Mission Control Specialist

Citizen•New York, NY

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Mission Control Specialist runs a shift monitoring live incidents across Citizen’s markets. Incidents arrive through first-responder radio, user video, partner feeds, data streams, and AI agents. The specialist verifies what is happening, decides what should be communicated and to whom, and sends incident titles, updates, and push notifications. The role combines public-safety judgment with editorial judgment, including deciding when an alert should reach nearby users, a city, a wider area, or no audience at all. The specialist works alongside AI agents that transcribe scanner audio, draft content, suggest audiences, and flag items for human review. The specialist directs those tools, checks their work, and retains responsibility for what is sent. The role also includes live coverage coordination with field creators and partner responders, feeding the studio when incidents go on air, and contributing to weekly reviews and the standards used by Mission Control and its AI agents. The role is based in Mission Control in Manhattan and follows a shift schedule that includes evenings or a weekend day. New hires shadow shifts and learn the feeds and standards during their first 30 days, carry their own shifts during days 31–60, and own a regular shift slot by days 61–90. Performance is reviewed weekly with the Head of Real-Time Safety Operations.

Requirements

Sharp judgment under pressure and the ability to distinguish urgent information from information that is merely loud.
Ability to stay calm in fast-moving situations and make accurate decisions quickly.
Strong attention to detail and a commitment to never presenting a rumor as fact.
Ability to assess whether content is true, clear, and safe to send, including identifying when information is unconfirmed.
Ability to uphold and clearly explain editorial standards under pressure.
Strong mission alignment and seriousness about the impact of incident communications on real people.
Willingness to work in Mission Control in Manhattan on a shift schedule that includes evenings or a weekend day.
No degree is required; the posting does not require a specific career path.

Nice To Haves

On-camera comfort for live coverage.
Spanish language skills.
Scanner fluency in a major market.
Experience in trust and safety or live moderation at scale, 911 dispatch, EMS or fire communications, a security operations center, a newsroom assignment desk, wire service or breaking-news desk, or military or public-safety communications.

Responsibilities

Monitor live incident feeds, scanner audio, user video, and data streams across covered markets.
Verify incident information, flag unconfirmed or inaccurate information, and maintain situational awareness without feeding panic.
Review, correct, and send AI-drafted incident titles, updates, and push notifications to Citizen’s editorial standard.
Make audience and reach decisions for every alert, including nearby, citywide, out-of-area, or national distribution.
Explain amplification decisions and decline to send stories that do not warrant broader distribution.
Coordinate live coverage with users on the scene, field creators, and partner responders, and provide information to the studio when an incident goes on air.
Correct errors quickly and plainly.
Participate in weekly reviews of what was sent and why, and help develop rules for Mission Control and its AI agents.
Own a regular shift slot, including a weekend day, after the initial onboarding period.