Scientific & Technical Editor (Technical Writer/Editor II)

FedWriters, Inc.•Silver Spring, MD

2d•$56,095 - $59,048•Remote

About The Position

This role is for an experienced editor who brings both the technical literacy to understand what scientists are saying and the craft to help them say it more clearly. The Scientific & Technical Editor will support NOAA's Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) by serving as the quality and clarity backbone for OAR's external-facing written communications. This involves working across headquarters, labs, and programs to review, copy edit, and improve technical products for plain language, scientific accuracy, and consistent tone. The editor will also help draft and enforce OAR-wide writing and editing guidelines, train staff on best practices, and refresh aging web content to meet updated style standards. FWI is recognized as a 2024 and 2025 Top Workplace by the Washington Post, offering excellent growth opportunities in a collaborative environment.

Requirements

BA/BS in English, Journalism, a scientific or environmental discipline, or a closely related technical field; advanced degrees or certifications may qualify for shorter periods of required experience
8+ years of professional and/or academic experience in technical writing, editing, or science communications

Nice To Haves

Demonstrated experience copy editing and improving scientific or technical documents for federal agencies, research institutions, or peer-reviewed publications
Expert command of plain language principles, federal plain language guidelines, and science communication best practices
Experience developing, maintaining, and training staff on organization-wide writing and editorial style guides
Familiarity with web content editing, including experience making updates to CMS-based websites and applying accessibility and formatting standards
Strong technical literacy; ability to read and accurately represent scientific content across multiple NOAA research disciplines
Experience managing editorial workflows across distributed, multi-site organizations
May supervise a team of writers or act in a lead editorial capacity across a program or organization
Ability to obtain and maintain a Low-risk federal security clearance

Responsibilities

Review, copy edit, and improve existing and draft technical products, external reports, outreach products, and internal memos for plain language, technical accuracy, and consistent tone, voice, and style
Work with the OAR Communications Director to revise and maintain guidelines on best practices for writing and editing within OAR
Distribute resources and train OAR staff across headquarters, labs, and programs on best practices for writing, editing, and plain language communication
Research and write content for pamphlets, summary reports, and other products intended for hardcopy publication
Revisit and update older website content, applying newly revised style guidelines with emphasis on technical accuracy, consistency, and tone
Make edits and updates to websites, including changes to images and content formatting
Document workflows and maintain organized files containing data associated with editorial products and review processes
Develop, writes, and edits material for reports, manuals, briefs, proposals, instruction books, and related environmental and scientific publications
Ensure proper cross-referencing, user-friendly presentation, and adherence to all applicable indexing and formatting guidelines across all products