Data Annotator

Innodata Inc.; Washington (District of Columbia); Hybrid; USD 42,000 - 63,000; Full time

Job summary

Innodata Inc. is seeking annotators to produce high-fidelity annotations on imagery and video used to train ML models.

You'll follow a defined ontology, hit quality and throughput targets, and work across projects and customers as needs change. Responsibilities include labeling with 2D boxes, masks, keypoints, 3D/6DoF data, and multi-object tracking; review outputs, and report consistent errors to improve guidelines.

Qualifications

• 1+ years of image or video annotation experience in a production setting.
• Ability to follow written labeling guidelines exactly and ask precise questions when unclear.
• Experience with bounding boxes, segmentation masks, keypoints, and object tracking.
• Strong attention to detail and commitment to quality across large batches.

Responsibilities

• Label imagery and video across sensor types and conditions.
• Create 2D bounding boxes, masks, keypoints, and oriented/rotated boxes.
• Perform 3D/6DoF annotations where required.
• Maintain object identity in multi-object tracking across sequences.
• Review and correct model-assisted outputs and report systematic errors.
• Adhere to project ontology and data-handling requirements.

Skills

Annotation accuracy and quality

Attention to detail

Following labeling guidelines

Communication for QA feedback

Tools

CVAT

V7 Darwin

Labelbox

Scale

Job description

Innodata(Nasdaq: INOD) is a global data engineering company. We believe that data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are inextricably linked. Our mission is to enable the responsible advancement of artificial intelligence by providing the data, evaluation frameworks, and human expertise required to build AI systems that can be trusted at scale. We provide a range of transferable solutions, platforms, and services for Generative AI / AI builders and adopters. In every relationship, we honor our 36+ year legacy delivering the highest quality data and outstanding outcomes for our customers.

About this Role:

Produce high-fidelity annotations on imagery and video used to train and evaluate machine learning models. Annotators work to a defined ontology and labeling specification, meet project quality and throughput targets, and operate inside the designated annotation environment for each program. Assignments rotate across projects, modalities, and customers as program needs change.

Key Responsibilities:

• Label static imagery and video across a range of sensor types, image qualities, and scene conditions, including both real-world and synthetic data.
• Produce 2D bounding boxes, instance and semantic segmentation masks, and keypoint annotations to project specification.
• Produce oriented and rotated bounding boxes where scene geometry requires them.
• Produce 3D and 6 degrees-of-freedom pose, orientation, and scale annotations on projects that require them.
• Produce multi-object tracking annotations, maintaining consistent object identity across full sequences — through occlusion, frame exit and re-entry, scale change, and camera or platform motion.
• Review, correct, and accept or reject model-assisted and pre-labeled output; report systematic pre-label failure modes rather than silently correcting the same error frame by frame.
• Work strictly to the project ontology and guidelines; escape ambiguous or out-of-ontology objects rather than guessing.
• Meet assigned accuracy and throughput targets, and hold that standard consistently across large batches.
• Complete rework promptly from QA feedback, applying the correction to comparable cases in the same batch.
• Log edge cases and recurring ambiguities so they can be adjudicated and folded into the guidelines.
• Follow all customer data-handling, confidentiality, and information security requirements for the assigned project, and keep required training current.

Must-Have Qualifications:

• 1+ years of image or video annotation experience, or equivalent precision work in a quality-managed production environment.
• Working familiarity with at least one professional annotation platform (for example CVAT, V7 Darwin, Labelbox, Scale, or comparable).
• Practical understanding of bounding boxes, segmentation masks, keypoints, and object tracking — and of what makes each one correct rather than merely present.
• Strong visual attention to detail and the discipline to hold a standard across tens of thousands of frames.
• Ability to follow written labeling guidelines exactly, and to ask precise questions when they are silent on a case.

Nice-to-Have Qualifications:

• Experience across multiple annotation modalities rather than a single task type.
• Experience with aerial, overhead, satellite, or thermal/IR imagery.
• Experience with long-form video and tracking work.
• Experience reviewing model-assisted pre-labels in a human-in-the-loop pipeline.
• Prior work on government or regulated-industry programs.

The expected hourly salary range for this position is $42,000 to $62.500 annually, based on experience, skills, and qualifications.

Program eligibility: Some programs require eligibility for a government background investigation or credentialing. Assignment to those programs is contingent on meeting those requirements.

Mobile information will not be shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in Innodata Inc.’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

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