Data Annotation Specialist

Job Description

Join us at Zendesk where were on a mission to power exceptional service for every person on the planet. Were accelerating that ambition by building products rooted in AI automation and intelligent customer experiences because behind every interaction lies an opportunity to make a human connection.

Were hiring a Data & Analytics Analyst (Data Annotator) who will play a handson role in improving the quality and reliability of Zendesks AI for customer support. Youll create the labeled data and evaluation signals that train models validate outputs and drive measurable improvements in ticket replies summaries intents and recommendationshelping our products deliver better experiences for our customers and their end users.

Summary

As a Data Annotator on the AI/ML quality team youll label and validate customer support data (conversations replies summaries intents entities sentiment etc.) using detailed guidelines and internal annotation tools. Your work will feed model training and evaluation pipelines support quality analysis and help identify edge cases and failure modes that improve our AI systems.

What youll be doing

• Annotate customer support content (tickets chat transcripts summaries) for labels including intents entities sentiment relevance and quality of AIgenerated replies.

• Apply detailed evolving labeling guidelines with high accuracy and consistency; follow standard operating procedures and update labels when guidelines change.

• Classify and tag AI outputs to support supervised training evaluation and error analysis (e.g. hallucinations incorrect facts tone mismatches).

• Identify ambiguous or unclear cases and escalate them with clear notes for adjudication by reviewers or SMEs.

• Meet defined accuracy and throughput targets while maintaining quality; participate in daily/weekly productivity tracking.

• Participate in calibration and quality review sessions to align annotator judgments and improve interannotator agreement.

• Use Zendesks annotation platforms and internal tools efficiently; record metadata and examples for future goldstandard datasets.

• Contribute to the creation and maintenance of goldstandard examples and test cases used for model evaluation.

What you bring to the role

• Exceptional attention to detail and the ability to maintain high quality over repetitive tasks.

• Strong reading comprehension and written English skills; able to express ambiguity and reasoning clearly in notes.

• Ability to follow complex evolving instructions and adapt quickly when guidelines change.

• Comfortable working under throughput and accuracy targets while preserving consistency.

• Collaborative mindset: open to feedback participates in calibration and helps improve annotation guidelines.

• Basic computer proficiency and familiarity with structured labeling workflows.

• Positive attitude and curiosity about how labeled data impacts ML model behavior and product outcomes.

Basic Qualifications

• High school diploma or equivalent; Bachelors degree in a related field (Linguistics Communications Computer Science etc.) preferred but not required.

• 02 years experience in data annotation content moderation transcription or related roles (internships and similar experience count).

• Strong command of written English and demonstrated ability to follow instructions precisely.

• Comfortable using web-based annotation tools and basic productivity software (Google Workspace/Office).

Preferred Qualifications

• Multilingual ability (languages common in our user base).

• Prior experience with annotation tools such as GroundTruth Label Studio SuperAnnotate or similar platforms.

• Experience working with customer support data chat/ticket workflows or conversational text.

• Familiarity with quality metrics (accuracy inter-annotator agreement) and basic data quality concepts.

• Interest in NLP/ML fundamentals and how labeled data is used for model training and evaluation.

Please note that Zendesk can only hire candidates who are physically located and plan to work from Karnataka or Maharashtra. Please refer to the location posted on the requisition for where this role is based.

Hybrid: In this role our hybrid experience is designed at the team level to give you a rich onsite experience packed with connection collaboration learning and celebration - while also giving you flexibility to work remotely for part of the week. This role must attend our local office for part of the week. The specific in-office schedule is to be determined by the hiring manager.

The intelligent heart of customer experience

Zendesk software was built to bring a sense of calm to the chaotic world of customer service. Today we power billions of conversations with brands you know and love.

Zendesk believes in offering our people a fulfilling and inclusive experience. Our hybrid way of working enables us to purposefully come together in person at one of our many Zendesk offices around the world to connect collaborate and learn whilst also giving our people the flexibility to work remotely for part of the week.

As part of our commitment to fairness and transparency we inform all applicants that artificial intelligence (AI) or automated decision systems may be used to screen or evaluate applications for this position in accordance with Company guidelines and applicable law.

Zendesk is an equal opportunity employer and were proud of our ongoing efforts to foster global diversity equity & inclusion in the workplace. Individuals seeking employment and employees at Zendesk are considered without regard to race color religion national origin age sex gender gender identity gender expression sexual orientation marital status medical condition ancestry disability military or veteran status or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. We are an AA/EEO/Veterans/Disabled employer. If you are based in the United States and would like more information about your EEO rights under the law please click here.

Zendesk endeavors to make reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities and disabled veterans pursuant to applicable federal and state law. If you are an individual with a disability and require a reasonable accommodation to submit this application complete any pre-employment testing or otherwise participate in the employee selection process please send an e-mail to with your specific accommodation request.