About BuzzFeed, Inc.

BuzzFeed, Inc. (Ticker: BZFD) is home to the best of the internet. Across food, news, pop culture and commerce, our brands drive conversation and inspire what audiences watch, read, buy, and obsess over next. Born on the internet in 2006, BuzzFeed, Inc. is committed to making it better: providing trusted, quality, brand-safe news and entertainment to hundreds of millions of people; making content on the internet more inclusive, empathetic, and creative; and inspiring our audience to live better lives. We'll continue to recruit the best founders and creators to join us in this mission, with more additions like Complex Networks and HuffPost to come.

The Role 

BuzzFeed News, a Pulitzer Prize-winning newsroom, is hiring an inspiring, enthusiastic, and nimble Science Editor to lead our team of four reporters and guide the newsroom’s journalism concerning science, including COVID-19. 

This is a beat-driven accountability desk that publishes a steady cadence of critical reporting on the scientific community and also uses science as a tool to report on the biggest news of the moment. The journalism is revelatory, sharply framed, and investigative — publishing on a daily, weekly, or long term basis, whatever the story needs. It avoids cheerleading, the embargoed-study churn, and the stories everyone else will have.

You should have a demonstrated history of reporting and/or editing impactful, rigorous work. Having a solid background in science journalism is helpful but not required. You are somebody who thinks forensically and can develop and edit pieces that are sometimes complex, sometimes data-based, sometimes public records based. You should want to hammer out ideas, assist in developing reporting strategy, and help nail the story down before the draft — then be able to take the draft and make the language sing while making sure it is bulletproof.

While you don’t have to have been a manager before, you should want to be a manager going forward in your career, and we can offer training and support for this part of the career path. You should want to develop and advance the career and journalism of each of the desk’s reporters, who have different skills and interests and areas of expertise.

The desk covers science in the broadest sense of the word — reporters focus on climate change, integrity, data, and public health issues, and much much more. You will also work closely with the Health team, and help edit the journalism of the Health Editor.

Our Science Team has a history of trailblazing and innovative reporting, including:

— Several investigations revealing sexual harassment allegations against leading scientists, ultimately leading to their resignation or termination; 

— An investigation into who was influencing the Trump White House’s COVID-19 policies, including  John Ioannidis. 

— A deep dive into the failures of the CDC — how the agency lost control during the pandemic, then faded away from the public eye. 

— Groundbreaking work on the true toll of the Texas freeze and power outages. 

— An award-winning series on the government’s aerial surveillance, including interactive maps and an innovative machine-learning algorithm trained to search for hidden spy planes over US airspace.

— Exclusive reporting, with previously unseen documents, about how activists of color within the Sunrise Movement have privately alleged mistreatment for years

— An unforgettable story about Elisabeth Bik, a scientist turned science detective living in Silicon Valley. 

— A powerful FOIA operation that shook loose exclusive government documents about Havana Syndrome.

If all this sounds exciting, please submit your resume and a brief cover letter summarizing your career and work you are proud of to the link at the top right of this page.

Some candidates will eventually be asked to write a memo about their vision for the desk, take an edit test, and interview with members of the team and newsroom.

The team is currently located in San Francisco and Washington DC. You can work from the BuzzFeed, Inc. offices in New York City or Los Angeles or in one of dozens of states where BuzzFeed News employees can work remotely.

You Will 

• Publish innovative, ambitious accountability journalism
• Edit a wide mix of breaking news, enterprise, and investigations
• Manage a largely autonomous team within a larger newsroom, balancing its independence with collaboration across desks 
• Manage the production of all of the team’s stories, including coordinating with designers, copy editors, social curators, the PR team, and the newsroom lawyer

You Have

• A record of accountability-driven journalism — editing and/or reporting 
• A desire to hammer out story ideas and strategize about the reporting plan
• Experience turning complicated ideas into clear, lively, and impactful prose
• A critical, skeptical eye for hype and baloney
• Love for and excitement about the internet

Life at BuzzFeed, Inc.

We celebrate inclusion and are committed to equal opportunity employment. We are  proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to, and will not be discriminated against based on age, race, gender, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, disability or any other protected category.

You can expect:

• A supportive, inclusive atmosphere on a team that values your contributions
• Opportunities for personal and professional growth through work experience, offerings from our in-house Learning @ BuzzFeed team, our Employee Resource Groups, and more
• An attractive and equitable compensation package, including salary and stock options.
• A generous benefits program featuring paid time off, unlimited sick time, comprehensive medical benefits, a family leave policy, access to mental health platforms, retirement plans, gym and wellness discounts, and much more.

At BuzzFeed, Inc., we want all employees to feel safe and comfortable when they engage in any in-person meetings, when visiting the office, or when working from an offsite production or meeting location. As part of this commitment to health and safety, BuzzFeed requires COVID-19 vaccines for current U.S. employees, including all newly hired employees. Requests for accommodation per applicable law for health and/or religious reasons will be considered. Union employees are subject to what is outlined in their applicable collective bargaining agreement.

Note: BuzzFeed, Inc., offers remote/flexible work (unless specified to be required to be in-person) and open to hiring remote candidates who are residents in the following states: CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, HI, IL, IN, KY, MA, MD, MI, MS, MT, NC, NH, NJ, NM, NY, OH, OR, PA, TX, VA, WA, and WV. For non sales roles, we can also hire in AK, AR, AZ, ID, KS, MO, ND, SC, and VT.