Midwest Speech Technology Association

This position is responsible to support and develop applications and/or processes which primarly suppor the Contact Center business. This person will provide work leadership and direction and consistently demonstrate the ability to work independently in maintenance, development and installation of systems. A consistent demonsttration of senior level proficiency in all aspects of programming nad anlysis is expected. Develop and mentor team members.

Requirements:
1. Advanced application maintenance, design and development (C++, J2EE, PERL, Java, XML and VXML); mastery of technical skills across multiple discipline
Advanced knowledge of OS concetps, networking concepts, client/server concepts, hardware/software architectural concepts.
3. Project management - work with customer on establishing requirements, run intra-team projects, project organization, flow charting and the ability to execute all components of methodology.
4. Accountable for team performance and skills; advanced understanding of customer areas and business processes.
5. Advanced knowledge of database concepts.

Additional Preferred Requirements:
1. Knowledge of contact center and IVR systems and components
2. PMI certification
3. Distributed computing environment management and distributed systems programming
4. VUI design and grammar development
5. WebSphere development experience

To apply, please email your resume to jthomse@wal-mart.com.

Wal-Mart Stores, INC is an EOE.

Versay is looking for a Software Engineer who looks to develop next generation enterprise communications solutions, enjoys working in a dynamic, client centric environment, and brings an innovative and fresh perspective to challenging programming projects. As a member of the Versay team, you will design, develop and deploy solutions for Versay’s expanding list of Fortune 500 clients using cutting edge speech and VoIP technologies including VoiceXML, SIP/RTP, natural language processing, and voice biometrics. Versay is a Deerfield, IL-based speech solutions company focused on delivering compelling customer experiences over the phone.

Responsibilities include:
* Application development, integration and deployment
* Software design
* Technical requirements
* Client Interaction

Primary technical skills and requirements:
* Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science or equivalent.
* Minimum of two years programming experience in one or more of the following - C#, XML, VoiceXML, SALT, .NET: ASP, Microsoft Visual Studio .NET, ECMAScript, JavaScript, Web Services Architecture
* Project experience - Proven success utilizing technical skills to deliver business solutions

The ideal candidate will meet the above requirements and have additional experience in one or more of the following:
* Avaya telephony platforms including Avaya VOIP platform
* Speech Recognition experience with speech engines such as Nuance, Avaya, and Microsoft Speech Server
* Grammar Development and Tuning - GSL, GRXML
* Client interfacing and project management

Please forward resume with availability and contact information to jobs@versay.com

www.versay.com
jobs@versay.com

CCXML or VoiceXML Telephony Software Developers

LOCATIONS: Chicago or San Francisco - Relocation Assistance Available

Position # AXG-1113

Multiple openings for junior and senior-level software developers available with one of the top software companies in the world. These positions are for serious developers - must get directly into coding and programming as the major focus of work (not managerial positions).

Background in SIP and telephony software in general required.

Please refer to Position ID: AXG-1113

Contact Arnold Garlick
arnold@SpeechTekJobs.com
On the web at www.SpeechTekJobs.com

At Uniprise, a UnitedHealth Group (UHG) company, our people and technology meet the benefits needs of employees and families at more than one-fourth of the Fortune 500 companies, through customization and innovation. National employers can then best access the full range of products and services offered by UnitedHealth Group companies while enjoying the ease of integrated administration for all employee services. It's a thriving business with an added personal significance…and a rare combination that will allow your career to flourish. Find out why by exploring this newly created career opportunity in our Plymouth, MN or Hartford, CT facilities.

Senior Voice Interface Designer

As part, of a team of 5 Voice Interface Designers, you will design and customize high-usability speech recognition software applications enabling our growing business to automate interactions with our stakeholders. This is an opportunity to creatively use your knowledge of human-computer interaction, usability and speech recognition to design new software applications that will impact the health and well-being industry!

