Research Editor, Center for Digital Editing

The Rector & Visitors of the University of Virginia; Charlottesville (VA); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

The Center for Digital Editing at The Rector & Visitors of the University of Virginia supports documentary editing and digital publishing initiatives across scholarly projects. The role combines editorial research, document preparation, metadata development, XML encoding, and digital publication activities, while collaborating with technical staff to enhance publishing workflows.

Ideal candidates will have a Bachelor's degree, 3+ years of relevant experience, strong editorial skills, and

Qualifications

• Demonstrated ability to conduct detailed editorial work with a high degree of accuracy.
• Experience with research methodologies, historical documents, and scholarly publishing.
• Familiarity with metadata standards, XML technologies, and digital humanities methodologies.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines in a collaborative environment.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Catalog, transcribe, proofread, and prepare historical documents for publication.
• Conduct data entry, quality control, and editorial review activities to ensure accuracy across project datasets.
• Research, draft, and revise annotations and other scholarly editorial content.
• Generate and maintain descriptive, administrative, and technical metadata to support discovery and preservation.
• Perform XML encoding and volume-to-XML conversion activities per established standards.
• Assist in developing, testing, and maintaining digital publication workflows and systems.
• Collaborate with project developers to manage Drupal-based publishing environments and infrastructure.
• Plan and implement editorial and technical standards, procedures, and best practices.
• Consult with historians, archivists, librarians, and stakeholders to identify needs and inform development.
• Contribute to documentation, training materials, and workflow improvements.
• Support broader research, publication, and digital humanities activities.

Skills

Editorial research

Metadata standards

XML encoding

Project management

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

XML technologies

TEI

Drupal

Metadata frameworks

Job description

The Center for Digital Editing seeks a collaborative and detail-oriented professional to support its documentary editing and digital publishing initiatives. Working across multiple scholarly projects, this position contributes to the preparation, publication, and preservation of historical documentary editions through a combination of editorial, technical, and metadata-related responsibilities. The role supports the creation and dissemination of scholarly resources by performing editorial research, document preparation, metadata development, XML encoding, and digital publication activities, while collaborating with technical staff to enhance publishing infrastructure and workflows.

Key Responsibilities

• Catalog, transcribe, proofread, and prepare historical documents for publication.
• Conduct data entry, quality control, and editorial review activities to ensure accuracy and consistency across project datasets.
• Research, draft, and revise annotations and other scholarly editorial content.
• Generate and maintain descriptive, administrative, and technical metadata at both project and cross-project levels to support discovery, interoperability, and long-term preservation.
• Perform XML encoding and volume-to-XML conversion activities in accordance with established editorial and technical standards.
• Assist in the development, testing, maintenance, and enhancement of digital publication workflows and systems.
• Collaborate with project developers to customize and manage Drupal-based publishing environments and related digital infrastructure.
• Participate in the planning and implementation of editorial and technical standards, procedures, and best practices.
• Consult with historians, archivists, librarians, and other stakeholders to identify emerging scholarly and community needs and inform future development efforts.
• Contribute to documentation, training materials, and workflow improvement initiatives.
• Support the Center's broader research, publication, and digital humanities activities as assigned.
• Ability to work effectively with interdisciplinary teams, including scholars, librarians, archivists, and technical staff.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills.

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Demonstrated ability to conduct detailed editorial work with a high degree of accuracy.
• Experience with research methodologies, historical documents, and scholarly publishing.
• Familiarity with metadata standards, XML technologies, and digital humanities methodologies.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines in a collaborative environment.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with documentary editing, scholarly publishing, or digital humanities projects.
• Familiarity with XML encoding standards (e.g., TEI) and metadata frameworks.
• Experience with Drupal or other content management systems.
• Knowledge of historical research methods and archival resources.
• Experience working with digital publication platforms and workflows.

This position will remain open until filled. This is an exempt level, benefited position. The University will perform background checks on all hires (if required) prior to employment.Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States. For this role, the University will not sponsor or consider candidates requiring sponsorship for employment visas now or in the future. This is a Restricted position.

Minimum Requirements

• Education: Bachelor's degree required.
• Experience: 3+ years of relevant experience required.
• Licensure: None.

Physical Demands

This is primarily a sedentary job involving extensive use of desktop computers. The job does occasionally require traveling some distance to attend meetings, and programs.

The University of Virginia is an equal opportunity employer. All interested persons are encouraged to apply, including veterans and individuals with disabilities. Learn more about UVA's commitment to non-discrimination and equal opportunity employment.