Sports SME Localizer Role - Build NLP & MTPE Skills in Columbus
Career & Market Insight
This is a freelance/contractor position in the localization industry, which is a fast-growing field driven by global content demand and AI/ML expansion. Working on Machine Translation Post-Editing (MTPE) is especially valuable — it's a core skill as the industry shifts from purely human translation to AI-assisted workflows.
Skills you'll develop:
- MTPE and NLP-adjacent quality evaluation — highly sought-after as AI language tools proliferate
- Sports journalism localization — a niche that commands premium rates on specialized platforms
- Canadian French localization — a specific market variant with less supply than European French, giving you a competitive edge
Compensation signals: No salary is listed, which is typical for freelance localization roles. Market rates for MTPE range from $0.03–$0.06/word, while specialized SME copy-editing can reach $0.08–$0.12/word. Without disclosed rates, negotiate upward given the sports SME specialization required.
Green flags:
- Welocalize is a well-established global LSP (Language Service Provider) — a credible name for your CV
- Project variety (QC, translation, copy edit, MTPE) builds a broad portfolio
- Explicitly values published bylines (ESPN, The Athletic) — signals a quality-focused culture
Red flags: No benefits, no disclosed pay rate, and the role is contractor-based — career stability is limited. Best treated as a portfolio-building or supplemental income opportunity rather than a primary career path.
As a trusted global transformation partner, Welocalize accelerates the global business journey by enabling brands and companies to reach, engage, and grow international audiences. Welocalize delivers multilingual content transformation services in translation, localization, and adaptation for over 250 languages with a growing network of over 400,000 in-country linguistic resources. Driving innovation in language services, Welocalize delivers high-quality training data transformation solutions for NLP-enabled machine learning by blending technology and human intelligence to collect, annotate, and evaluate all content types. Our team works across locations in North America, Europe, and Asia serving our global clients in the markets that matter to them. www.welocalize.com
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
Overview & Main Purpose
Welocalize is seeking passionate and culturally fluent Sports Subject Matter Experts specialized in football with exceptional writing skills to join our localization team. You'll review, localize, fact check, translate, and adapt football-related content so it resonates with audiences in your market.
Project Details:
- Language Pair: English (US) > French (Canada)
- Task Type: Quality Control, Translation, Copy Edit, MTPE
- Assessment: Grammar + SME knowledge
Main Duties
- Review, localize, fact check, translate, and adapt sports-related content, mainly football, while adhering to writing style guides and guidelines
- Conduct market-specific research on local content, product and terminology trends, and best localization practices for the target audience in your market
- Provide feedback on written content
Required Skills
- BS/BA and/or 2+ years of work experience in the linguistic field, sports journalism, copywriting, or in copy-editing
- Extensive sports knowledge, mainly football
- Experience in translation and localization of multimedia content, preferably also machine translations and evaluations
- Native-level fluency in the target language (French, Canadian)
- Excellent grammar and writing skills in the native language
- Strong creative writing, proofreading, and editing skills in the native language
- Tech savvy: strong practical knowledge of computers and mobile devices, word processors, and spreadsheets
- Owning a licensed version of MS Office apps
- Ability to work independently and remotely
Bonus If You Have:
- Published work on platforms like ESPN, The Athletic, FourFourTwo, or similar.
- Experience working with sports media platforms, live score apps, or sports streaming services.
- A flair for adapting voice and style to Gen Z, football fan culture, and pop culture audiences.
After your application is reviewed, shortlisted candidates will be contacted by our team to complete the application process.
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