Arabic Linguist AI & TTS

About Unifonic

Unifonic is an AI-native customer experience platform focused on emerging markets. The company has over 25 years of experience in conversational AI research and development, serving more than 5,000 enterprises across MENA. Unifonic is recognized as a Great Place to Work® and develops sovereign, agentic AI through its Agentic Studio platform.

The Role: Arabic Linguist – AI & TTS

Unifonic is seeking an Arabic Linguist to join its Text-to-Speech (TTS) team in Riyadh, Riyadh Province. This part-time role involves providing linguistic analysis, Arabic dialect expertise, and support for pronunciation and speech-quality evaluation. The Arabic Linguist will contribute to real production projects, helping to enhance 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 the 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 based on pronunciation accuracy, prosody, dialect authenticity, and naturalness, with a specific focus on Saudi Arabic.
• Provide linguistic guidance and support for Arabic voice data collection and speech synthesis projects.
• Identify and onboard suitable voice talents as 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 required, 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, utilize data, and identify effective solutions.
• Ownership and Accountability: Taking responsibility for tasks and ensuring projects are completed.
• Communication: Clearly articulating ideas and actively listening to others across teams.
• Collaboration: Working effectively with colleagues and supporting team objectives.
• Adaptability and Learning: Adjusting to changes and continuously acquiring new skills or tools.
• Mentorship and Knowledge Sharing: Contributing to the growth of others and sharing expertise.
• Resilience: Maintaining composure under pressure and addressing setbacks constructively.
• Quality and Attention to Detail: Executing work meticulously and striving for continuous improvement.
• Advocacy and Innovation: Promoting best practices, efficiency, and new ideas.