Senior Machine Learning Engineer_Linguistics and Speech

ServiceNow; Santa Clara (CA); On-site; USD 161,000 - 274,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Health plans

Flexible spending accounts

401(k) with company match

ESPP

Matching donations

Flexible time away plan

Family leave programs

Job summary

ServiceNow in Santa Clara, CA, is seeking a Senior Voice AI Engineer – Linguistics & Speech to design, develop and implement Voice AI applications, focusing on language and pronunciation rules, and to own language support end to end.

You will work with linguists and engineers to diagnose production issues, experiment with STT/TTS models, and mentor colleagues while shaping how customers interact with our AI-powered platform.

Qualifications

• Advanced degree in linguistics or cognitive science required.
• Specialization in phonetics, acoustics or psycholinguistics preferred.
• Experience designing large-scale experiments in industry or applied research.
• Hands-on experience building Voice AI applications.
• Proficiency with Python or similar languages.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop and implement Voice AI applications with linguistic input.
• Own language support end to end, adding locales and pronunciation rules.
• Analyze speech problems across languages, accents and dialects.
• Collaborate with linguists to map language problem spaces.
• Diagnose language/speech failures in production and drive fixes.
• Partner with engineers to solve linguistic challenges and contribute code.
• Collaborate with product managers to understand customer needs.
• Design linguistic experiments for STT/TTS model choices.
• Build tooling to analyze linguistic problems at scale.
• Mentor colleagues and promote knowledge sharing.

Skills

Voice AI experience

Python

Experiment design

Communication

Education

Master's or PhD in Linguistics or Cognitive Science

Phonetics/Acoustics specialization

Tools

Claude Code

Cursor

Windsurf

Job description

Company Description

It all started when engineer Fred Luddy wrote code that automated a tedious task for his coworker, Phyllis. She cried tears of joy. That moment inspired Fred to build a company that could do that for everyone—freeing people from busywork so they could focus on meaningful work. Today, ServiceNow is the AI control tower for business reinvention. Our ServiceNow AI platform brings together any AI, any data, and any workflow— helping 85% of the Fortune 500® work smarter, faster, and better. We're building an AI-native culture where technology and talent are unstoppable together. And we're just getting started.

Join us to put AI to work for people.

Job Description

What you get to do in this role:

As a Senior Voice AI Engineer – Linguistics & Speech, you will

• Contribute to the design, development and implementation of Voice AI applications, bringing linguistic and speech expertise to the core Voice Platform (Speech Recognition, Conversation Management, Speech Generation)

• Own language support end to end: add new languages and locales, and maintain language-specific instructions, normalization and pronunciation rules.

• Analyze complex speech problems across a diverse set of languages, accents and dialects

• Work with other linguists to map the problem space of specific languages

• Diagnose language and speech failures in production calls, trace them to the responsible component, and drive the fix with the team.

• Partner with engineers to identify and solve the right linguistic problems, and contribute code to the features that power the user experience.

• Partner with product managers to work with customers, understand their use cases and linguistic challenges, and build for their success

• Design linguistic experiments that drive technology choices (e.g. STT/TTS models and vendors) for Voice AI applications

• Build tooling, with the help of AI, to analyze linguistic problems at scale

• Mentor colleagues and help promote knowledge-sharing across linguistics and Voice AI engineering disciplines

Qualifications

To be successful in this role you have:

• A Master's or PhD in Linguistics, Cognitive Science, or a related field

• A specialization in phonetics, acoustics, psycholinguistics, or cognitive science (applied or interdisciplinary rather than theoretical linguistics)

• 4+ years of experience in large-scale experiment design and quantitative research projects in an industry setting or applied research

• Hands‑on experience building Voice AI applications

• Development experience with Python or similar languages

• Deep knowledge of the structure of several languages; fluency in a language other than English is a plus.

• Ability to explain linguistic findings clearly to engineers, product managers, and customers.

• Experience evaluating speech recognition and speech synthesis systems (considered an asset)

• Experience building applications on top of LLMs, including prompt engineering (considered an asset)

• A self‑starter, outcome‑driven mindset and the ability to work with many stakeholders

• The ability to think critically about integrating AI into your work, including hands‑on experience with AI tools such as Claude Code, Cursor or Windsurf.

For positions in this location, we offer a base pay of $161,300 - $274,200, plus equity (when applicable), variable/incentive compensation and benefits. Sales positions generally offer a competitive On Target Earnings (OTE) incentive compensation structure. Please note that the base pay shown is a guideline, and individual total compensation will vary based on factors such as qualifications, skill level, competencies, and work location. We also offer health plans, including flexible spending accounts, a 401(k) Plan with company match, ESPP, matching donations, a flexible time away plan and family leave programs. Compensation is based on the geographic location in which the role is located and is subject to change based on work location.

Additional Information

Work Personas

We approach our distributed world of work with flexibility and trust. Work personas (flexible, remote, or required in office) are categories that are assigned to ServiceNow employees depending on the nature of their work and their assigned work location. Learn more here. To determine eligibility for a work persona, ServiceNow may confirm the distance between your primary residence and the closest ServiceNow office using a third‑party service.

Equal Opportunity Employer

ServiceNow is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, gender identity, veteran status, or any other category protected by law. In addition, all qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with legal requirements.

Accommodations

We strive to create an accessible and inclusive experience for all candidates. If you require a reasonable accommodation to complete any part of the application process, or are unable to use this online application and need an alternative method to apply, please contact [e-mail] for assistance.

Export Control Regulations

For positions requiring access to controlled technology subject to export control regulations, including the U.S. Export Administration Regulations (EAR), ServiceNow may be required to obtain export control approval from government authorities for certain individuals. All employment is contingent upon ServiceNow obtaining any export license or other approval that may be required by relevant export control authorities.

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