Arabic Linguist AI & TTS

About Unifonic

Unifonic is an AI-native customer experience platform recognized as a Great Place to Work®. With over 25 years of conversational AI research and development, Unifonic serves more than 5,000 enterprises across MENA and is pioneering sovereign, agentic AI through its Agentic Studio platform.

The Role of Arabic Linguist – AI & TTS

Unifonic is seeking an Arabic Linguist to join its team in Riyadh, Riyadh Province. This part-time role supports the Text-to-Speech (TTS) team by providing linguistic analysis, Arabic dialect expertise, pronunciation and speech-quality evaluation, and contributing to voice-related projects. The position offers an opportunity to apply linguistic expertise to production projects and enhance the quality and naturalness of Arabic speech technology.

Key Responsibilities

• Conduct research on the phonological, morphological, and syntactic structures of Arabic, focusing on Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and Saudi/Gulf dialects (particularly Najdi), and provide linguistic guidance for integration into Sestek products.
• Serve as a linguistic point of contact for the R&D / AI team, translating linguistic requirements into actionable input for engineers.
• Analyze and review pronunciation data, including grapheme-to-phoneme mappings, diacritization/tashkeel, and lexicons, for Arabic TTS and speech recognition systems.
• Evaluate TTS output quality for pronunciation accuracy, prosody, dialect authenticity, and naturalness, with a focus on Saudi Arabic.
• Provide linguistic guidance and support for Arabic voice data collection and speech synthesis projects, including identifying and onboarding suitable voice talents when necessary.
• Support the coordination and review of voice recording and editing processes to ensure linguistic accuracy and consistency.
• Assist with the onboarding and coordination of external Arabic language consultants, providing guidance on linguistic requirements.
• Review and provide linguistic feedback on data annotation activities and guidelines, ensuring appropriate quality standards for Arabic and Saudi dialect data.
• Collaborate with the Sestek TTS and AI Research teams, offering ongoing linguistic expertise throughout projects.

Required Character Traits

• Analytical thinking and problem-solving: Ability to approach problems clearly, use data, and identify solutions.
• Ownership and accountability: Takes responsibility and ensures projects are completed.
• Communication: Explains ideas clearly and listens effectively across teams.
• Collaboration: Works effectively with others and supports team objectives.
• Adaptability and learning: Adjusts to change and continuously acquires new skills or tools.
• Mentorship and knowledge sharing: Supports the growth of others and shares expertise.
• Resilience: Maintains composure under pressure and handles setbacks constructively.
• Quality and attention to detail: Performs work carefully and strives for continuous improvement.
• Advocacy and innovation: Encourages best practices, efficiency, and new ideas.

Application Process

Candidates interested in this part-time Arabic Linguist position are encouraged to apply.