DMI Studio & Production Manager Austin Rutledge is a 2019 graduate of Delta State University; he received the BS in Entertainment Industry Studies with a concentration in Audio Engineering Technology. In 2024, he completed the iMBA with a concentration in Entertainment Industry Studies.

Austin was previously employed at the Bologna Performing Arts Center in Cleveland, MS where he was the lighting designer and Grammy Museum Mississippi where he served as the Program Assistant. He is originally from Brandon, MS and is active as a guitarist, live sound engineer, lighting designer, and recording engineer in the region. Austin also teaches DMI 114 Live Sound Reinforcement I and DMI 202 Computer Audio Skills I.