Linguistic Specialist (Japanese) (Contract)
Job Description
- Calibrate AI translation quality by manually evaluating Japanese-language model outputs against the original Chinese source content, including pass/fail decisions and error severity classification, and comparing translation performance across different models (e.g. Grok, Claude).
- Build benchmark datasets by selecting and annotating high-quality Japanese translation samples for model evaluation and future iteration.
- Validate historical annotations by reviewing previously flagged Japanese translation errors and annotation rationale against the relevant Chinese source content, assessing whether the original judgments were accurate, and correcting mislabels or inconsistencies.
- Develop and maintain the Style Guide and translation rules for the Japanese-language based on observed recurring error patterns, translating linguistic findings into actionable language rules, terminology standards, and translation workflows.
- Contribute to language-related process design discussions through working with product and development teams to improve annotation standards and rule prioritization, including how Style Guides, Glossaries, and Translation Memory (TM) should be applied.
- Support blind-test evaluations by independently scoring outputs from new or updated models (e.g. Grok 4.5) in blind tests and provide structured feedback on Japanese translation quality and error patterns.
- Ensure game-specific localization accuracy by applying each game’s lore, character relationships, terminology, character voice, and tone conventions consistently when evaluating translations, labeling samples, and developing language rules.
Job Requirements
- Professional-level written Japanese proficiency and sufficient written Chinese proficiency to independently review, interpret and compare original Chinese source content with Japanese translations, and assess translation accuracy, meaning, terminology, tone and contextual appropriateness.
- Prior experience in game localization, translation QA, linguistic review, or similar language-quality work is preferred.
- Detail-oriented and patient, with the ability to handle high-volume, repetitive annotation tasks while maintaining consistent judgment.
- Strong rule-based thinking, with the ability to turn subjective linguistic judgments into clear and actionable annotation standards or rule entries.
- Familiarity with gaming content such as terminology, player slang, memes, and gaming communities is preferred.
- Working knowledge of Excel and spreadsheet tools is sufficient.
- Familiarity with mainstream local social media platforms and how different age groups and communities communicate, able to identify subtle semantic, tonal, and contextual nuances.