Expert Audio Transcriber, North Levantine Arabic

Perle Systems · via Himalayas ·

TypeContract
LocationLebanon
Posted2 hours ago
ABOUT PERLE
Perle is an AI infrastructure company building expert-driven training data, evaluation systems, and applied AI products for the world's leading labs and enterprises. Our partners include xAI, Samsung, ELM, and Unisys. Headquartered in San Francisco with experts across more than forty markets, we specialize in the work that requires real human judgment: domain expertise, linguistic nuance, and cultural fidelity that generic data vendors cannot deliver.
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THE ROLE
We are hiring expert North Levantine Arabic transcribers to convert audio recordings of native speakers into precise, conventionally formatted written transcripts. The work powers speech recognition, dialogue, and evaluation systems for major AI labs. Audio ranges from clean studio recordings to natural conversational speech in real-world acoustic conditions.
You will be working at the level of expert linguistic judgment. This is not data entry. Decisions about orthography, code-switching, speaker attribution, disfluencies, and non-speech events shape the quality of every model trained on your output.
DIALECT AND SCOPE
North Levantine Arabic (Shami) as spoken across Syria and Lebanon, with the major Damascus and Beirut urban standards alongside regional and rural variations. Project audio includes natural code-switching with French (especially Lebanon) and English.
Primary speaker regions: Damascus, Aleppo, Homs, Latakia, Beirut, Tripoli (Lebanon).
WHAT YOU WILL DO

Transcribe audio recordings into accurate, time-aligned written text following Perle's project-specific style guide

Apply correct conventions for speaker identification, overlapping speech, disfluencies, fillers, false starts, and non-speech events such as laughter, background noise, and music

Make principled orthographic decisions for dialectal, colloquial, and code-switched speech

Flag ambiguous segments, uncertain speakers, and audio quality issues using project conventions

Self-review every submission against Perle's quality bar before delivery

Engage with QA reviewers on edge cases, calibration sessions, and style guide updates

MUST HAVE

Native fluency in Syrian or Lebanese Arabic with lifelong residence or deep immersion in the Levant

Strong command of Modern Standard Arabic for orthographic decisions on Levantine speech

Ability to distinguish Syrian and Lebanese varieties and major urban-rural splits

Comfortable transcribing Levantine code-switching with English and French

At least two years of professional transcription, captioning, court reporting, broadcast, translation, or linguistic annotation experience

Demonstrated accuracy at the word level under deadline pressure

Comfortable with web-based annotation platforms and variable-speed audio playback

Reliable high-speed internet, quality headphones, and a quiet workspace

Ability to commit to defined volume per week during active project phases

NICE TO HAVE

Background in Levantine linguistics, translation, journalism, or broadcast media

Prior experience annotating Levantine or pan-Arab speech datasets

Working knowledge of French for Lebanese code-switching

Familiarity with IPA or other phonetic transcription systems

Experience with verbatim versus clean-verbatim transcription conventions

HOW WE WORK WITH YOU

Paid pilot task before full onboarding so both sides can calibrate

Per-task or per-minute compensation, with rates tied to audio complexity and turnaround

Flexible scheduling, with volume scaling up and down based on active client projects

Direct working relationship with Perle's linguistic leads and QA team

Eligible for invitation to additional Perle expert projects across related domains

HOW TO APPLY
Apply through Winnow, Perle's job portal at winnow.perle.ai. Find the role for your language under Open Jobs, set up your candidate profile, and complete the fully automated interview, which takes about 25 minutes. We review applications within 24 hours and invite passing candidates straight to the project.
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EQUAL OPPORTUNITY
Perle hires experts on the basis of skill, language proficiency, and demonstrated quality. We welcome applicants from every background and every region where our target languages are spoken.
Originally posted on Himalayas
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