Core responsibilities will include:

• Participating in the gathering, defining, validating and documenting of business requirements
• Obtaining end-user and Marketing input regarding caller needs, task structures and preferences
• Translating business requirements into call flow designs
• Writing call flows and creating routing design scripts with the goals of callers in mind, including appropriate line of questioning and prompts
• Designing new and redesigning/enhancing existing high-volume speech recognition applications
• Configuring / customizing applications
• Conducting, coordinating and/or executing usability testing
• Providing application demos as appropriate
• Engaging in application design tuning activities for continuous improvement purposes
• Helping to move us towards personalized, natural language processing solutions

Candidates will possess:
• Prior experience in the speech recognition profession, including designing call flows for IVR systems
• Experience with human-computer interaction and usability strategies, design processes, and user testing
• Solid knowledge of language patterns and the interaction between human voices and computers
• Experience with natural language processing, SLM, and/or personalization desired
• Experience designing call flows for IVR systems with advanced speech recognition
• Exposure to the Eclipse platform/framework and/or knowledge of speech recognition technology including: Nuance, Audium, CVP (Cisco Voice Platform), Tuvox, Voice Objects and Voxify also desired
• Customer focus, evidenced by a track-record of success delivering high quality designs on time and meeting/exceeding customer expectations
• Excellent communication skills — both written and oral
• Proven ability to guide and mentor others
• Advanced degree in Linguistics, Human-Computer Interaction or directly related field preferred
• Experience with Voice XML and state diagramming for voice interfaces desired
• Experience with matching interface persona to caller needs and preferences desired
• Formal training with the Nuance product of value

Diversity creates a healthier atmosphere: Equal opportunity employer M/F/D/V
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TO APPLY EMAIL YOUR RESUME TO MSTANEK@UHC.COM
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MSTA members can get a discount of 35% for O'Reilly books by using discount code DSUG and ordering at the O'Reilly site or by phone.

Also, you can get a 15% discount if you register for the Emerging Telephony conference with discount code etel07usrg.

Verascape Software Developer

Verascape designs, develops and delivers turnkey voice
automated solutions via an Always On ASP model. The VeraServ™ voice processing architecture, on which all Verascape solutions are based, is scalable to carrier grade capacity and is based on established standards such as VoiceXML and SIP. 

Software developer candidates should thrive in an environment where solid fundamental development skills will be required across all technologies and practices used to deliver and support a robust, high-performance implementation of a leading voice processing architecture.

Required Skills

• Design and construction of C++ multi-threaded applications on Linux
• Linux system libraries, including network programming; client-server models
• C++ standard template library

Desired Skills

• Strong analysis, design and problem-solving skills
• Linux administration, RedHat Package Manager (RPM), CVS
• VoIP and SIP
• Interactive speech technology integration: VoiceXML
  processor, speech recognition, text-to-speech, Media Resource Control
  Protocol (MRCP)
• Network protocols: TCP, UDP, HTTP, DNS, RTP
• Database API and SQL
• Java, PHP, Perl, shell, javascript, XML
• Web application development
• Computer Telephony Integration and PSTN protocols (ISDN)

For consideration, please email your resume to
jobs@verascape.com.

The board is working on the schedule of events for the first half of 2007 and beyond. If anyone has suggestions about events, wishes to volunteer to give a talk or to host a meeting, please contact me.

SpeechTek West offers MSTA members a 10% discount or a free pass to see the exhibits. Use discount code MSTA07.

MSTA member David Thomson asked that we distribute this important notice:

The VoiceXML Forum is holding a four-hour workshop on advanced dialogs for voice-activated systems on February 22, 2007 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the San Francisco Hilton & Towers. The purpose of the workshop is to promote technology exchange among spoken language experts and to explore what dialog specification concepts should be standardized for deploying advanced voice-activated services.

The Workshop on Advanced Dialogs is supported by the VoiceXML Forum Tools Committee and will held as part of SpeechTEK West 2007 (but will not be available to general SpeechTEK participants). To receive an invitation, please submit a one-page position paper stating your view on at least one of the following questions:

1. What new language constructs are needed to support advanced dialogs?

2. Where do standard programming languages such as VoiceXML, Java, JSP etc., need to be extended or enhanced to better support advanced dialogs?

