Magazine Editor/Publication Specialist

N4 Solutions•Greenbelt, MD

39d•Hybrid

About The Position

N4 Solutions, LLC is seeking a highly motivated, organized, and people-focused publication professional to join their team on a part-time basis. The successful candidate will provide senior-level editorial, publication management, production coordination, and quality assurance support for a recurring Federal magazine and related communications products. This role is responsible for managing the publication lifecycle from initial content intake through editing, review, layout coordination, approvals, final production, and distribution. The Magazine Editor serves as a central liaison among authors, technical reviewers, designers, communications staff, legal reviewers, and other stakeholders to ensure that each issue is produced on schedule, meets rigorous editorial and accessibility standards, and supports the agency's strategic communications objectives.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Communications, English, Journalism, or a closely related field.
Minimum of 7-10 years of progressively responsible experience in editorial and publication management.
Demonstrated experience managing the complete lifecycle of a recurring publication, magazine, journal, or similar communications product.
Proven experience establishing and managing publication schedules, editorial calendars, review cycles, and production milestones.
Advanced proficiency in substantive editing, copyediting, proofreading, and editorial quality assurance.
Demonstrated knowledge of the GPO Style Manual, Chicago Manual of Style, and professional publishing standards.
Strong understanding of Section 508 accessibility requirements and their application to electronic publications.
Experience coordinating complex approval workflows involving authors, technical reviewers, designers, program staff, legal counsel, and communications personnel.
Demonstrated ability to maintain version control across multiple rounds of editing, review, and production.
Strong project management, organizational, writing, editing, communication, and problem-solving skills.
Ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines in a fast-paced production environment.
Ability to work independently and collaboratively with multidisciplinary technical and creative teams.
Strong attention to detail and commitment to editorial and production quality.
Demonstrated proficiency with Microsoft Office and common document review and publishing applications.
Ability to meet customer site and program requirements.
U.S. Citizenship required

Nice To Haves

Master's degree or equivalent advanced professional certification in Communications, English, Journalism, Publishing, or a related discipline, which FHWA identifies as highly desirable.
Experience supporting FHWA, the U.S. Department of Transportation, or another Federal agency.
Proven experience overseeing production of a technical or specialty periodical, particularly one focused on transportation, research, engineering, science, or technology.
Experience supporting a quarterly or other recurring magazine production cycle.
Experience coordinating publication activities among technical authors, editors, graphic designers, web personnel, accessibility specialists, legal counsel, and public affairs staff.
Experience managing Federal publication review, clearance, and approval processes.
Experience preparing publications for multiple delivery channels, including web, electronic, print, and archival formats.
Experience developing or maintaining editorial procedures, production schedules, style guidance, templates, checklists, and quality-control processes.
Experience supporting marketing, outreach, or promotional activities associated with recurring publications.
Knowledge of Federal research, transportation, engineering, or technical communications environments.

Responsibilities

Oversee the complete lifecycle of recurring magazine issues from initial planning and content intake through final publication and distribution.
Develop and maintain production schedules, editorial calendars, milestones, review cycles, and delivery deadlines.
Track articles, features, departments, graphics, and related content through drafting, editing, layout, review, approval, and final production.
Manage multiple issue components and concurrent publication activities to ensure timely completion.
Monitor progress against established schedules and proactively identify and resolve production delays, bottlenecks, or outstanding actions.
Maintain disciplined version control throughout the editorial and production process.
Coordinate final production activities to ensure deliverables meet required formatting, publishing, and distribution specifications.
Support archival and records requirements associated with completed publication products.
Provide high-level editorial support for magazine articles, feature stories, recurring departments, announcements, promotional content, and related communications products.
Perform substantive editing, copyediting, proofreading, rewriting, and content refinement as required.
Review content for clarity, organization, grammar, punctuation, consistency, readability, tone, and overall editorial quality.
Assist authors and contributors in developing publication-ready content that accurately communicates technical or research information.
Ensure consistency in voice, tone, terminology, and editorial presentation across individual articles and complete magazine issues.
Coordinate multiple rounds of review and revision and verify that approved corrections are incorporated accurately.
Support development of promotional and outreach content associated with magazine issues.
Serve as a primary liaison between authors and writing teams and graphic design, layout, publication, and production personnel.
Coordinate complex review and approval workflows involving authors, technical reviewers, program staff, management, legal counsel, communications personnel, and other stakeholders.
Track reviewer comments, requested revisions, outstanding approvals, and final sign-offs through completion.
Facilitate resolution of conflicting comments, missing information, or editorial issues that could affect publication quality or schedule.
Communicate publication status, deadlines, responsibilities, and upcoming milestones to stakeholders.
Coordinate receipt of required text, graphics, photographs, permissions, and supporting materials.
Ensure all required reviews and approvals are completed before public release.
Implement and maintain rigorous editorial quality assurance and version-control procedures throughout the publication lifecycle.
Ensure magazine content complies with the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) Style Manual, the Chicago Manual of Style, and applicable agency-specific editorial requirements.
Ensure final publication products comply with applicable Section 508 accessibility requirements.
Verify that text, graphics, captions, tables, images, and other content elements are complete, consistent, and properly integrated.
Coordinate with technical editors, graphic designers, accessibility specialists, and other production personnel to resolve quality or compliance issues.
Confirm that all required reviews, approvals, permissions, and sign-offs have been obtained before release.
Conduct final quality-control reviews of publication-ready materials to ensure they meet organizational standards for professional release.
Coordinate closely with graphic designers and layout personnel to integrate approved text, images, charts, illustrations, and other visual elements into final magazine layouts.
Review page proofs and layouts for editorial consistency, completeness, readability, and proper placement of content.
Verify that editorial revisions are accurately reflected in revised layouts and proofs.
Coordinate corrections between editorial and design teams through final approval.
Ensure final files meet required electronic, web, print, and archival specifications.
Support production of related promotional materials, web content, social media content, and other communications products associated with each magazine issue.
Manage administrative aspects of publication distribution and formatting specifications.
Coordinate preparation of final publication files for electronic, web, print, and archival delivery.
Maintain organized publication records, editorial files, approvals, source materials, and final deliverables.
Support tracking and reporting on publication schedules, issue status, outstanding actions, and completed deliverables.
Assist in documenting publication processes, procedures, templates, checklists, and lessons learned to support consistency and continuous improvement.
Coordinate with project management and communications staff to ensure recurring publication activities align with broader program objectives.