Lead Editor - Science & Research News

Duke Clinical Research Institute; Durham (NC); On-site; USD 63,000 - 98,000; Full time

Job summary

Duke University is seeking a Senior Editor for Futurity to translate complex research into compelling stories for broad audiences. You will lead development, edit, publish, and promote research-based news and features, using strong editorial judgment and rigorous standards.

You will collaborate with researchers, communicators, and university partners, manage workflows, optimize for accessibility and SEO, and expand audience reach across newsletters and social channels.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Journalism, Communications, Science Writing, English, or related field or equivalent experience.
• 3–5 years editing or producing digital content in journalism, science communication, higher education, or research communications.
• Exceptional editing, proofreading, fact-checking, and headline-writing skills.
• Strong news judgment and ability to identify compelling stories from complex subjects.
• Proven track record writing and editing for broad public audiences.
• Ability to manage multiple deadlines with high accuracy and attention to detail.

Responsibilities

• Lead story development and editorial planning with timely, newsworthy research topics.
• Edit stories for accuracy, clarity, readability, engagement, and accessibility.
• Publish and manage content in Futurity's CMS; optimize headlines and metadata.
• Build relationships with universities, researchers, and contributors.
• Expand audience reach via newsletters, social media, SEO, and digital campaigns.
• Improve editorial workflows and support multimedia storytelling.

Skills

Editing

Proofreading

Fact-checking

Headline-writing

News judgment

Content strategy

Collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Journalism, Communications, Science Writing, English, or related field

Tools

Digital publishing systems

Analytics platforms

SEO practices

Job description

Duke University is seeking a Senior Editor for Futurity to translate complex research into compelling stories for broad audiences. You will lead development, edit, publish, and promote research-based news and features, using strong editorial judgment and rigorous standards.

You will collaborate with researchers, communicators, and university partners, manage workflows, optimize for accessibility and SEO, and expand audience reach across newsletters and social channels.