Staff Editor

About Optimism

Optimism is a digital media company working to build a brighter web. We launch and operate a diverse portfolio of brands that spark curiosity, spread valuable information, and improve the lives of our readers. Leveraging an email-first strategy, we reach more than 3 million subscribers across our network of publications — and we’re growing every day. 

About the Role

As a Staff Editor, you will lead the editing and feature writing for Optimism’s latest brand, How Everything Works. You will work closely with our in-house editorial team and freelance writers to ensure the content we publish is clear, accurate, and engaging, looking for new, exciting stories to send to our millions of subscribers. Your day-to-day will include editing content for publication, commissioning and writing stories, and overseeing and organizing the production of content on How Everything Works. You will work with our established roster of freelance contributors and look to expand that pool, bringing on writers with subject matter expertise. You will also build content within our CMS and work with our Campaign team to schedule the sending of our content via email.

Accountabilities

• Editorial Planning: You will build and program a monthly editorial calendar, focusing on in-email content and articles for the web.

• Editing: You will help uphold the high standards we have in place, ensuring the pieces you work on are clear, accurate, and engaging.

• Content Management: You will prep content for publication, including building content into our CMS and ensuring those pieces are formatted correctly.

• Email-First Strategy: You will work with members of our Campaign team to organize the content we want to send to our subscribers via Airtable, a project management tool we use to construct sending schedules.

• Data-Driven Decision-Making: You will use dashboards that highlight key performance metrics to make strategic decisions regarding new content. As an email-first publisher, metrics such as open rate and click-through rate (CTR) are extremely important, as are web-based metrics such as session duration.

• Brainstorming: You will contribute to standing brainstorming meetings, pitching new ideas for the different brands in Optimism’s portfolio.

Requirements

• 4+ years of editorial work for a digital media company
• A working knowledge of the science space but with a generalist’s mentality and ability to move across verticals
• Exceptional copy-editing and line-editing skills
• The ability to analyze and interpret data 
• Exemplary written and verbal communication skills
• The ability to stay organized and manage content effectively and efficiently 
• A keen awareness of email as a content delivery mechanism and knowledge of the strategies that help a newsletter perform well
• Familiarity with a CMS (preferably WordPress)
• The ability to work on multiple projects and determine priorities based on time, complexity, and resources
• Extreme attention to detail

Benefits

At Optimism, we genuinely care about our team and are dedicated to offering an all-encompassing benefits package designed to enhance their overall well-being, professional growth, and work-life harmony.

• Options for medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Monthly wellness stipend

• Attractive salary with performance-driven bonuses
• 401(k) retirement plan with employer matching
• Life and disability insurance coverage

• Unlimited paid time off (PTO), including holidays
• Flexible remote/hybrid work arrangements
• Paid parental leave

• Tuition reimbursement and support for professional development
• Opportunities to attend industry conferences and training sessions

• Employee discounts on our products and services
• Team-building activities and events

Optimism is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.