarity with digital audio workstations (DAWs), notation software like Sibelius or Finale, and audio editing tools is typically required. Creativity, collaboration, and the ability to accept feedback are essential soft skills for producing unique works and working with clients or ensembles. These skills are crucial for creating professional-quality compositions that meet artistic or commercial needs in the music industry.

What are some common challenges faced by music composers when collaborating with directors or clients on projects?

Music composers often encounter challenges such as interpreting a director's or client's creative vision, adapting to changing feedback, and meeting tight deadlines. Effective communication is key to ensuring the music aligns with the project's emotional tone and narrative. Additionally, composers must balance their artistic expression with the practical needs of the production, often revising pieces several times based on input from collaborators. Building strong professional relationships and staying adaptable are essential for success in this collaborative environment.

What is the difference between Music Composition vs Music Arrangement?

AspectMusic CompositionMusic Arrangement
DefinitionCreating original music and melodies from scratch.Adapting existing music for different instruments or ensembles.
Required SkillsCreative songwriting, melody development, harmony.Reharmonization, orchestration, adapting scores.
Work EnvironmentStudios, composers' offices, freelance projects.Studio, rehearsal spaces, live performance settings.
Common UsageFilm scores, video games, original songs.Cover arrangements, orchestral adaptations, band arrangements.

Music composition involves creating original music, while music arrangement focuses on adapting existing compositions for different instruments or ensembles. Both roles require musical creativity, but composition emphasizes original creation, whereas arrangement emphasizes adaptation and orchestration.

How much do music composers get paid?

Music composers' salaries vary widely based on experience, project type, and industry. Entry-level composers may earn around $30,000 to $50,000 annually, while experienced professionals working on major films, TV, or advertising can earn six-figure incomes or more. Many composers supplement income through freelance work, licensing, and royalties, and proficiency with digital audio workstations (DAWs) is often essential.

Is there a demand for music composers?

The demand for music composers varies across industries such as film, television, video games, and advertising, where original music is often required. While competition can be high, skilled composers with proficiency in digital audio workstations and a strong portfolio have opportunities in both freelance and studio settings, especially as media production continues to grow.

What jobs can I get as a music composition graduate?

Music composition graduates can pursue careers as composers for film, television, video games, or advertising, creating original scores and soundtracks. They may also work as music arrangers, orchestrators, music directors, or in roles involving music production, sound design, and music licensing. Strong skills in music theory, digital audio workstations, and collaboration are essential in these fields.

What are the most commonly searched types of Music Composition jobs in Seattle, WA?

The most popular types of Music Composition jobs in Seattle, WA are:

What are popular job titles related to Music Composition jobs in Seattle, WA?

For Music Composition jobs in Seattle, WA, the most frequently searched job titles are:

What job categories do people searching Music Composition jobs in Seattle, WA look for?

The top searched job categories for Music Composition jobs in Seattle, WA are:

Infographic showing various Music Composition job openings in Seattle, WA as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 40% Full Time, 57% Part Time, and 3% Contract. Highlights an 95% In-person, and 5% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $65,700 per year, or $31.6 per hour.

Senior Security Software Engineer, Software Supply Chain Security

Socket.dev

Seattle, WA โ€ข On-site

$190 - $270/hr

Other

Posted 5 days ago


Key responsibilities

  • Own the modeling and correlation of software inventory and vulnerability data to provide a trustworthy risk picture.

  • Make architectural decisions to ensure the security and reliability of software composition analysis and vulnerability intelligence systems.

  • Mentor engineers and guide technical direction related to supply chain risk and security in software development.


Job description

We are the Dependency Risk & Automation Team in Apple Services Engineering (ASE) Security. We're responsible for understanding what software Apple runs, where it came from, and how exposed it is, across the internal and open-source projects behind iCloud, Music, Siri, the App Store, and the rest of Apple's services. Composition and vulnerability signal reach us from build systems, package registries, vulnerability feeds, and SBOMs generated across a large, heterogeneous estate of projects and languages, and increasingly from dependency choices made by AI coding assistants and agents rather than the engineers who own the code. Turning that into one prioritized, trustworthy picture of risk that engineering teams can act on and security leadership can rely on takes real architectural judgment, not just tooling. We're looking for a senior engineer to take technical ownership of significant parts of this problem: shaping how software inventory and vulnerability data are modeled and correlated, setting the engineering quality bar the rest of the platform is held to, and mentoring engineers across the team and adjacent teams on how to reason about supply chain risk. You'll make the architectural calls that determine whether the rest of the company can trust and act on that data, and you'll play a meaningful role in ensuring the highest standard of security for one of the most-watched companies in the world.

Description

This role owns technical depth across software composition analysis, vulnerability intelligence, and the automation that keeps both operating reliably at Apple's scale. You'll work across a diverse set of tools and codebases, and you'll be one of the people other engineers and adjacent security teams turn to when supply chain risk questions get hard, from how we track what's in our software, to how we correlate that against emerging vulnerabilities and end-of-life risk, to how we make that information actionable rather than just available. You will confront a new class of problem, as AI coding assistants and agents generate a growing share of Apple's code and a growing share of its dependency choices you'll help define what secure software development means when dependencies increasingly get pulled in with minimal human review.

Minimum Qualifications

8+ years of experience in security software engineering, with demonstrated end-to-end ownership of a system or platform, and hands-on experience in the software supply chain security, dependency management and OSS riskDeep proficiency in Go and strong proficiency in Java, including both languages' dependency ecosystems (Go Modules, Maven/Gradle), plus solid software engineering fundamentalsExperience with SBOM standards, software composition analysis (SCA) tooling and vulnerability data sources (e.g., NVD, OSV, GitHub Advisories), turning raw feeds into prioritized signalTrack record of technical leadership โ€” driving architecture decisions, setting technical direction for a team or platform, mentoring other engineers, and communicating technical tradeoffs clearly to both engineers and security leadershipExperience with software delivery pipelines (CI/CD, build systems, release engineering) and cloud/container infrastructure (Kubernetes, AWS or equivalent)Practical, hands-on experience with AI coding assistants or agentic development tools, and an understanding of emerging AI-specific supply chain risks

Preferred Qualifications

Familiarity with specific SBOM formats and tooling (CycloneDX, SPDX, cdxgen, syft) and the Package URL (purl) standardKnowledge of Open Container Initiative (OCI) image conceptsExperience with SLSA (Supply-chain Levels for Software Artifacts) and build/artifact attestationsExperience with graph-based data modeling for dependency or risk relationshipsExperience designing or operating automated dependency curation or allow-listing systems that can keep pace with AI-accelerated developmentFamiliarity with spec-driven development workflows and how they change the security review surface

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