Lead Editor, Automation Data Engineering (Remote)

📋 Description

• • At Forbes Advisor, we are seeking a highly skilled and innovative Lead Editor, Automation & Data Engineering to spearhead the development and maintenance of our data-driven content infrastructure. This pivotal role operates at the dynamic intersection of journalism, cutting-edge automation, and robust data engineering, empowering us to produce trustworthy, large-scale content with unparalleled efficiency and accuracy.
• • You will be the architect and custodian of the backend systems that underpin our data-driven editorial operations. This is not a conventional editorial position; while a sharp editorial acumen and a journalist's critical mindset are essential, the primary focus of this role is on editorial automation, leveraging data engineering as a core competency.
• • Your responsibilities will encompass the end-to-end lifecycle of content automation, from conceptualization and development to deployment, maintenance, and scaling of pipelines, automations, and workflows. This includes supporting the creation of diverse content formats such as comprehensive best-of lists, in-depth product reviews, and timely rate coverage.
• • You will be an integral part of the Editorial Automation team, collaborating closely with the Sr. Managing Editor to architect and execute content production at scale, ensuring that the automation layer is robust, reliable, and capable of supporting Forbes Advisor's ambitious data journalism initiatives.
• • Key responsibilities include owning and enhancing the Editorial Automation Infrastructure. This involves building, maintaining, and scaling Python-based automation workflows that are critical for daily, weekly, and batch editorial content production. You will be responsible for designing and managing GitHub repositories that support these automation efforts, ensuring seamless integration and version control.
• • Furthermore, you will schedule and meticulously maintain GitHub Actions, synchronizing them with data release schedules and publishing cadences, whether they are daily, weekly, or monthly. A critical aspect of this role is ensuring that all automation environments are production-ready, equipped with the correct credentials, dependencies, and robust error-handling mechanisms to prevent disruptions.
• • You will also be tasked with preparing clean, structured datasets that are optimized for use with Natural Language Generation (NLG) platforms and sophisticated data visualization tools, making complex data accessible and actionable.
• • A significant part of your role will involve partnering closely with editorial teammates to deeply understand their content needs and translate these requirements into scalable, efficient, and automated solutions.
• • You will build and maintain essential Data Pipelines. This includes creating and managing BigQuery tables, efficiently pulling, normalizing, and validating data from a variety of sources such as APIs, spreadsheets, Tableau dashboards, and internal data repositories.
• • The development of reusable Python packages is crucial for standardizing API access, authentication protocols, and workflow logic, thereby enhancing efficiency and consistency for the entire team.
• • You will be the primary point of escalation for complex technical issues, responsible for debugging and resolving data or pipeline failures to ensure uninterrupted content production.
• • Ensuring Metrics, Reliability, and Trust is paramount. You will create sophisticated workflows to meticulously log data usage, API credit consumption, automation run statuses, and template utilization.
• • Building comprehensive reporting and dashboards to monitor the reliability and operational health of automation pipelines is a key deliverable, providing real-time insights into system performance.
• • You will actively support correction processes, responding promptly and effectively when vendors report errors or when methodologies undergo changes, maintaining the integrity of our content.
• • A core objective is to help ensure that all automated content consistently meets Forbes Advisor's stringent standards for accuracy, transparency, and editorial trustworthiness.
• • Fostering Cross-Functional Collaboration is vital. You will work hand-in-hand with Editorial, SEO, data research, and engineering teams to identify and implement strategic automation opportunities that drive business value.
• • You will play a key role in defining best practices and establishing high standards for data journalism and content automation across all relevant teams.
• • Providing technical guidance and mentorship to teammates who may have less technical backgrounds is an important aspect of this senior role, fostering a culture of learning and shared expertise.
• • This is a senior, systems-owning position where candidates must be comfortable operating effectively as both an automation lead and a technical editor, bridging the gap between technical execution and editorial quality.
• • The vision for this role is to ensure that automation serves as critical editorial infrastructure, enabling Forbes Advisor to publish fast, accurate, and transparent data-driven content reliably, repeatedly, and at scale. The systems you build and maintain will have a direct and significant impact on content accuracy, publication speed, scalability, and ultimately, reader trust. You will be instrumental in ensuring that data-driven journalism at scale is not merely possible, but is also reliable, transparent, and sustainable for the future.