AI Development Editor

Hearst; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

Hearst's San Francisco Chronicle and SFGate are seeking an AI Development Editor to drive hands-on AI integration into newsroom content and tools. The role blends technical know-how with journalistic judgment to identify high-impact AI opportunities and to design responsible, scalable workflows.

You'll build, test and maintain AI pipelines, ensure accuracy and transparency of AI-assisted content, and train editors and reporters across the newsrooms in effective AI practices.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience experimenting with AI or automation tools in a journalistic context.
• Familiarity with generative AI platforms (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini) and newsroom-focused tools (transcription, summarization, translation, meeting monitors).
• Technical literacy: ability to work with APIs, structured data, or scripting languages (Python, JavaScript) preferred.
• Expertise in prompt engineering.
• Excellent communication and training skills; able to translate technical concepts for nontechnical colleagues.
• Ability to self-manage and prioritize multiple projects simultaneously, meeting tight deadlines without compromising on quality.
• Commitment to ethical journalism, transparency and accuracy.

Responsibilities

• Editorial Leadership: Leverage AI in building utility products for consumers.
• Evaluate, pilot and integrate generative AI and automation tools into the newsroom.
• Develop standards and best practices for AI use in reporting, editing, fact-checking and audience engagement.
• Lead training sessions and provide support for editors and reporters using AI tools.
• Oversee the editorial work of AI developers across our newsrooms.
• Identify opportunities where AI can augment journalism (e.g., enhanced data collection, transcription, summarization, civic coverage, audience personalization).
• Stay ahead of industry developments and assess emerging tools, vendors and partnerships.
• Collaborate with product and engineering teams on internal tools to improve efficiency and enhance storytelling.
• Ensure AI applications align with ethical journalism standards and company AI policies.
• Establish guardrails for accuracy, sourcing, transparency, and human oversight of AI-assisted content.
• Audit and monitor newsroom AI use, providing regular updates to editorial leadership.
• Serve as a point person for AI strategy across the newsroom.
• Partner with editorial leads to identify reporting beats where AI-assisted workflows can expand coverage.
• Act as a liaison with legal, HR, and executive leadership on responsible AI adoption.

Skills

AI experimentation

Generative AI knowledge

Prompt engineering

Communication and training

Editorial judgment

Project management

AI strategy

Tools

ChatGPT

Claude

Gemini

Transcription tools

Summarization tools

Translation tools

Meeting monitors

Job description

AI Development Editor

Position Overview

The San Francisco Chronicle and SFGate are seeking an AI Development Editor to own the hands-on integration of artificial intelligence into new content products and newsroom tools and workflows. The AI Development Editor will work closely with reporters and editors across our newsrooms to identify high-impact opportunities to leverage AI to make our journalism more powerful and efficient. The role will entail building, testing and maintaining AI pipelines; ensuring accuracy and transparency in AI-assisted content; and training colleagues on tools. The position combines technical know-how with journalistic judgment to help the newsroom innovate responsibly at scale. At the moment, this job is intended to be a supervisor-level position, although because of the newness of this area, the exact structure for the role isn’t determined.

The successful candidate will be a driving force as SFChronicle and SFGate champions smart automation strategies that help our journalists and grow our audience. The editor will be comfortable coming up with their own ideas and identifying the best ideas from around the newsroom and the company. They will understand that the best local journalism is the product of human collaboration while also educating others about the benefits of generative AI.

Key Responsibilities

Editorial Leadership

• Leverage AI in the building of utility products for consumers.
• Evaluate, pilot and integrate generative AI and automation tools into the newsroom.
• Work with the Senior Editor, Data and AI Innovation to develop standards and best practices for AI use in reporting, editing, fact-checking and audience engagement.
• Lead training sessions and provide support for editors and reporters using AI tools.
• Oversee the editorial work of AI developers across our newsrooms.

Innovation + Strategy

• Identify opportunities where AI can augment journalism (e.g., enhanced data collection, transcription, summarization, civic coverage, audience personalization).
• Stay ahead of industry developments and assess emerging tools, vendors and partnerships.
• Collaborate with product and engineering teams on internal tools to improve efficiency and enhance storytelling.

Oversight + Governance

• Ensure AI applications align with ethical journalism standards and company AI policies.
• Establish guardrails for accuracy, sourcing, transparency, and human oversight of AI-assisted content.
• Audit and monitor newsroom AI use, providing regular updates to editorial leadership.

Collaboration + Evangelism

• Serve as a point person for AI strategy across the newsroom.
• Partner with editorial leads to identify reporting beats where AI-assisted workflows can expand coverage (e.g. civic meeting monitoring, local guides, data-heavy investigations).
• Act as a liaison with legal, HR, and executive leadership on responsible AI adoption.

Qualifications

Ideal candidates will be able to showcase many of the following. We do not expect candidates to be proficient in every area.

• Demonstrated experience experimenting with AI or automation tools in a journalistic context.
• Familiarity with generative AI platforms (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini) and newsroom-focused tools (transcription, summarization, translation, meeting monitors).
• Technical literacy: ability to work with APIs, structured data, or scripting languages (Python, JavaScript) preferred.
• Expertise in prompt engineering.
• Excellent communication and training skills; able to translate technical concepts for nontechnical colleagues.
• Ability to self-manage and prioritize multiple projects simultaneously, meeting tight deadlines without compromising on quality.
• Commitment to ethical journalism, transparency and accuracy.

Success Metrics

• Adoption and effective use of AI tools across newsroom teams.
• Documented guardrails and AI-use policies in place.
• Increased efficiency in newsroom workflows without loss of quality.
• Editorial projects that showcase innovative and responsible use of AI.
• Positive feedback from newsroom staff on training and support.

Compensation

The base salary range below is the Company’s good-faith estimate for this position in the posted work location at the time of posting. Final starting salary will be based on permissible, non-discriminatory factors, including but not limited to skills, experience, training, certifications, education, location and market considerations.

Base Salary Range:

$90,000—$125,000 USD