Senior Editor

AlphaX; Bethesda (MD); On-site; USD 70,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

AlphaGov seeks a Senior Editor to support researchers, analysts, and public affairs teams in turning complex findings into publication-ready materials. You will refine main points, verify evidence, and prepare content for reports, executive briefings, and public communications.

You will collaborate with authors, manage editorial deadlines, and uphold style guides to ensure accuracy, consistency, and accessible messaging across audiences.

Qualifications

• Five years of professional editing, copyediting, or technical writing with editorial responsibility.
• Bachelor's degree in English, journalism, communications, or a related field.
• Strong command of grammar, plain-language writing, and AP style.
• Experience fact-checking technical or research content and editing documents by multiple contributors.
• Ability to give authors constructive feedback and manage several publications with competing deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Edit research reports, policy briefs, articles, and executive communications for structure, clarity, tone, and accuracy.
• Check figures, quotations, citations, and factual claims against source material.
• Translate technical language into plain English while preserving meaning of findings and recommendations.
• Adapt material for different readers, from a one-page leadership briefing to a public summary.
• Manage editorial calendars, coordinate reviews, and reconcile conflicting feedback before final approval.
• Maintain style guides and proofread final layouts, including headlines, tables, captions, and charts.

Skills

Editing

Copyediting

Technical writing

AP style

Education

Bachelor's degree in English, journalism, communications, or a related field

Tools

Style guides

Job description

AlphaGov delivers public-sector consulting for cities, counties, school systems, special districts, utilities, and related agencies. Our work spans classification and compensation, organizational and operational studies, research and program evaluation, economic and workforce analysis, surveys and community research, and applied data and infrastructure research.

AlphaGov is seeking a Senior Editor for future opportunities in research and public-sector communications. You'll help researchers, analysts, and public affairs teams turn complex findings into reports, executive briefings, and public-facing materials. You'll work directly with authors to sharpen the main point, verify the evidence behind it, and prepare each piece for publication.

What you'll do

• Edit research reports, policy briefs, articles, and executive communications for structure, clarity, tone, and accuracy.
• Check figures, quotations, citations, and factual claims against source material. Work with authors and subject-matter experts to resolve discrepancies.
• Translate technical language into plain English while preserving the meaning of findings, qualifications, and recommendations.
• Adapt the same material for different readers, from a one-page leadership briefing to a public summary.
• Manage editorial calendars, coordinate reviews, and reconcile conflicting feedback before final approval.
• Maintain style guides and proofread final layouts, including headlines, tables, captions, and charts.

• At least five years of professional experience in editing, copyediting, or technical writing with substantial editorial responsibility.
• Bachelor's degree in English, journalism, communications, or a related field.
• Strong command of grammar, plain-language writing, and Associated Press (AP) style.
• Experience fact-checking technical or research content and editing documents written by multiple contributors.
• Ability to give authors specific, constructive feedback and manage several publications with competing deadlines.

Nice to have

• Editorial experience in government, public affairs, healthcare, higher education, or a research organization.
• Experience reviewing sensitive material for public release or coordinating reviews with communications, legal, or policy teams.
• Experience developing editorial standards or coaching subject-matter experts who write for a general audience.