Publications Specialist II

Nexight Group•Silver Spring, MD

3d•Remote

About The Position

Nexight Group is hiring an experienced Publications Specialist II – Magazine Editor to lead the editorial and production lifecycle of a quarterly federal magazine focused on transportation research and innovation. Working both independently and with authors, technical experts, designers, and federal communications staff, this senior-level position requires exceptional editorial judgment, publication management expertise, and the ability to translate complex technical information into engaging content for diverse audiences. This position is contingent upon Nexight Group receiving an anticipated federal contract award. Employment under this position will begin only after contract award and authorization to proceed. Nexight Group is a small technical and management consulting firm that serves a variety of clients in many topic areas. We value adaptability, critical thinking, curiosity, initiative, and taking pride in high-quality work. Our staff work collaboratively, communicate openly, and continuously look for ways to improve our work and deliver greater value to clients. To learn more about the company, please visit our careers page. Applicants should have the necessary skills to perform the following job responsibilities:

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Communications, Journalism, English, Technical Communications, Publishing, or a related field.
7–10 years of progressively responsible experience in editorial and publication management, including demonstrated experience managing the production lifecycle of a recurring periodical, magazine, journal, or comparable publication.
Experience managing complex, multi-stakeholder editorial workflows, version control, concurrent publication cycles, and time-sensitive deadlines.
Working knowledge of major editorial style guides, particularly GPO and Chicago.
Section 508 accessibility experience.
Proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
Ability to successfully complete required federal government personnel security/background investigation and obtain required facility and system access.
Advanced substantive editing, copyediting, proofreading, fact checking, and editorial quality assurance skills.
Demonstrated ability to translate complex technical or research information for nontechnical audiences.
Exceptional editorial judgment, attention to detail, and commitment to producing accurate, high-quality work.
Ability to take ownership of work independently while collaborating effectively across multidisciplinary teams in a fast-paced, deadline-oriented environment.
Ability to build productive working relationships and communicate professionally with clients, authors, technical experts, reviewers, designers, and colleagues at all levels.
Ability to provide editorial guidance and constructive feedback to writers and contributors, helping improve content while maintaining productive working relationships.
Curiosity, critical thinking, adaptability, and initiative, including the ability to quickly become conversant in unfamiliar technical topics, solve problems proactively, and identify opportunities to improve editorial processes and products.

Nice To Haves

Master's degree or advanced professional certification in Communications, Journalism, English, Technical Communications, Publishing, or a related field.
Experience managing a technical, scientific, research, engineering, or other specialty publication.
Federal government publishing or communications experience.
Transportation, infrastructure, engineering, or applied-research communications experience.
Advanced Section 508 expertise.
Experience with Adobe Creative Cloud products, particularly InDesign and Acrobat.

Responsibilities

Manage the full lifecycle of a quarterly print and digital magazine, including editorial planning, production schedules, article tracking, version control, reviews and approvals, production, distribution, and archiving.
Maintain a robust editorial pipeline that balances evergreen content with emerging transportation research, innovations, and trends, including identifying and developing story ideas and planning content across upcoming issues.
Develop and refine magazine content, conducting interviews as needed and working with authors and subject matter experts on contributed articles and original content; provide substantive editing, copyediting, proofreading, fact checking, and quality assurance.
Translate complex technical and research information into clear, accurate, engaging content for technical and nontechnical audiences.
Serve as a key liaison among authors, technical reviewers, editors, graphic designers, federal communications staff, legal counsel, and public affairs personnel to move content efficiently through review and approval.
Coordinate magazine layout and production, working closely with graphic designers to integrate text, photography, data, charts, illustrations, and other visual elements into polished print and digital products.
Support communications and promotional materials associated with each issue, working with communications specialists to ensure magazine content advances readership, engagement, and broader communications objectives.
Proactively identify and resolve editorial, workflow, and production challenges, applying sound judgment and recommending process improvements that strengthen quality, efficiency, and the reader experience.
Manage formal review and approval workflows, verifying incorporation of technical review comments and required management, legal, public affairs, accessibility, and other approvals prior to release.
Ensure editorial quality and compliance with the GPO Style Manual, Chicago Manual of Style, Section 508 accessibility requirements, and applicable federal publishing standards.
Coordinate final production, distribution, and archiving requirements, including proofing, prepress review, digital files, permissions, accessibility, and final publication packages.