Data Annotation Analyst

Remote; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Appen is seeking a Data Annotation Analyst to label 2D and 3D data from images, video, and LiDAR to help perception models. You will follow detailed guidelines, maintain accuracy, and balance throughput.

You will review QA feedback, escalate ambiguities, and document data quality issues while supporting calibration sessions. Ideal candidates bring strong attention to detail, spatial reasoning, and experience with image annotation GenAI workflows, plus the ability to work in a fast-paced

Qualifications

• Associate or bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience.
• Experience with image annotation GenAI workflows.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, production environment with targets.

Responsibilities

• Annotate 2D and 3D objects across images, video, and LiDAR data.
• Create segmentation, object tracking, pose, and keypoint annotations.
• Follow detailed guidelines with class definitions and occlusion rules.
• Review work and respond to QA feedback to ensure quality.
• Identify ambiguous scenes and escalate tooling or spec gaps.
• Document data quality issues with clear reproduction steps.
• Participate in calibration sessions and guideline reviews.

Skills

Attention to detail

Spatial reasoning

Fast learner of annotation tools

GenAI workflows experience

Education

Associate or Bachelor’s degree

Tools

Annotation tools

AutoCAD

GIS

LiDAR data handling

Job description

Defining the future of work & living globally

We’re building high-quality ground-truth datasets used to train and validate perception models for autonomous and operator-assisted machines working in complex, real-world environments.

As a Data Annotation Analyst, you’ll work with camera imagery, video, and LiDAR point clouds to create precise labels that help perception systems understand objects, people, terrain, and surrounding environments. You’ll work in specialized annotation tools, following detailed specifications while balancing accuracy, consistency, and production volume.

Your Impact

Annotate 2D and 3D objects across images, video, and LiDAR point clouds, including vehicles, machinery, people, signage, and environmental features.

Create and maintain accurate segmentation, object tracking, pose, and keypoint annotations across sequences.

Apply detailed annotation guidelines, including class definitions, occlusion rules, object thresholds, and inclusion/exclusion criteria.

Review your work, respond to QA feedback, and maintain established quality and accuracy standards.

Identify and escalate ambiguous scenes, sensor artifacts, tooling issues, and gaps in specifications rather than making assumptions.

Document data quality and tooling issues with clear details and reproduction steps.

Participate in calibration sessions, guideline reviews, and team standups to maintain consistent interpretations.

Share observations that help improve annotation guidelines, taxonomies, and edge-case documentation.

Success in this role means producing accurate, consistent annotations at the expected volume while helping maintain a reliable, high-quality dataset.

What You Bring

Strong attention to detail and the ability to maintain accuracy while performing repetitive, visually intensive work for extended periods.

Strong spatial reasoning skills, including the ability to interpret 3D environments and understand object size, position, and orientation.

Ability to learn and navigate complex, purpose-built software and become productive with keyboard shortcuts and other tooling features.

Experience working in a fast-paced, scaled environment with defined productivity, quality, or accuracy targets.

Experience with image annotation GenAI workflows

Reliable high-speed internet, a distraction-free workspace, and the ability to work on a company-provisioned machine within a controlled environment.

Nice to Haves

Associate or bachelor’s degree.

Experience with image, video, LiDAR, or 3D annotation tools.

Experience with subsurface utility engineering (SUE), construction surveying, surveying, GIS, or other work involving spatial interpretation of physical environments.

Experience with AutoCAD or similar type tools

Experience in construction, mining, agriculture, industrial operations, or heavy equipment environments.

Familiarity with point cloud data, sensor fusion, or camera-LiDAR calibration.

Experience working with autonomous vehicles, robotics, or machine perception datasets.

Why You’ll Love Working Here

At Appen, we foster a culture of innovation, collaboration, and excellence. We value curiosity, accountability, and a commitment to delivering the highest-quality AI solutions for frontier models.

You’ll work on complex challenges that shape the future of AI across industries and geographies, alongside talented people in a culture that values humility over ego. You’ll have the flexibility to deliver in a way that works for you and your team, supported by tools, resources and development opportunities to continue to build your capability over time.

About Appen

Appen has been a leader in AI training data for over 30 years. We specialise in human generated data to train, fine tune, and evaluate models across generative AI, large language models, computer vision, and speech recognition. Our AI assisted data annotation platform and global crowd of more than 1 million contributors in over 200 countries support model pre-training, supervised fine tuning, evaluation and benchmarking, safety and red teaming, and multilingual global expansion.