Language Lead – Japanese (Contract)

About This Opportunity

We are representing a confidential AI technology client in their search for a Language Lead - Japanese (Contract) to work remotely. Our client is building cutting-edge voice AI systems and needs a native-level Japanese speaker with linguistics expertise to own quality assurance and language operations for Japanese.

This is not a standard annotation role. You will be the primary language authority—managing annotation quality, auditing data, monitoring product performance, investigating issues, and executing projects that require deep linguistic expertise. You will work independently and serve as the go-to resource for all Japanese language matters.

Responsibilities

• Answer questions from annotators about guidelines, edge cases, and language-specific issues via project communication channels
• Cascade feedback, instructions, and rubric updates to annotation teams
• Listen to annotator-rated audio files and verify ratings align with rubrics
• Prepare written quality assessments with specific examples and recommendations
• Provide ground truth assessments of pronunciation, prosody, and naturalness for TTS output
• Update and expand annotation guidelines when gaps or edge cases are identified
• Prepare and run calibration meetings with annotators
• Hold office hours during active studies for real-time annotator support
• Develop onboarding materials and resources for new annotators
• Write QA reports on annotation quality and calibration outcomes
• Review production audio and flag quality issues to the team
• Investigate language-specific issues reported by customers and identify root causes
• Audit datasets for linguistic accuracy, completeness, and consistency

What We're Looking For

Required:

• Native-level proficiency in Japanese as spoken in Japan
• Experience with data annotation, transcription, or language quality assurance
• Strong foundation in linguistics or related field, with ability to apply concepts like phonetics, prosody, and intonation when evaluating speech and writing annotation guidelines
• Strong written English proficiency (all guidelines, feedback, reports, and team communication are in English)
• Ability to write clear, structured instructions and deliver specific, actionable feedback
• Comfortable working with data and metrics such as inter-rater agreement scores, audit spreadsheets, and structured feedback templates
• Self-directed and able to manage feedback cycles, QA reviews, and data projects without close oversight
• Approximately 40 hours per week with flexibility in scheduling
• Availability during some US Pacific business hours for team coordination and real-time support

Preferred:

• Experience writing or maintaining annotation guidelines or rubrics
• Experience training, mentoring, or managing other annotators
• Experience with audio evaluation, text-to-speech (TTS), or speech-to-text (STT)
• Conversational spoken English proficiency for meetings and calibration syncs
• Experience working with distributed, remote teams

How We Work with You

When you apply through Get A Job.ai, our talent team will review your profile and conduct an initial screening. If there's a strong match, we will submit your application to our client with your permission. Throughout the process, we serve as your advocate and main point of contact.

Please do not attempt to contact the client directly, as all communication is managed through our recruitment process to ensure the best candidate experience.

Employment Details

This is a 1099 contract opportunity working remotely. You will control your own methods for completing assigned work, supply your own equipment, and be responsible for your own taxes. You must be authorized to work in your country of residence. Project hours may vary depending on active studies, data projects, and product needs.

Equal Opportunity

Get A Job.ai is committed to equal employment opportunity. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status.