Arabic Linguist AI & TTS

About Unifonic

Unifonic is an AI-native customer experience platform focused on emerging markets, 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 develops sovereign, agentic AI through its Agentic Studio platform.

The Role of Arabic Linguist – AI & TTS

As an Arabic Linguist, you will support the Text-to-Speech (TTS) team with linguistic analysis, Arabic dialect expertise, pronunciation and speech-quality evaluation, and voice-related projects. This part-time position is based in Riyadh, Riyadh Province, and offers an opportunity to apply linguistic expertise to production projects, enhancing the quality, accuracy, and naturalness of Arabic speech technology.

Key Responsibilities

• Conduct research on the phonological, morphological, and syntactic structures of Arabic, with a focus on Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and Saudi/Gulf dialects, particularly the Najdi dialect.
• Provide linguistic guidance for integrating Arabic linguistic structures into Sestek products.
• Serve as a linguistic point of contact for the R&D / AI team.
• Translate linguistic requirements into clear, 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 in terms of pronunciation accuracy, prosody, dialect authenticity, and naturalness, with a particular 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 needed.
• Support the coordination and review of voice recording and editing processes to ensure linguistic accuracy and consistency.
• Support the onboarding and coordination of external Arabic language consultants when needed and provide 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 closely with the Sestek TTS and AI Research teams, providing ongoing linguistic expertise throughout projects.

Qualifications and Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Linguistics, Arabic Language and Literature, Translation and Interpreting, or a related field.
• Native proficiency in Arabic, with a strong command of MSA and Saudi Arabic dialects.
• Native or near-native proficiency in the Najdi dialect is strongly preferred. Familiarity with Arabic dialects beyond Saudi Arabic is also preferred.
• Strong knowledge of Arabic phonology and morphology, and familiarity with the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA).
• Good command of English, as it will be the working language with the R&D / AI team.
• Strong communication skills and comfort working with technical, non-linguist colleagues.
• Familiarity with speech technologies (TTS/ASR), voice data collection, or NLP is a plus.
• Experience working with Saudi Arabic dialects, particularly the Najdi dialect, is highly preferred.
• Ability to work on a part-time basis and collaborate remotely with teams based in Türkiye and Saudi Arabia.

Desired Character Traits

• Analytical thinking and problem-solving: Approaching problems clearly, utilizing data, and identifying solutions.
• Ownership and accountability: Taking responsibility and ensuring projects are completed.
• Communication: Explaining ideas clearly and actively listening to others across teams.
• Collaboration: Working effectively with others and supporting team objectives.
• Adaptability and learning: Adjusting to change and continuously acquiring new skills or tools.
• Mentorship and knowledge sharing: Supporting the growth of others and sharing expertise.
• Resilience: Maintaining composure under pressure and handling setbacks constructively.
• Quality and attention to detail: Performing work carefully and striving for continuous improvement.
• Advocacy and innovation: Encouraging best practices, efficiency, and new ideas.

Work Environment

This is a part-time role based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The position requires collaboration with teams located in Türkiye and Saudi Arabia, with remote work capabilities.