Editor

We’re looking for an Editor to help shape The Argument’s editorial voice and expand its reach — cultivating writers, thinkers, and academics who can bring fresh, data-driven, and persuasive arguments to our audience. If you’re energized by debate, fluent in the ideas shaping the right and center, and eager to help build a new liberal institution from the ground up, this role is for you. 

This is a full-time, in-person role based in Washington, D.C. You will commission and edit original essays and reported pieces, mentor our editorial fellows, and collaborate with the Editor-in-Chief on the magazine’s overall editorial direction. You will also help extend written work into podcasts and video, ensuring The Argument’s ideas reach broad audiences.

Responsibilities

• Commission and edit original essays, reported pieces, and op-eds
• Identify and cultivate writers, academics, and experts — especially in the right-liberal and centrist spaces
• Manage and mentor The Argument’s editorial fellows
• Collaborate with leadership on editorial strategy and voice consistency
• Support editorial operations, from pitch evaluation to cross-platform planning
• Partner with the Video & Podcast Producer and Social Media Strategist to expand stories into multimedia formats
• Track key intellectual debates and identify emerging voices aligned with our mission

Qualifications

Required:

• Three to six years of experience editing or commissioning opinion or feature writing
• Excellent editorial judgment and line-editing ability
• Strong grasp of political, cultural, and policy debates across the American right and center
• Ability to manage multiple projects independently
• Familiarity with digital-first publishing workflows (Substack or similar)

Preferred:

• Experience managing writers or fellows
• Relationships within relevant intellectual networks
• Interest in liberal theory, democratic institutions, or abundance-oriented policy debates
• Experience editing for persuasion and clarity in both long- and short-form writing

Compensation and Benefits

• Salary: $70,000 - $100,000 /year (commensurate with experience)
• Benefits: Health, dental, vision, 401(k) match
• Leave: 15 paid days off + flexible leave policies
• Location: Downtown Washington, D.C.
• Environment: Mission-driven startup with direct access to senior leadership

How to Apply

Email jobs@theargumentmag.com with:

• A short note on why you would be a great fit
• Your resume
• Two writing samples you edited (with brief notes on your role)
• A favorite recent argumentative essay and a short note on why it worked

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. This is an in-person position located in downtown Washington, D.C.

The Argument is a mission‑driven media company based in Washington, D.C. We make a positive, combative case for liberalism through sharp, well-argued opinion pieces, original reporting, and multimedia content that confronts the illiberal drift in our politics.

We aim to persuade, not preach; argue, not just diagnose. Our coverage will focus on the politics and economics of growth, technology and society, gender and family.

The Argument was founded by Jerusalem Demsas. Kelsey Piper is a staff writer and our director of political data is Lakshya Jain. Our columnists include Derek Thompson, Matt Bruenig, Matthew Yglesias, Rachael Bedard and Robinson Meyer.