Managing Editor & AI Specialist

Footnote is looking for a talented, experienced writer and editor to collaborate with leading scholars and thinkers to share their research and ideas with new audiences. We’re seeking an editorial leader who can strategically leverage our new AI platform to drive impact for communication campaigns while also working directly with clients on editorial projects.

At Footnote, we partner with universities and academics to increase the impact and influence of their work by developing and implementing communication strategies. Our team creates original content and showcases it in owned, shared and earned media, including outlets such as The Washington Post , Wired, The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, The Hill, Fast Company, and Harvard Business Review .

Our editors work with scholars from schools such as Brown, Duke, Univ. of Pennsylvania, and Univ. of Southern California to showcase innovative research and ideas in disciplines ranging from business and technology to public health and education.

We recently launched Folio, an AI-enabled platform that combines technology with human editorial expertise to generate content more efficiently and effectively. Using the platform, our partners can create blog posts, social media posts, op-ed and podcast pitches, press releases, and many other types of content that showcase their research and expertise. What distinguishes Folio from other AI tools is that we have talented human editors involved at every step of the process, helping guide, curate, and refine the content.

You will work with academics and experts to create content communicating their work to mainstream audiences. You will leverage AI for some aspects of these projects, but also need strong skills to conceptualize, write, and edit content on your own, without the use of technology. We believe human editors are essential for helping institutions and their researchers give voice to complex ideas by teasing out what’s most interesting and impactful at the heart of their work and translating it into accessible, engaging stories.

Specific responsibilities include:

• Work with academic partners to craft the vision for research communication campaigns and individual pieces of content. Identify what ideas and research to showcase, design effective messaging, and develop story angles and news hooks.
• Revise and edit content created by academic partners using Folio. Bring the human touch needed to make the writing shine.
• Write content for select projects, creating op-eds, articles, and pitches of the highest quality for publication in external media outlets.
• Develop, test, iterate, and refine AI prompts that encode human editorial judgment into Folio's AI-assisted workflows.
• Oversee client activities in Folio, keeping an eye on what content is being created, what challenges users are encountering, and where additional support is needed.

The person who thrives in this role will not look like a typical editorial candidate. We are seeking someone with three complementary skills sets:

• Strong writing and journalism experience . You should have a talent for developing compelling story angles and news hooks; writing succinct, clear, engaging prose; structuring a sharp, interesting narrative and logical flow; and editing and polishing work to make it shine.
• Familiarity with academic research . You should be able to understand and synthesize research and complex ideas from a range of disciplines, talk intelligently with leading experts about their work, and identify the most compelling and important insights at the heart of a piece of research.
• Curiosity about AI . You should be excited about using AI thoughtfully and finding the right balance of AI and human input…