Job Description:
This editor will helm California Decoded, POLITICO’s daily newsletter focused on the people, power and policies shaping California’s technology sector — especially on state and local governments or elections. The editor will oversee and edit a team of reporters covering Silicon Valley influence, California technology policy and the fast-moving world of automation, including self-driving cars and other emerging technologies.
This is a high-impact editorial role at the intersection of California politics, technology and global power. The editor will help set the agenda for coverage of the technology industry’s influence in Sacramento and California, while connecting the Golden State’s biggest stories to debates playing out in Washington and other global tech centers.
The ideal candidate is a sharp, deeply sourced journalist who understands how California politics and government intersect with the technology industry. They will be comfortable editing breaking news at high speed, shaping ambitious enterprise, developing reporters and writing with authority for a sophisticated audience of lawmakers, government officials, industry executives, advocates and POLITICO subscribers.
The editor will be responsible for setting the editorial vision for the daily California Decoded, coordinating coverage across multiple reporters and working closely with POLITICO’s technology journalists in Washington, London and Brussels. The role will also involve editing POLITICO homepage stories and helping identify the California technology stories with the biggest national and international implications.
What You’ll Do:
- Lead the editorial vision and daily production of California Decoded, including setting the newsletter agenda, editing copy and developing distinctive enterprise and analysis.
- Edit reporters covering Silicon Valley politics and influence, California technology policy, lobbying and political fundraising, and emerging technology including automation and autonomous vehicles.
- Help build a cohesive California tech reporting operation, setting priorities and coordinating coverage across beats.
- Shape breaking-news coverage and enterprise stories that go beyond basic industry reporting to explain who has power, who is lobbying for what and what comes next.
- Identify stories with implications beyond California and work with POLITICO’s global tech team to connect developments in Sacramento and Silicon Valley to Washington, London, Brussels and other power centers.
- Work closely with reporters to develop sources, sharpen story ideas, strengthen reporting and produce clean, authoritative journalism.
- Edit high-impact stories for POLITICO’s homepage, newsletters and subscriber audience.
- Help recruit, develop and mentor journalists as the California tech team grows.
- Collaborate with editors and reporters across California, Washington and POLITICO’s global newsrooms.
- Maintain POLITICO’s rigorous standards for accuracy, fairness, independence and nonpartisan journalism.
- Significant experience as an editor, reporter or journalist covering technology, politics, policy or government, with a strong understanding of California.
- A sophisticated understanding of the technology industry and its relationship with Sacramento and Washington.
- A demonstrated ability to edit ambitious journalism and help reporters turn strong reporting into distinctive, high-impact stories.
- A track record of breaking news, developing enterprise and producing journalism that explains not just what happened, but why it matters.
- Excellent news judgment and the ability to move quickly in a demanding daily news environment.
- Exceptional writing and editing skills, with a clean, clear and authoritative voice.
- Experience editing or producing a daily newsletter is strongly preferred.
- An ability to see connections across beats and develop stories with state, national and international significance.
- A collaborative management style and a commitment to developing reporters and working across teams.
- A rigorous commitment to fair-minded, accurate and nonpartisan journalism.
- Experience in California technology policy, campaign finance, lobbying, artificial intelligence, automation, autonomous vehicles or other emerging technologies is a major plus.
Why POLITICO
This is an opportunity to help build a new California technology operation from the ground up and shape one of POLITICO’s most important emerging coverage areas. The California team will cover the technology industry at the center of debates over regulation, political power, automation and the future of the economy — while connecting those stories to the national and global conversations shaping technology policy.
COMPENSATION: $120,000-$140,000 Annual Base. The final salary offered will be based on factors including relevant experience, skills, and qualifications.
We value our people. Click here for more on what we offer and what it’s like to work for POLITICO.
Let’s keep in touch. You can view our list of open positions here.
About Us.
POLITICO illuminates the forces shaping global power. Since 2007, we have delivered intelligence that anticipates tomorrow's headlines, not reports on yesterday's news. As politics has increasingly become the defining force of our era, our work has never been more vital.
Cabinet secretaries and Ministers start their mornings with our analysis. CEOs shape strategy around our reporting. Advocacy leaders rely on our insights to move policy. We deliver the straightforward facts and clear-eyed analysis they need to navigate the most complex political landscape of our lifetimes.
Our 1,100+ publishing professionals across the world's key democratic capitals—Washington, Brussels, London, Paris, Berlin, Sacramento, and New York—form the world's premier politics and policy newsroom. We tell the story of how power really works by explaining who wields it and how they plan to exercise it, connecting dots others miss and delivering scoops from sources others don't even know exist.
Innovation has always been a core tenet of our story. At launch, we bet that depth would trump scale, that talent would trump traffic, and that politics would become central to modern life. In 2011, we made another bet and launched POLITICO Pro to help decision-makers understand the business of government, transforming both how they shape government action and the business of journalism itself.
These bets have made POLITICO the most successful digital news startup of its generation and the indispensable resource for leaders who shape the future. Today, we are a rarity in media: a growing, profitable, and sustainable news organization.
POLITICO is a subsidiary of Axel Springer SE, a family-owned transatlantic media company headquartered in Berlin and New York. Axel Springer is dedicated to shaping the future of journalism in the free world, believing that a free and informed society is essential to democracy. Learn more about Axel Springer.
Posting date:
2026-09-16Title:
California Tech Politics & Policy EditorSkills Required
- Significant experience as an editor, reporter, or journalist covering technology, politics, policy, or government
- Strong understanding of California
- Sophisticated understanding of the technology industry and its relationship with Sacramento and Washington
- Demonstrated ability to edit ambitious journalism and develop high-impact stories
- Track record of breaking news, developing enterprise, and producing explanatory journalism
- Excellent news judgment and ability to work quickly in a demanding daily news environment
- Exceptional writing and editing skills
- Ability to see connections across beats and develop stories with state, national, and international significance
- Collaborative management style and commitment to developing reporters and working across teams
- Commitment to fair-minded, accurate, independent, and nonpartisan journalism
- Experience editing or producing a daily newsletter
- Experience in California technology policy, campaign finance, lobbying, artificial intelligence, automation, autonomous vehicles, or other emerging technologies
POLITICO Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about POLITICO and has not been reviewed or approved by POLITICO.
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Parental & Family Support — Parental leave is set at 24 weeks fully paid for all family expansions in the U.S., codified for newsroom roles in the PEN Guild contract. This is highlighted as unusually generous in the U.S. media context.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Generous PTO and flexible time off, with paid sick days and holidays, are offered. A remote work program is available in some roles.
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Healthcare Strength — Core coverage includes medical, dental, vision and mental-health/EAP support alongside disability and life insurance. Benefit listings indicate a comprehensive lineup across key health areas.
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