FamilySearch Technical Historical Records Linguist II, Japanese (2-yr Fixed Term)

This is a 2 year Fixed-Term position. Seeking an individual with a deep knowledge of and demonstrated native-level Japanese language expertise reading historical genealogical documents in Hiragana, Katakana, Kanji, Furigana, and cursive scripts (Click HERE to see sample documents) to help us build high-quality training data for machine learning systems. This person’s work will help make billions of records available in FamilySearch’s automation and machine learning platform.

Exercise demonstrated expertise in paleography, linguistics, technology, and historical records to build machine learning training datasets for historical genealogical documents

Use paleography skills to accurately decipher historical documents

Annotate language data with linguistic information to build natural language processing (NLP) datasets

Model how individuals naturally read historical documents by creating hierarchies of relationships between areas of text

Precisely map the layout of historical documents

Perform data curation and quality assurance by

• Curating large volumes of structured and unstructured data
• Reviewing datasets for errors and providing timely corrections
• Completing other data modeling activities and duties as assigned
• Enable FamilySearch’s automation efforts by meeting aggressive deadlines and delivering consistently high output, quality, and accuracy

Education

BA/BS in Computer Science, Linguistics, Family History, or other bachelor’s degree with related or equivalent experience required

Experience

2 years relevant or related experience or equivalent experience

Skills & Abilities

Native level fluency in Japanese including

Expertise in Japanese cursive scripts (To see samples, click HERE)

Experience with Hiragana, Katakana, Kanji, and Furigana

Experience with additional languages a plus

• Business level fluency in English
• Demonstrated paleography skills to accurately decipher historical documents
• Demonstrated linguistic skills to build NLP datasets

Experience working with historical documents

• Strong technical and analytical aptitude with a passion for data, efficiency, and accuracy
• Independent worker who is self-motivated, dependable, detail oriented, responsible, self-disciplined, and a team player with a record of timely delivery of requests
• Willingness to support several projects at one time, and to accept reprioritization as necessary in a fast paced, constantly evolving environment
• Comfortable handling a high volume of work on a daily basis
• High proficiency in Microsoft Office tools including: Word, PowerPoint, and Excel
• Ability to quickly grasp technical concepts
• #LI-KS1