Expert Audio Transcriber – Mesopotamian Arabic (Iraqi)

About the role

Perle is seeking native‑speaker experts in Iraqi Arabic to transcribe audio recordings into accurate, time‑aligned text. The work supports speech‑recognition, dialogue, and evaluation systems for leading AI labs. You will apply linguistic judgment rather than simple data entry, handling orthography, code‑switching, speaker attribution, and non‑speech events.

Key responsibilities

• Transcribe studio and real‑world audio into precise, convention‑compliant text.
• Apply correct conventions for speaker identification, overlapping speech, disfluencies, fillers, false starts, and non‑speech events such as laughter or background noise.
• Make principled orthographic decisions for dialectal, colloquial, and code‑switched speech.
• Flag ambiguous segments, uncertain speakers, and audio‑quality issues.
• Self‑review each submission against Perle’s quality standards before delivery.
• Collaborate with QA reviewers on edge cases, calibration sessions, and style‑guide updates.

Required profile

• Native fluency in Iraqi Arabic with lifelong residence or deep immersion in Iraq.
• Strong command of Modern Standard Arabic for orthographic decisions.
• Ability to distinguish Gilit and Qeltu varieties and recognize major regional accents.
• Familiarity with Persian, Turkish, and Aramaic loanwords in speech.
• At least two years of professional transcription, captioning, court reporting, broadcast, translation, or linguistic annotation experience.
• Demonstrated accuracy under deadline pressure.
• Comfortable using web‑based annotation platforms and variable‑speed audio playback.
• Reliable high‑speed internet, quality headphones, and a quiet workspace.

Required skills

• Audio transcription
• Web‑based annotation tools

What we offer

• Opportunity to contribute to cutting‑edge AI speech models.
• Flexible remote work arrangement.
• Collaboration with leading AI research partners.