Senior Video Editor

Overview

Location:

New York, NY (On-site, with regular async collaboration across time zones)

Department:

Production
Reports To:

Director of Production
Employment Type:

Full-Time
About the Role
We're seeking a Senior Editor with 7+ years of professional editing experience and a deep technical foundation to anchor our offline edit operation in New York while serving as the editorial bridge to our Shanghai-based online and finishing team. This is a senior-level position that blends creative storytelling, technical fluency, and operational leadership.
You'll be cutting projects from dailies through picture lock, but you'll also be the person who ensures that everything handed off to Shanghai is clean, conformable, and accompanied by the documentation and assets needed for a frictionless online pass. You'll work shoulder-to-shoulder with producers, directors, assistant editors, sound, VFX, graphics, and color — and you'll be a trusted partner to colleagues 12 time zones away.
This role is ideal for someone who genuinely enjoys the operational and technical side of post-production as much as the craft of editing — someone who sees a workflow inefficiency and can't help but fix it, and who treats clear documentation and clean project hygiene as core parts of the job.
Key Responsibilities

Editorial Craft
Lead offline edits on assigned projects from string-out through picture lock, including assembly, rough cut, fine cut, and director's/producer's cuts
Shape story, pacing, structure, and emotional rhythm in close partnership with directors, producers, and creative leads
Provide editorial input during pre-production and production when needed (script review, shot list feedback, dailies review)
Cut for multiple deliverable formats and aspect ratios when required (broadcast, streaming, social, theatrical)
Mentor junior editors and assistant editors, providing constructive feedback and modeling craft and process standards
Sit in on client and stakeholder reviews; receive notes professionally and turn them around efficiently
Cross-Site Collaboration with Shanghai

Act as the primary editorial point of contact between the New York offline team and the Shanghai online, color, and finishing team
Prepare comprehensive turnover packages including locked AAFs/XMLs/EDLs, conform notes, VFX pulls, graphics packages, audio stems, reference exports, and technical specs
Coordinate handoff timing around the 12-hour time difference, structuring your day to maximize overlap windows and using async communication effectively when there is none
Maintain detailed change logs and version histories so the Shanghai team always knows exactly what changed between turnovers
Review online returns from Shanghai with care and provide clear, actionable feedback before client review
Build trusted working relationships across cultures and time zones; navigate communication style, language, and work-culture differences with patience and professionalism
Serve as a translator (literally and figuratively) between creative intent in New York and technical execution in Shanghai
Internal Team Collaboration

Partner closely with producers and production management on schedules, milestones, and resource planning
Coordinate with VFX, graphics, sound, and music teams to ensure assets arrive on time and to spec
Work with assistant editors on media management, project organization, and turnover prep; clearly delegate and review their work
Communicate proactively with leadership about risks, blockers, and timeline impacts before they become problems
Contribute to creative discussions; bring an editor's perspective to broader conversations about content and process
File Transfer & Workflow Management

Own end-to-end file transfer workflows between New York and Shanghai, including managed transfer platforms, cloud storage, and shared NAS/SAN environments
Establish and maintain robust transfer protocols: checksums, manifest files, transfer logs, and verification steps to ensure nothing is lost or corrupted across the Pacific
Manage proxy workflows and offline/online conform pipelines, including resolution-independent edits, linked media, and roundtripping between systems
Maintain rigorous project hygiene: standardized bin structures, naming conventions, metadata, marker conventions, locator usage, and backup protocols
Coordinate with IT and engineering on storage, bandwidth, VPN, and network considerations that affect transfer reliability and speed
Document workflows clearly so they survive turnover, scale across the team, and are reproducible by anyone who joins the project
Workflow Efficiency & Optimization

Continuously evaluate and improve editorial workflows, identifying bottlenecks and proposing concrete solutions
Pilot new tools, plugins, and platforms; lead measured rollouts to the broader team when something proves its value
Build and maintain templates, presets, and reusable assets that accelerate common tasks
Reduce time spent on repetitive manual work through automation, scripting, or smarter tool usage where possible
Lead post-mortems on completed projects to capture lessons learned and feed them back into team practice
Quality Control

Own QC of offline deliverables before turnover to Shanghai: technical accuracy, sync, frame accuracy, audio levels, captions, and adherence to delivery specs
Spot-check online returns from Shanghai before they go to clients; flag and resolve issues promptly
Maintain and evolve QC checklists for the team across project types and deliverable formats
Verify deliverables against contractual and platform specs (broadcast, OTT, theatrical, social) before sign-off
Champion a culture of "right the first time" — catching issues early, not after they reach the client
Required Qualifications

7+ years of professional editing experience, with at least 2-3 years in a senior or lead role
Expert-level proficiency in Adobe Premiere Pro / DaVinci Resolve, including media management, multi-cam, ScriptSync or equivalent, and project sharing
Strong working knowledge of online finishing, conform, and color workflows — you don't need to be the online editor, but you understand exactly what your online team needs from you and why
Hands-on experience with managed file transfer platforms and large-file workflows across geographically distributed teams
Solid command of post-production technical fundamentals: codecs, containers, color spaces, frame rates, timecode, audio standards, and broadcast/streaming delivery specs
Demonstrated track record of optimizing post workflows and documenting them so the team benefits long-term
Excellent written and verbal communication; comfortable working across time zones, cultures, and disciplines
Eligible to work in the United States
Preferred Qualifications

Direct experience collaborating with post teams in China or elsewhere in Asia
Working knowledge of Mandarin (a plus, not required)
Experience with shared storage environments
Familiarity with Frame.io, ShotGrid, or similar review-and-approval platforms
Comfort with light scripting (Python, AppleScript, shell) or automation for editorial workflows
Background in commercial/branded, scripted episodic, unscripted, feature documentary, sports
Experience with HDR finishing pipelines, IMF deliverables, or other advanced finishing specs
Prior experience standing up or significantly improving a multi-site post workflow

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