Apple’s voice-activated assistant, Siri, is a nifty app that can give you directions, search the Web, and occasionally throw some shade. That sassy streak might be attributable to her immaturity; she is barely two years old, after all. Apple has said for some time that Siri is a work in progress, but a new job posting suggests that Cupertino is hard at work bringing Siri into adulthood.
Last week, Apple published a job posting for a “Siri Writer/Editor.” The person hired for the position will “refresh and refine existing Siri dialog,” among other things.
“We’re looking for a uniquely creative individual to help us evolve and enrich Siri, our virtual personal assistant,” according to the post. “Siri’s known for ‘her’ wit, cultural knowledge, and zeal to explain things in engaging, funny, and practical ways. The ideal candidate is someone who combines a love for language, wordplay, and conversation with demonstrated experience in bringing creative content to life within an intense technical environment.”
It should come as no surprise that Apple is working to improve Siri. While the app is impressive in some ways, she also has a long way to go in understanding natural language. For now, if she doesn’t understand what you’re asking, Siri will largely default to asking if you want her to search the Web for your query.
As a result, the newest Siri Writer/Editor will “develop and write original dialog to support new Siri capabilities,” Apple said, which will “help the Siri team evolve Siri as a distinct, recognizable character.”
To be considered for the full-time position, you must have a bachelor’s degree or equivalent, and have excellent writing skills, as well as an impressive vocabulary and cross-cultural knowledge. Knowing more than one language is a plus, as is translation experience.
It does not appear that the right candidate needs to be a programming whiz; the posting said the best person just needs experience working with engineering teams, practices, and tools.
Copyright © 2012 Ziff Davis Publishing Holdings Inc