Writer & Editor

Epoch; San Francisco, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Retirement plan

Generous PTO and parental leave

Equipment and tools budget

Office in Berkeley, CA

Conference/travel opportunities

Job summary

Epoch AI is seeking a founding Writer & Editor to launch a new media team and translate research into accessible journalism for a general audience. The role blends pitching, writing, and editing, with significant input into editorial direction as a founding member.

The position is based in the San Francisco Bay Area and requires in-person collaboration for at least the first six months. We value prior major-p publication experience and strong editorial leadership.

Qualifications

• 5+ years as an editor at a major publication
• Excellent writing for a general audience
• Experience editing for many writers
• Ability to clarify technical material without oversimplifying
• Entrepreneurial spirit as a founding member of the team
• Based in the SF Bay Area or willing to relocate

Responsibilities

• Edit drafts from researchers and media team into clear, engaging pieces for a general audience
• Write first drafts from outlines and ideas supplied by the team
• Set and uphold editorial standards across the media program
• Help the program publish consistently, starting at least one piece per week

Skills

Editing

Journalism

Writing

Editorial leadership

Entrepreneurial mindset

Job description

Epoch AI is looking for a founding Writer & Editor as we launch a new media team to bring our research to a wider audience. The role will involve pitching, writing, and editing pieces for a general audience as part of our new media program.

About the role

We are looking for a Writer & Editor to produce excellent journalism on AI for a general audience. Your day-to-day activities will include pitching and discussing ideas for articles with the media team and other researchers, writing your own pieces and editing other writers’ copy.

An ideal candidate has spent multiple years writing and editing at a major publication and has worked closely with many different writers. As a founding member of the media team, will have substantial input into the editorial direction of a well-resourced and ambitious publication helping the public to make sense of AI.

This is an in-person role based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The media team will work together in person for at least the first six months of the program.

Applications are rolling.

Key responsibilities

• Edit drafts from our researchers and media team into clear, engaging pieces for a general audience
• Write first drafts from outlines and ideas supplied by the team
• Set and uphold editorial standards across the media program
• Help the program publish consistently, starting at at least one piece per week

What we're looking for

• 5+ years as an editor at a major publication, e.g. in legacy news media
• Excellent writing of your own, shown by published work for a general audience
• Experience editing for many different writers and improving their work quickly
• Ability to make technical material clear without dumbing it down
• Entrepreneurial spirit as a founding member of the team
• Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, or willing to relocate

Prior experience covering AI, science, economics, finance, or other technical beats, and familiarity with the AI ecosystem would be a plus, but are not expected. Interest in learning matters more than expertise.

Compensation & Benefits

• Annual salary between $150,000 and $180,000 USD, or more for exceptional candidates.
• The opportunity to help build a new media team from the ground up, meaningfully shape its direction and share in the upside.
• Competitive benefits program, including comprehensive health insurance, life insurance, and retirement plan.
• Generous paid time off (PTO), including no specific annual limit, with 30 days PTO per year protected, unlimited personal and sick leave, and 4 months paid parental leave for permanent staff with at least 12 months of tenure (prorated parental leave if less than 12 months).
• A flexible and generous expense policy for you to spend on equipment and a large range of productivity tools or learning/development opportunities, including unlimited spending on AI tools, subject to regulations and manager approval.
• Optional paid work trips, such as relevant conferences.
• Access to our very well-equipped offices in Berkeley, California, including paid meals, snacks, gym, and more.

Additional Information

This role is based in person in the San Francisco Bay Area, and team members will work together on-site for at least the first six months of the media program. We are not able to consider remote applicants for this role.

We require professional level English proficiency.

Epoch is committed to building an inclusive, equitable, and supportive community for you to thrive and do your best work. We’re committed to finding the best people for our team, regardless of your age, gender identity/expression, political identity, personal preferences, physical abilities, veteran status, neurodiversity or any other background. We will not review applications submitted to this email address.

About Epoch AI

Epoch AI is a research institute that investigates trends in machine learning and the economic consequences of AI. Our mission is to develop a comprehensive, publicly accessible knowledge base on AI that informs policymakers, industry leaders, and society at large.

We strive to achieve both rigor and accessibility to our work, as exemplified by some of our most successful projects, including our database of AI models and our AI trends dashboard. Our body of research includes our work on compute trends (IJCN 2022), data scarcity (ICML 2024), and algorithmic progress (NeurIPS 2024). You can read more about our work and mission on our website and in this Time profile.