Audience Editor

Date Posted	May 22, 2026
Industry	Digital Media
Specialty	Politics
Remote / Telecommute	Telecommute
Job Status	Full-time
Salary	$90,000-$110,000

Description:

About The Lever:

The Lever is a subscriber-supported investigative news outlet dedicated to following the money and holding the powerful accountable. Founded in 2020 by journalist David Sirota and a team of reporters, The Lever has quickly attracted a robust following thanks to its in-depth investigations and uncompromising analyses of local and national politics, business corruption, Big Tech, climate change, health care, and more. Now, we want to expand our impact even further, and are looking for an adept, tenacious news leader to help.

The Position:

The Lever is looking for an audience editor with an innate feel for how stories travel online — and an ambition to use those instincts to grow our reach, impact, and paid subscriber base.

You'll set and constantly optimize the overall strategy for how The Lever harnesses all platforms — Bluesky, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Twitter, Substack, Facebook, whatever’s next — for growth. You'll work shoulder to shoulder with reporters and editors before stories publish — shaping headlines, social copy, newsletter alerts, and story presentation so our reporting spreads far and wide. You’ll provide data-informed guidance to the editorial team about what topics, stories, and coverage areas can expand the audience. You'll partner with our video and podcast teams on cutdowns, thumbnails, and platform-native packaging. And you'll own the internal metrics that matter: reach, engagement, newsletter signups, and conversion to paying supporters.

This is a job for a genuine news and data obsessive. You are the kind of person who already knows what political stories went viral this morning and what, if any, role The Lever should play. You are steeped in moment-to-moment political and cultural discourse. You can write razor-sharp copy that makes people pay attention and enables our voice to grow and evolve in new ways. You closely follow trends and reporting about digital media and growth techniques. And you’re not someone who needs to wait for direction; in fact, you thrive in environments where you can rapidly experiment, learn, and move on to the next idea.

This is a full-time, salaried, and remote position with benefits including a generous health care stipend, office expense reimbursements, and paid time off.

Qualifications:

• At least five years of experience running audience, social, or platform strategy at a newsroom, newsletter, media brand, or even political campaign.

• A track record of growing audiences on social platforms and converting them into paying subscribers or members.

• A demonstrated feel for what makes stories travel, with a solid portfolio behind you: numerous posts, videos, or campaigns that moved real numbers.

• Strong writing chops. Headlines, captions, emails — your copy is compelling, inventive, persuasive, and in tune with the news cycle.

• Platform fluency. You can talk in specifics about what works on TikTok versus Bluesky versus YouTube Shorts, and why.

• Sharp news judgment. When a moment breaks that’s relevant to The Lever, you're already on it.

• Comfort with analytics tools (Google Analytics or similar) and the ability to use the data to inform editorial strategy.

• Willingness to work nights and weekends when the moment calls for it.

• A genuine self-starter with an entrepreneurial inclination: you'll own the strategy and execute it. (This isn’t just a standard bullet point — we really mean it!) 

How To Apply:

Send a cover letter, resume, and relevant work samples to jobs@levernews.com

The Lever is an equal opportunity employer​ that is committed to a diverse workplace. People of color, people with disabilities, women, and LGBTQ+ candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. If they choose to do so, applicants may disclose their demographic information as part of their application. Equal access to programs, services, and employment is available to all qualified persons.