Electronic Arts

I've been working at EA Madrid as a Localization Tester for almost two years, and sadly, this great time will come to an end soon.

The atmosphere at work is really nice and relaxed. People are super friendly, helpful, and welcoming.

The job as a Localization Tester is not very difficult and most of the time a lot of fun. You are working with people from a lot of different countries, and the work language is English. Spanish is not required at all.

Testing the text/audio of Triple-A games and getting paid for it does not only sound awesome. It just is awesome.

It is a perfect first job after graduation from university or as a summer job for a couple of weeks/months.

Usually, EA Madrid recruits during spring for the peak in summer to work on the big titles that will be released in late summer/fall, such as FIFA, NHL, etc.

When I applied for this position, I had to take an online test first, which was fairly straightforward if you are familiar with the concept of localization and translation. Generally speaking, if you are decent in English and your native language, you shouldn't have much trouble at all.

Then, a few days later, I had a phone interview scheduled. The interview was also straightforward, and really easy questions were asked (in English and your native language). For example: What is your favorite (EA) game?

Also, if you are coming from outside of Madrid, you will get all the help you need to move to Madrid, even some travel expenses.

The contract situation is very unstable if you are looking for a long-term position. You won't be able to plan much ahead, as this position is short-term contract-based.

If you are lucky (and work for a "bigger" language like French, Italian, German, Russian, Brazilian, or Spanish), you might get a chance to work for quite some time in Madrid, but you will always get short-term contracts (1-3 months). The same is also true for smaller languages like Danish, Finnish, Turkish, Swedish, Arabic, Chinese, and so on, but there are way fewer available spots.

It also depends on the workload, which may vary a lot, as EA does not have the same amount of games to be tested every year.

If you are looking to secure a permanent position as a Localization Tester at EA Madrid, you will be disappointed. It is rather difficult, and you have to be at the right place at the right time to have a tiny chance for it.