Senior Editor: Facts, Skills, and Next Paths

Senior Editors assign, edit, and coordinate content for newsrooms, agencies, or scientific publications. They review drafts for clarity, accuracy, and style, and manage writers or contributors to meet deadlines and editorial standards. Day-to-day work includes line editing, collaborating with multimedia teams, and ensuring published content aligns with organizational goals.

Core responsibilities include commissioning and editing pieces, developing content strategy, and ensuring compliance with legal or organizational guidelines. At AAAS, the Senior Editor for Commentary invites and edits scientific Perspectives in biology and neuroscience. At The Atlantic, senior editors on the Political Accountability and National Security team assign stories, oversee staff writers, and shape coverage of politics, foreign affairs, and national security. This role typically reports to an editorial director or managing editor and works closely with other editors and writers.

The median salary for Senior Editors is approximately $125,000, with the most frequently requested skills in current job postings being compliance (50%), editing (30%), and analytics & reporting (20%).