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Alexa, hire me 401 more people to work on you

Amazon's jobs page lists hundreds of openings for positions on the team that develops the company's voice-recognition system.

David Katzmaier Editorial Director -- Personal Tech
David reviews TVs and leads the Personal Tech team at CNET, covering mobile, software, computing, streaming and home entertainment. We provide helpful, expert reviews, advice and videos on what gadget or service to buy and how to get the most out of it.
Expertise A 20-year CNET veteran, David has been reviewing TVs since the days of CRT, rear-projection and plasma. Prior to CNET he worked at Sound & Vision magazine and eTown.com. He is known to two people on Twitter as the Cormac McCarthy of consumer electronics. Credentials
  • Although still awaiting his Oscar for Best Picture Reviewer, David does hold certifications from the Imaging Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Standards and Technology on display calibration and evaluation.
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Sound off, developers. Amazon's Alexa needs you.

 CNET

It takes hundreds of specialists to develop the single voice that is Alexa, and Amazon wants more.

The company's jobs page says 401 openings are available on the team responsible for Alexa, the retail giant's voice recognition system, "to work on audio, automatic speech recognition, and natural language solutions that revolutionize how customers interact with Amazon's products and services."

The page mentions Seattle, Boston, Sunnyvale and San Francisco in the US; Aachen, Germany; Cambridge, England; and Gdansk, Poland, as team locations, some tied to text-to-speech provider Ivona, which Amazon purchased in 2013.

The Alexa voice recognition system appears in an increasing number of Amazon gadgets, including the original $180 Echo, the $40 Fire TV Stick with Alexa Remote and the newly updated $50 Dot, which just earned a CNET Editors' Choice award.

With the impending release of Google's Home platform, expected Tuesday, and Apple's rumored entry in the field, Alexa might finally get some competition in the market. Competition is likely just as fierce for the people that can help develop those systems.

Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.