Whether you're building an in-house annotation team or working with contractors, here's how to structure your data labeling workforce for success.
Data Labeling Team Structure
- Project Manager - Oversees annotation workflow, timelines, and quality metrics
- Lead Annotators / SMEs - Subject matter experts who guide the team and handle escalations
- Data Annotators - The core labeling workforce creating training data
- QA Reviewers - Check annotation quality and provide feedback
Hiring Considerations for Annotators
- Domain expertise vs. general annotation experience—medical data needs domain knowledge
- Full-time employees vs. crowdsourced or managed workforce
- Time zones and availability for your project timeline
- Language and cultural context for text annotation projects
- Attention to detail and ability to follow guidelines consistently