Localization engineering: the technology behind every translation
Before a single word is translated, someone has to open the file, protect what must not change and prepare it for linguists. When no tool can do that, our engineers build one. This is how our technical team works, told through the projects that tested it.
- Team
- Localization engineers, linguists and testers
- Formats
- Office, design, web, software, subtitles and more
- Featured project
- A custom tool for Apple Numbers files
- Standards
- ISO 17100, ISO 18587, ISO 9001, Cyber Essentials
The file is part of the translation
Most translation problems do not start with words. They start with files: formats that translation tools cannot open, text mixed with code or formulas, layouts that break when a sentence gets longer, and scripts that change direction. Handle the file badly and even a perfect translation arrives broken.
That is why every project at Cube passes through a technical stage before and after translation. Our engineers analyze the files, prepare them for linguists, protect everything that must not change, and rebuild the result in its original format.
- Any format in, the same format out
- Code, formulas and numbers protected
- Automated checks on every file
- Tested where people will read it
A perfect translation in a broken file is still a broken file.Cube Localization engineering
What our technical team does
Nine capabilities that sit behind our linguists on every project.
Custom file tools
Parsers and converters for formats no CAT tool supports, built in-house when a project needs them.
CAT tools and memory
Translation memories and termbases for every client, in all major CAT tools.
Automated QA
Checks for tags, variables, numbers, terminology and length limits before any delivery.
Machine translation
Engine selection and post-editing workflows that follow ISO 18587.
OCR and DTP
Scanned pages rebuilt as editable files, and layouts rebuilt in the target language, including right to left.
Subtitle and audio engineering
Timing, subtitle formats, burned-in subtitles and voice mixing for any video format.
Software and game localization
String extraction, placeholders, plural forms and linguistic testing inside the build.
Continuous localization
Connections to repositories and content systems, so new strings reach linguists automatically.
Data security
Access limited to the project team, and systems certified under Cyber Essentials.
The spreadsheets no translation tool could open
A client sent us a large set of workbooks in Apple Numbers format: many sheets and tables mixing text with figures and formulas. Professional translation tools reject these files, and converting them to Excel breaks formulas, number formats and styles.
Inside, a Numbers file is a package of IWA archives, Snappy-compressed Protocol Buffers, with cell text kept in shared string tables, and there is no public specification. So our engineers built a dedicated program: it maps every text cell to its exact address, sends it to translators with its context, locks formulas and numbers, and writes the translation back into a new Numbers file that opens exactly like the original.
- Every text cell extracted with its address
- Context sent with each string
- Formulas and numbers never exported
- Rebuilt, then checked on a Mac
From file to delivery: our engineering pipeline
The same six stages protect every project, whatever the format.
- 01
File analysis
We check every file: format, encoding, what is text, what is code, and what could break.
- 02
Preparation
Text is extracted into a standard bilingual format, with code, tags and formulas locked.
- 03
Context and references
Screenshots, glossaries and notes are attached, so linguists see where each string lives.
- 04
Translation environment
Linguists work with translation memory, termbase and real-time checks.
- 05
Automated QA
Scripts check tags, variables, numbers, terminology and length limits.
- 06
Rebuild and test
Files are rebuilt in their original format and checked in context: in the document, the app or the game.
Arabic that displays correctly, not just translates correctly
Arabic is where many products break: letters must join, text runs right to left while numbers and Latin names run left to right, punctuation drifts to the wrong side, and a counted noun can take six forms depending on the number.
As an Arabic-first team, we test for all of it: mirrored layouts, fonts that support Arabic shaping, mixed-direction text with Latin words and numbers, and plural variants for every counted string.
We work in the tools your content lives in
Our team works in the environments your content already uses, from translation tools and content systems to video editors, so nothing has to be converted just for us.
For subtitles, that includes Aegisub, Subtitle Edit, Subtitle Workshop, EZTitles, CaptionMaker, Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, DaVinci Resolve and YouTube Studio. For documents and software, every common format, from Word and InDesign to JSON, XLIFF and PO.
Our engineering principles
Five rules that decide how we handle every file.
| Principle | In practice | |
|---|---|---|
| Format | Stay in the original format | We build a tool before we accept a lossy conversion |
| Protection | Translators never touch code | Formulas, tags and variables are locked or hidden |
| Checks | Automate what machines do better | Scripts check numbers, tags and terms; people check meaning |
| Context | Test where people will read it | Documents, apps and games are reviewed on screen |
| Reuse | Build once, use again | Every tool stays in our toolkit for the next project |
What clients get
Any file, the same file back
Deliveries in the original format, ready to publish, print or ship.
Errors caught early
Automated checks stop broken tags, numbers and terms before delivery.
Faster projects
Reusable tools and translation memory remove repeated work.
Arabic that works
Right-to-left text that displays correctly in documents, apps and games.
What we learned
The lessons we now apply to every project of this kind.
The file is part of the translation
Quality is decided as much by how a file is handled as by the words inside it.
Build tools, don't work around them
A tool built once is safer than a manual workaround repeated a thousand times.
Automate checks, not judgement
Machines are perfect at counting tags; people are needed to judge meaning.
Services behind this project
AI Translation (MTPE)
Neural MT drafts, post-edited by professional linguists.
Localization
Products, content and campaigns adapted for each market.
Web & Software Localization
Websites, SaaS and software, launched in every language.
More case studies
All case studies
PUBG
A live game with constant updates, a community with its own vocabulary, dynamic text and tight screens. How we kept the language fast, consistent and true to how players talk.
Read the case study
Grounded
Real insects with game names, a crafting system where one wrong word breaks a recipe, four heroes with their own voices, and humour for all ages. How we kept it accurate, consistent and fun.
Read the case study
Cyberpunk 2077
Invented slang, a hero who can be male or female, factions with their own voices, and dialogue that branches with every choice. How we kept Night City's voice and grammar right.
Read the case studySend the file. A project manager replies in thirty minutes.
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