Expert Audio Transcriber, Mesopotamian Arabic (Iraqi)

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. Apply here: https://winnow.perle.ai/jobs/55897cfe-94f2-4e55-a802-1f2b4a71b094 THE ROLE We are hiring expert Mesopotamian Arabic (Iraqi) 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 Iraqi Arabic in both Gilit (central and southern Iraq) and Qeltu (northern Iraq) varieties, with substantial Persian, Turkish, and Aramaic lexical influence. Project audio reflects everyday Iraqi speech, with Baghdad standard as a common reference point. Primary speaker regions: Baghdad, Basra, Mosul, Najaf, Karbala, Erbil. WHAT YOU WILL DO Transcribe audio recordings into accurate, time-aligned written text following Perle's project-specific style guideApply correct conventions for speaker identification, overlapping speech, disfluencies, fillers, false starts, and non-speech events such as laughter, background noise, and musicMake principled orthographic decisions for dialectal, colloquial, and code-switched speechFlag ambiguous segments, uncertain speakers, and audio quality issues using project conventionsSelf-review every submission against Perle's quality bar before deliveryEngage with QA reviewers on edge cases, calibration sessions, and style guide updates MUST HAVE Native fluency in Iraqi Arabic with lifelong residence or deep immersion in IraqStrong command of Modern Standard Arabic for orthographic decisions on dialectal speechAbility to distinguish Gilit and Qeltu varieties and major regional accentsFamiliarity with Persian, Turkish, and Aramaic loanwords as they appear in speechAt least two years of professional transcription, captioning, court reporting, broadcast, translation, or linguistic annotation experienceDemonstrated accuracy at the word level under deadline pressureComfortable with web-based annotation platforms and variable-speed audio playbackReliable high-speed internet, quality headphones, and a quiet workspaceAbility to commit to defined volume per week during active project phases NICE TO HAVE Background in Iraqi or Mesopotamian Arabic linguistics, translation, or journalismPrior experience annotating Iraqi or Gulf Arabic speech dataWorking knowledge of Kurdish or Persian for cross-lingual audioFamiliarity with IPA or other phonetic transcription systemsExperience with verbatim versus clean-verbatim transcription conventions HOW WE WORK WITH YOU Paid pilot task before full onboarding so both sides can calibratePer-task or per-minute compensation, with rates tied to audio complexity and turnaroundFlexible scheduling, with volume scaling up and down based on active client projectsDirect working relationship with Perle's linguistic leads and QA teamEligible 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. Apply here: https://winnow.perle.ai/jobs/55897cfe-94f2-4e55-a802-1f2b4a71b094 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. Locations: Iraq - Remote