Audio and the C++ Standard with Timur Doumler | WolfTalk #031

WolfTalk: Podcast About Audio Programming (People, Careers, Learning)

How do you become a C++ Standards Committee member?

Why is C++ prevalent in audio?

Should you still use it for audio software?

Honestly, Timur Doumler is someone I have looked up to ever since I saw his “C++ in the audio industry” talk at CppCon 2015.

He has a rich development history with C++ and/or audio:

• developer at Native Instruments
• developer of the JUCE C++ framework (podcast sponsor ❤️)
• C++ linter developer and developer advocate at JetBrains (who make the CLion IDE)
• founder of Cradle, an audio plugin startup
• C++ Standards Committee member
• CppCast podcast host
• notorious Audio Developer Conference and CppCon speaker

I have probably missed a ton of stuff here, but that should already give you a flavor of what Timur is up to 😉

I especially enjoy his technical talks on synchronization with the (real-time) audio thread; For example, at the Audio Developer Conference 2025, he made me finally understand memory ordering in C++ (or so I believe 😅)

In the podcast interview, we discuss his story, tactics, and tips, which I hope will inspire you to follow his footsteps (as they sure did me).

It also turns out we are both fond of the same music band… Listen to the interview to find out which one 😁

All in all, this one of my favorite podcast episodes (audio & C++, what more do you need?), so don’t miss it!

Note: If you like the podcast so far, please, go to Apple Podcasts and leave me a review there. You can do so on Spotify as well. It will benefit both sides: more reviews mean a broader reach on Apple Podcasts and feedback can help me to improve the show and provide better quality content to you. You can also subscribe and give a like on YouTube. Thank you for doing this 🙏

Episode Contents

From this episode, you will learn:

• How Timur’s early interests and experiences led him toward audio programming
• His early engineering work at Native Instruments, including contributions to Kontakt and NI’s internal C++ libraries
• How he joined ROLI and worked on the development of JUCE
• The story behind founding Cradle
• How he became involved in the ISO C++ Standards Committee including his audio-related contributions
• What he’s most excited for in the upcoming C++26 standard
• How he approaches software development and maintaining a healthy work-life balance (that was a great one to learn for me personally, too)

This episode was recorded on September 26, 2025.

TIMESTAMPS

00:00:00 Podcast Intro

00:00:37 Timur Doumler

00:01:55 Timur's Introduction and Background

00:02:46 Early Interest in Music

00:03:35 Linking Music to Software Development

00:04:42 Studying Physics & Astrophysics (Berlin, Lyon, Potsdam)

00:06:08 Learning C & Fortran through Cosmology Simulations

00:07:46 Deciding to Become a Developer

00:10:48 Getting Hired at Native Instruments

00:12:16 Working on NI’s Internal C++ Libraries & Kontakt

00:18:05 Sponsor: JUCE

00:19:37 Moving to ROLI and Working on JUCE

00:22:08 Lessons Learned from Jules & Fabian

00:24:27 Joining JetBrains

00:30:13 Becoming a Developer Advocate

00:34:40 Founding Cradle & Building the First Products

00:37:17 Life as CTO & Startup Reflections

00:39:09 Bloomberg & C++ Contracts

00:41:29 The 2015 Talk: C++ in the Audio Industry

00:46:58 Representing the Audio Industry

00:48:18 Joining the ISO C++ Committee

00:50:19 Timur's Work in the C++ Committee

00:55:24 How the C++ Committee Works

01:02:20 How to Learn C++ Today

01:06:48 Real-Time Audio Programming & Tools

01:08:02 Personal Productivity: Meditation, Exercise, Time Management

01:13:46 Tech Stack and Developer Tools

01:14:13 Music Timur Codes To (Meshuggah, Animals as Leaders)

01:17:15 How to Contact Timur

01:18:59 Outro