Inside Klang’s Expanding Madrid Team

When Craig Harrison joined Klang as a QA Director, he was technically our first employee in Spain. At the time, Klang didn’t yet have a workspace in Madrid, just a few collaborators and a dream of building a great team.

Fast forward to today, and Klang's Spain team has grown into a tight-knit group of over a dozen people. “In July, I’m going to be doing a whole year here at Klang,” says Senior QA tester Alicia Gallofré (Ali). “I’m super excited about it.” The team now works primarily out of a shared co-working space tucked into a forested park just outside Madrid.

“It’s kind of cool,” Craig says, reflecting on the early days. “We used to come together just for onboarding and then go back to working from home. Now, we have a group of 13, some of whom come into our coworking space every week. We don’t have our own office yet, but it still feels like we have a home.”

A Creative Office Nestled in the Trees

Klang's Spain team is based in a unique spot: a coworking space surrounded by trees in Madrid’s Casa de Campo. This natural environment offers an unexpected but welcome backdrop for game development. "It’s lovely to walk through nature, especially during our one-on-one meetings,” says QA tester Ali Gallofré. This fantastic office space is one of the many perks we enjoy through our participation in the Start Up Program, powered by the Madrid City Council.

Mitzi Martinez, who joined as a senior producer in late 2023, agrees that the space fosters strong collaboration: “It’s a beautiful place to work, but what really makes it special is having the whole QA team there. Being in the same space means they're in constant contact, which is essential for our process, and it’s genuinely fun to collaborate with them.”

The co-working setup also brings the team into contact with other creatives. “We even worked with one company on using facial recognition to understand player emotions,” Craig shares. “These kinds of opportunities emerge naturally.”

Collaboration Over Competition

One of the most defining features of Klang’s Spain team is its culture, especially within QA. “There’s super good vibes,” Ali says. “Everyone is always ready to jump in and help one another.” Even among engineers and producers in the office, she says, the energy is light and collaborative. “From time to time, there’s stress… but with this team, it’s easier. I can have fun while I'm working.” 

Sandra, another QA teammate, describes it simply: “There’s no competition. It’s collaborative and supportive, and I feel like I can just be myself.”

That collaborative energy permeates the entire production pipeline. Mitzi notes how deeply interconnected her work has become: “I started as a producer for the client team, but now I’m organizing work for all feature teams, coordinating with technical teams, and making sure everything is unblocked.” The close physical proximity to QA has helped with this: "We're always bouncing ideas off each other. I'll ask them stuff, they'll ask me. Plus, they're not just giving ideas, they're the ones putting the processes in place. It keeps things dynamic."

Even for remote team members, the culture carries through. Iván, a game engineer based in Málaga, said: “I really liked the transparency and the technical culture. Even though I’m not in Madrid, I always feel like I am an integrated part of the team.” 

Making Our Own Path

When asked what sets Klang apart, Mitzi doesn’t point to Spain specifically, but rather to Klang’s independence: “Because we don't respond to a Publisher or a Franchiese, we're forging our own path. That makes our design really flexible, and we get to create our own processes that fit exactly what we're doing. It kicks off a lot more cool discussions compared to places with really rigid, 'one-size-fits-all' systems.”

Perhaps most importantly, everyone’s voice matters. “Ideas are truly listened to,” she says. “In other companies, they say they care, but you don’t feel it. Here, I’ve talked with QA testers, they’ve told me things, and those ideas have been incorporated.”

Outside of work, that spirit of connection continues. “It’s a very tight, friendly community. You'll often spot people waiting to walk to the subway together, which really shows how they look out for each other.”  

Looking Ahead

Klang has dreams for the future of their Spain Team, like having a permanent office in Madrid that the team can personalize and call their own. 

As Craig keeps growing the QA team, he's planning for more specialization and leadership roles. “But more than anything,” he says, “I want Klang to be a place where people want to work, a place that attracts creative, thoughtful people who care about what they’re building and how they build it.”

From a single remote hire to a lively and cohesive community, Klang's Spain Team is evolving into something meaningful. As Ali puts it, "It's so cool how, as we've grown, the chemistry and energy between everyone has stayed so great. It's just awesome to be a part of."