3. What is the best approach (plan-based reasoning, rule-based systems, goal-oriented design, world modeling, etc.), perhaps given a particular circumstance, for creating advanced voice-activated services and why?

4. Do you have an example of a case where an advanced dialog was successfully deployed for live customers? What dialog design principles made this deployment a success?

Accepted position papers will be published at www.voicexml.org and participants will be invited to briefly summarize their paper (no slides required) at the workshop. Attendees will analyze alternative approaches and suggest recommendations for how standards should proceed for supporting advanced dialogs.

Papers should be sent to david@speechphone.com by December 15, 2006. A minimum one-day SpeechTEK registration is required for workshop participants (http://www.speechtek.com).

Review Committee:
Jim Larson ­ Co-chair W3C Voice Browser Working Group
Bill Scholz ­ VoiceXML Tools Committee
John Tadlock ­ AT&T
David Thomson ­ VoiceXML Tools Committee

Charter: The Advanced Dialog Working Group (part of the VoiceXML Forum Tools Committee) has the following objectives:

1. To define the XML-based languages needed to represent Advanced Dialogs and implement applications.

2. To provide input to the VoiceXML Forum Metalanguage group regarding what is needed to allow the metalanguage specification to be able to support Advanced Dialogs.

3. To encourage standardization and adoption of Advanced Dialog concepts.

4. To speed the transfer of Advanced Dialog concepts from research to industry.

Advanced Dialog: A voice user interface specification that cannot efficiently be represented by a finite state machine.

Dates:
Paper submission: December 15, 2006
Acceptance notification: December 22, 2006
Workshop: February 22, 2007

Speech Applications / Interactive Voice Response Developer

Location: Minneapolis area

Position AXG-1060

Position Overview:

This position is a significant career opportunity for a creative Interactive Voice Response guru to change the world of Self-Service Call Automation. Will play a key role in developing and implementing new speech applications, taking advantage of the many ways speech can streamline the caller experience while broadening the existing agent-based IVR. By effectively managing a one-of-a-kind self-service telephony solution, the company’s sole purpose is to turn telephone calls into sales for their clients. The position is for an IVR Developer who can take their proven knowledge of killer applications and combine it with the company’s revolutionary technology to ensure every call answered rings the clients’ cash registers. The perfect person for this position is an outside-the-box powerhouse who knows how to craft brilliant self-service experiences.

Qualifications and Experience:

- 3-5 years experience in Interactive Voice Response technology.
- 5-8 years experience in a telecommunications environment.
- Hands-on coding, tuning and diagnosis of speech applications, with proficiency coding in Periphonics PeriPro and VXML languages.
- Further experience developing and tuning grammars is also desirable, including Grammar XML (GRXML), Grammar Specification Language (GSL).
- Experience developing code for mixed initiative (DTMF and speech) as well as pure speech applications.
- Scripting language expertise (Perl, etc.)
- Proficiency with Visio call flows and related Office applications
- Demonstrate you’re an expert in speech technologies, development and testing - and that you can go one-on-one with the company’s telephony technology team.
- Proven call automation experience, with a track record of mastering the psychology of self-service and creating experiences that mirror the best live call center agent.
- Bachelors degree in business, psychology and/or computer science preferred.
- Experience building a team.

Company Overview:

Escape from the shackles of bureaucratic corporate life, and embrace your future. A future where you make an impact and stretch the limits of your talent, your aptitude and your imagination in an organization rooted in an entrepreneurial spirit, focused squarely on innovation and filled with passionate, intelligent people. This exciting direct response advertising company drives telephone calls from consumers all over the country for all types of products, and is significantly changing how radio and IVR’s can work together.

Direct your confidential response to:

Ronald E. Beyner
Senior Consultant, Speech Technologies
Pacific Search Consultants
2377 S. El Camino Real, Suite 201
San Clemente, CA 92672
phone: 949.366.9000 Ext. 4#
ron@SpeechTekJobs.com
on the web at http://www.speechtekjobs.com

To view additional opportunities go to:
http://www.speechtekjobs.com/candidates