Senior Editor, Culture

WIRED is where a better future is imagined. For three decades, we have been the indispensable guide to a world in constant transformation. We cover humanity’s biggest challenges, from climate change to global security, from pandemic preparedness to the future of democracy, and tell stories of the people trying to solve these challenges and the role science and technology can play—for good or ill. WIRED reaches more than 30 million people each month through WIRED.com, our digital edition, the magazine, social media, and live events.Job Description

Location:

New York, NY

WIRED is seeking an experienced editor to run our culture desk. Reporting to WIRED’s Director of Consumer Tech & Culture, you’ll lead our coverage of the creators and communities that shape the internet every day.

In this role, you’ll be responsible for WIRED’s culture coverage, which encompasses everything from deconstructing viral moments to reporting from the front lines of the gaming industry. We’re looking for an editor with experience covering internet culture in a substantive way and a demonstrated ability to break news. We’re less interested in the dollars and cents of the influencer economy and film reviews than we are in the human stories behind breakout moments online.

Our priority is ambitious, impactful work. That can take many forms: a major scoop, a well-timed stunt, a deeply reported investigation, a special project. You’ll be a player/coach, equally comfortable editing, assigning, and writing these types of stories, as well as the iterative news coverage that fuels them. 

To be successful in this position you should have a good eye for surprising angles on stories and the ability to spot the wider significance of a new development. You should be entrenched enough in digital culture to be the first to spot major trends or breakout moments rather than react to them. You should also be a sharp line editor, good at structuring an argument and eliminating jargon. Most of all, you should know when to take the absurd thing seriously and vice versa; a sense of fun and humor, and the ability to bring that to WIRED audiences, is a must. 

You’ll need to be able to work autonomously while coordinating and collaborating with colleagues in San Francisco, New York, London, and points between. You’ll work closely not only with your own team, but also collaborate with other desks as coverage demands. You’ll also collaborate frequently with WIRED’s digital video team to execute cross-platform coverage that brings the best of WIRED to platforms including YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram Reels. 

This position is a hybrid role, and candidates must be based out of a WIRED office in New York or San Francisco.

Primary/Ongoing Responsibilities: 

• Assign and edit stories from WIRED culture reporters and freelancers.

• Report and write at least 4 stories for WIRED’s culture desk each month.

• Maintain and assign stories to a roster of freelance writers to round out coverage as needed.

• Work with WIRED’s Director of Consumer Tech & Culture to define goals and priorities for your coverage areas, ensuring all content plans ladder up to broader brand goals and objectives.

• Proactively seek out interesting, diverse voices who can help WIRED deliver differentiated culture coverage.

• Coordinate with other WIRED teams on all aspects of the story process, partnering with photo/art on visuals and design; answering fact-checking and copy queries; seeing stories through production processes; and partnering with social and/or video to ensure stories have maximum impact.

• Meet individual and/or section KPIs as assigned (i.e. production expectations, UPVs, engagement, time spent, and/or other related goals).

• Contribute to brand extensions, social platforms, and additional projects as needed.

• Represent the brand in a public-facing way as necessary, such as on social media, in press opportunities, panels and speaking engagements, and internal company presentations. 

• Additional projects/stories as assigned.

Desired Qualifications:

• At least 4 years of experience as an editor in a fast paced, digital and news-driven environment, with at least 2 years managing others.

• A past portfolio of work that reflects significant experience covering online culture, including a consistent record of breaking news.

• Experience overseeing multi-platform content from brainstorm to execution; able to balance daily deadlines with longer-lead projects.

• Experience and passion for delivering big, ambitious coverage, particularly around internet culture.

• Highly collaborative with excellent communication skills; adept at working with a diverse team of fact checkers, copy editors, designers, photo editors, digital producers, social media producers and story editors.

• Excellent time management and prioritization skills.

This is a guild position.

The expected base salary range for this position is from $90,000-$122,000. Salary offers are based on a wide range of factors including but not limited to relevant skills, training, experience, and education.

What happens next?

If you are interested in this opportunity, please apply below, and we will review your application as soon as possible. You can update your resume or upload a cover letter at any time by accessing your candidate profile.

Condé Nast is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, age, familial status and other legally protected characteristics.