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Audio Annotation Jobs in Columbia, MO (NOW HIRING)

Software Test Engineer

California, MO · On-site

$120 - $180/hr

... audio and transcribed more than 1 trillion words. There is no organization in the world that ... Test data ingestion, processing, annotation, and quality-control workflows, validating data ...

Audio Annotation information

See Columbia, MO salary details

$28.1K

$80.4K

$163.2K

How much do audio annotation jobs pay per year?

As of Sep 4, 2026, the average yearly pay for audio annotation in Columbia, MO is $80,368.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $47,600.00 and $107,500.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is audio annotation?

Audio annotation is the process of labeling or tagging audio data with relevant information, such as identifying sounds, speech, speakers, or background noises. This process helps train machine learning models to recognize and understand audio content. Audio annotation can involve tasks like transcribing speech, marking segments with specific sounds, or categorizing audio clips by genre or emotion. It is widely used in developing applications for speech recognition, virtual assistants, and audio analysis.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as an audio annotator, and why are they important?

To thrive as an Audio Annotator, you need strong attention to detail, excellent listening skills, and familiarity with linguistic concepts, often supported by relevant coursework or experience in linguistics or audio processing. Proficiency in annotation tools such as ELAN, Audacity, or Praat, as well as experience with data labeling platforms, is typically required. Strong organizational skills, patience, and the ability to work independently make someone stand out in this role. These skills ensure accurate and consistent audio data labeling, which is essential for training reliable AI and speech recognition systems.

What are some common challenges faced by audio annotators, and how can they be managed effectively?

Audio annotators often encounter challenges such as distinguishing overlapping voices, dealing with low-quality recordings, and maintaining consistency in labeling. To manage these, it's important to use high-quality headphones, familiarize yourself with annotation guidelines, and communicate regularly with your team to resolve ambiguities. Many organizations also provide regular feedback sessions and quality checks to ensure accuracy and support continuous improvement.

What job categories do people searching Audio Annotation jobs in Columbia, MO look for?

The top searched job categories for Audio Annotation jobs in Columbia, MO are:

What cities near Columbia, MO are hiring for Audio Annotation jobs?

Cities near Columbia, MO with the most Audio Annotation job openings:

Infographic showing various Audio Annotation job openings in Columbia, MO as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% Internship, 70% Full Time, 25% Part Time, 1% Temporary, and 3% Contract. Highlights an 82% Physical, 2% Hybrid, and 16% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $80,368 per year, or $38.6 per hour.

Phonetician / Linguist (Spanish-US)

Omilia Natural Language Solutions Ltd

California, MO • On-site

$65 - $85/hr

Other

Posted 3 days ago

New


Key responsibilities

  • Conduct systematic phonological and phonetic analysis of the American Spanish language.

  • Build and maintain pronunciation lexicons, including G2P rules and exceptions.

  • Review and correct machine-generated G2P outputs; conduct pronunciation audits.


Job description

Role Purpose

Ensure the linguistic and phonetic quality of Omilia’s multilingual Text-to-Speech (TTS) systems by designing phoneme inventories, developing lexicons, and reviewing audio corpora to support enterprise-grade voice experiences.

Accountabilities
  • Autonomy: Independently conduct phonological and phonetic analysis, design phoneme inventories, and develop lexicons for multiple languages.
  • Scope & Complexity: Responsible for linguistic quality across all supported languages in TTS, including handling underrepresented phenomena and complex language-specific features.
  • Impact: Directly influences the naturalness, accuracy, and quality of Omilia’s TTS output, impacting customer experience in global contact center deployments.
  • Influence/Mentorship: Collaborates with TTS engineers, data scientists, and ML researchers; coordinates with native-speaker reviewers and external annotation pipelines.
Key Responsibilities
  • Conduct systematic phonological and phonetic analysis of the American Spanish language.
  • Document language-specific features (prosody, stress, tone, coarticulation, dialect variation).
  • Produce structured language profiles for TTS model training and evaluation.
  • Define and maintain phoneme inventories; map to IPA and TTS-specific conventions.
  • Corpus audits and optimal audio references selections for TTS target voice tuning.
  • Build and maintain pronunciation lexicons, including G2P rules and exceptions.
  • Review and correct machine-generated G2P outputs; conduct pronunciation audits.
  • Annotate audio corpora, develop evaluation protocols, and produce error analyses.
  • Define linguistic criteria for TTS corpus selection and design prompts for data collection.
  • Collaborate with TTS engineers to integrate linguistic artefacts into synthesis pipelines.
  • Contribute to internal documentation and participate in research discussions.
  • M.Sc. or Ph.D. in Linguistics, Phonetics, Computational Linguistics, or related field.
  • Proven experience building pronunciation lexicons or G2P systems for TTS or ASR.
  • Deep knowledge of phonological theory, articulatory and acoustic phonetics.
  • Proficiency with IPA and at least one machine-readable phoneme notation system (X-SAMPA, ARPAbet, etc.).
  • Experience with corpus annotation tools (Praat, ELAN, WebAnno, etc.).
  • Strong analytical and documentation skills.
  • Fluency in English; proficiency in at least one additional language relevant to Omilia’s markets.
  • Technical skills: Praat, ELAN, Audacity, PLS/CMUdict/SSML lexicon formats, Phonetisaurus/Sequitur/neural G2P, basic Python or shell scripting, TTS text normalization.
  • Fixed compensation;
  • Long-term employment with the working days vacation;
  • Development in professional growth (courses, training, etc);
  • Being part of successful cutting-edge technology products that are making a global impact in the service industry;
  • Proficient and fun-to-work-with colleagues;
  • Apple gear.

Omilia is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and is dedicated to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace. We believe that embracing diversity in all its forms enriches our workplace and drives our collective success. We are committed to creating an environment where everyone feels welcomed, valued, and empowered to contribute their unique perspectives without regard to factors such as race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, heredity, disability, age, or veteran status, all eligible candidates will be given consideration for employment.

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