LINGUIST List 11.1771

Thu Aug 17 2000

Jobs: Linguistics/BeVocal Inc. California USA

Editor for this issue: Jody Huellmantel <jodylinguistlist.org>

Directory

1. Janet Bourland, Usability Engineers/Human-computer Interaction: BeVocal Inc.
2. Janet Bourland, Linguistics Manager: BeVocal Inc., California United States
3. Janet Bourland, Linguistics/Dialogue Designer: BeVocal Inc., California United States
4. Janet Bourland, Linguist: BeVocal Inc., California United States

Rank of Job: 
Areas Required: human-computer interaction
Other Desired Areas: human factors, cognitive sciences, and/or social
sciences 
University or Organization: BeVocal Inc.
Department: Usability Engineers
State or Province: California
Country: United States
Final Date of Application: ongoing
Contact: Janet Bourland janetbevocal.com

Address for Applications:
982 Walsh Ave
Santa Clara
California 95050
United States


Usability Engineers 

We are looking for usability champions for our voice interface. You
will design and conduct usability studies with small groups of
users. You will analyze consumer usage data to pinpoint usability
issues in BeVocal services. Based on observations and feedback, you
will work with the dialog designers and the engineering teams to
create the optimal user experience. You should understand computer
interface issues and have a natural tendency to critique consumer
products like stereos, VCR's, Palm Pilots and voice mail systems; you
should also be a great listener. Experience interacting with user
groups and engineering design teams is key. Knowledge of
human-computer interaction is desirable. A bachelor's degree in human
factors, cognitive sciences, and/or social sciences is required.

Rank of Job: 
Areas Required: Linguistics
Other Desired Areas: Management
University or Organization: BeVocal Inc.
Department: Linguistics Manager
State or Province: California
Country: United States
Final Date of Application: ongoing
Contact: Janet Bourland janetbevocal.com

Address for Applications:
982 Walsh Ave
Santa Clara
California 95050
United States

Linguistics Manager


Job Description:

 We are looking for someone with strong management skills and
 a linguistics background to manage the development, tuning,
 and ongoing maintenance of our recognition grammars. These
 grammars control the effectiveness of our speech recognition
 technology, so this is a critical piece of every BeVocal
 user interaction. Responsibilities will include:

 Growing and managing a team of technical linguists who will
 create recognition grammars for specific dialogs, and then
 tune them for optimal performance based on in-use data.

 Developing processes for:
 data flow from the production environment
 reporting on and evaluating performance of production grammars
 testing, source control, and installation of new grammar versions

 Managing development of tools that generate grammars from data,
 such as a list of US cities.

 Managing large grammar development projects, such as
 transcribing pronunciations of millions of names.

 Interfacing with our dialog design group, and our applications
 development group.


Requirements:

 Proven management skills (this is the primary requirement)

 Linguistics background (this is also an important requirement)
 familiarity with natural language grammars and phonetics

 Familiarity with speech recognition technology (preferred)

 Familiarity with software development (preferred)
 principles of modularity, re-usability, and maintainability
 are equally important here, and the level of detail required
 of the developer is the same.


Education:

 MA/MS, Linguistics

Rank of Job: 
Areas Required: Linguistics
Other Desired Areas: human-computer interaction 
University or Organization: BeVocal Inc.
Department: Dialogue Designer 
State or Province: California
Country: United States
Final Date of Application: ongoing
Contact: Janet Bourland janetbevocal.com

Address for Applications:
982 Walsh Ave
Santa Clara
California 95050
United States

Dialogue Designer 

We are looking for experts in human interaction to help us create a
natural and compelling experience for the consumer. Using your
knowledge of human behavior, you will design interactions and create
voice prompts to elicit appropriate responses. You will design
usability studies and recommend improvements based on your
observations. Background in human factors, cognitive sciences, and/or
social sciences is required. Knowledge of linguistics and/or
human-computer interaction is preferred.

Rank of Job: 
Areas Required: Linguistics
Other Desired Areas: Dialogue
University or Organization: BeVocal Inc.
Department: Dialogue Design
State or Province: California
Country: United States
Final Date of Application: ongoing
Contact: Janet Bourland janetbevocal.com

Address for Applications:
982 Walsh Ave
Santa Clara
California 95050
United States

Linguist 

We are looking for a linguist to bring an understanding of human vocal
behavior to the interaction design process. You will work with dialogue
designers, writers, and usability experts to ensure a natural experience
for BeVocal users. Using your knowledge of speech patterns, you will
help to direct the pronunciation of prerecorded voice prompts. You will
work with engineers to optimize grammars and speech recognition of our
application based on usability studies and customer use of the BeVocal
service. BS/BA in linguistics is required. A background in sociology,
psychology, or human-computer interaction is desirable.