Assistant Editor, Media Operations

Assistant Editor, Media Operations

Company: SOFX Inc. (USA)

Location: Remote. Open to candidates based in the Balkans.

Type: Full-time contractor, 40 hours per week

Compensation: $1,000–1,300 USD per month

Reports to: Director of Media Operations and Marketing

About SOFX

SOFX is a US-based media company covering conflict, security, and technology. It began as a daily intel email a Navy SEAL commander wrote for his operators in Iraq to keep a global network aware of what was happening on the ground each day. In 2014 he turned that habit into The SOFX Report, a daily brief for the special operations community. Twelve years later it reaches more than 72,000 readers every morning: defense and security industry professionals, government program offices, intelligence and policy analysts, and people who want to understand the conflicts and technologies shaping their world.

The Report is the core of a growing network: SOFX PRO membership, SOFX Recruiting, SOFX.NET private email, SOFX Gear, events, and a job board for the defense and security industry.

The role

The Assistant Editor, Media Operations works directly with, and is trained by, the Director of Media Operations and Marketing on the daily production of The SOFX Report newsletter and the content operation around it.

This is a full-time operations and editorial role, not a writing quota. On a given day you will help find the stories, draft and edit the newsletter and articles, make sure the edition is ready for publication, and handle the smaller work that keeps a daily product running. The role also takes on longer-term projects: original content, growth testing, AI workflow improvements, and anything else that makes the product better or the process faster.

The ideal candidate

The ideal candidate is a journalist or experienced writer with general technical skills. They have a journalism or newsletter background and hold their work to a journalistic standard: AP style, proper attribution, rigorous fact-checking, and a thorough review before anything publishes. They are also comfortable with digital tools and have an interest in, or experience with, building AI agents and automations, preferably around content operations.

That combination matters because the role works alongside the Director of Media Operations to keep building and improving the tools behind the Report: AI workflows for sourcing and drafting, style and editing systems, email automations, and projects that make the content better or the process faster. If you have run a newsletter, reported on conflict or defense, or built your own content tools, you already know how satisfying this kind of work can be. If you have done a couple of those and want a place to do all of them, we would love to hear from you.

What you will do

Daily newsletter production

• Help source the day's stories from wire services, trade publications, regional outlets, and OSINT channels
• Draft newsletter copy with our AI tooling, then edit it for accuracy, attribution, framing, and SOFX style
• Run the final copy edit before the edition is scheduled
• Prepare content, images, and captions so the edition and articles are ready for the technician to schedule and publish
• Know how to build the edition in our email platform and publish to sofx.com, and cover it when needed
• Review published work regularly to ensure accuracy and catch any errors
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Writing and editing

• Write and edit news articles for sofx.com from sourced material, applying AP style and proper attribution
• Fact-check every claim against primary sources before publication
• Enforce a clean, straightforward, neutral, and apolitical voice across all content
• Catch and remove politically charged language, unsupported claims, and single-source reporting

Media operations

• Monitor the editor inbox and respond to reader feedback and questions
• Select the strongest stories and prepare social media posts
• Help coordinate sponsor and ad placements in the edition
• Cover the Director's daily responsibilities when they are out

Growth and tooling

• Run A/B tests on subject lines, send times, and campaign copy
• Help build and refine AI automations for sourcing, drafting, and editing
• Experiment with new tools and workflows, and update our style guides and processes as they improve
• Pursue original stories and formats when the daily work allows

What we need

Journalistic rigor. This is the core requirement. We need someone who works to journalistic standards, which is different from copywriting or blog writing. That means AP style (or an equivalent wire-service style), proper attribution, rigorous fact-checking, and a careful review of your own work before it goes out. You should understand how to develop, research, write, and edit a news article for online publication. Formal journalism experience is ideal. Published work that demonstrates this standard is also acceptable.

Newsletter or published journalism experience. Experience running or publishing a newsletter is a great match for this role; if not, published journalism work that shows the same standard. If you have built or written a newsletter, we want to hear from you.

Technical ability. This role is more technical than a typical editorial job. We want candidates who can show practical application of modern technical ability: AI agents and workflows, automation tools, web projects, scripts, or anything similar. If you have built any project like this, we want to see it.

Clean, neutral writing. Our readers span the political spectrum and many countries. Everything we publish is straightforward and apolitical. You need to recognize loaded language when you see it, including when a source uses it, and keep it out of our copy.

Genuine interest in the subject. You do not need to be an expert in defense or military affairs, but you need a real interest in conflict, security, and defense technology, and a base of knowledge to work from. If you follow the space, share the newsletters, publications, or channels you read and what you like about them. If you have reported on this beat, run a news or OSINT account with a real following, or worked in a related field, tell us.

Accountability with AI tools. You must be comfortable editing AI output and catching its errors, including fabricated details, wrong attributions, and adopted bias.

Also valuable

• Experience managing social media accounts for a publication or brand
• Experience with an email platform such as Kit or Beehiiv

Required

• University degree
• Strong English proficiency, written and spoken
• Availability for the schedule below
• Reliable internet and your own computer

Schedule

The edition ships at 5:00 AM Eastern every day, so the work happens the afternoon and evening before, US time. Core hours are 12:00 PM to 8:00 PM Eastern (6:00 PM to 2:00 AM Central European Time), Monday through Friday. At minimum you need to be available through 6:00 PM Eastern every working day. Some flexibility in start time is possible after training.

Compensation

• $1,000–1,500 USD per month, based on experience, paid as a contractor through our payroll system
• 60-day trial period before the full rate
• Compensation grows with the role

Why this role

You will be an integral part of growing a newsletter-first, modern media company, as a direct report to the Director of Media Operations and Marketing. You will have a direct say in how content is produced, and the opportunity to grow into the role, lead content, and drive growth. SOFX is a small company with big growth potential, and the people who prove themselves here are fast-tracked to bigger responsibilities.

How to apply

Send the following:

• A short intro. Who you are, and the one trait you value in yourself that you feel sets you apart.
• Your resume.
• Your work. Published writing samples, a newsletter link or example if you have produced one, any social media accounts you run, and links or demos of any projects you have worked on.
• Three newsletters, journalists, social channels, or niche news publications you read. Tell us why you like them, and what tips, tricks, or content styles you think make them better than others.