Science Storytelling, Editorial Director

Overview

Every medicine has a story that reaches far beyond a single discovery—a story of curiosity, uncertainty, persistence, and people working across disciplines and borders. Much of that story remains unseen, even by those whose lives it may one day change.

WuXi AppTec is building a new editorial and creative capability to bring this world to broader public audiences. We believe that understanding how science becomes medicine can deepen understanding about innovation, reveal what meaningful progress takes, and inspire people to see a place for themselves in that work.

Through our R&D and manufacturing services, we work alongside companies and scientists around the world to help turn discoveries into treatments. That vantage point offers access to stories about the science, people, and collective effort behind medical progress.

We are seeking an editorial leader to discover those stories and shape how they are told. The work could include deeply reported articles, documentary films, animated explainers, short videos, and formats we have yet to imagine.

Responsibilities

• Identify stories about science and medicine creation with the potential to engage and inspire broad public audiences.

• Transform complex scientific subjects into narratives that are understandable and engaging without requiring scientific expertise.

• Lead editorial development from research and concept through interviewing, scripting and production.

• Personally write and edit articles, story outlines, documentary treatments, scripts, and interview guides.

• Develop narrative structure, characters, pacing, and visual approaches that make stories both intellectually substantive and human.

• Develop storytelling across video, digital, social, editorial and emerging formats.

• Apply emerging technologies throughout the creative process to accelerate research, ideation, prototyping, production and content adaptation.

• Experience with new storytelling technologies and formats to reach audiences in fresh and relevant ways.

• Collaborate with internal teams and external partners while maintaining scientific accuracy, editorial quality and brand integrity.

Qualifications

Experience / Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in or higher in journalism, communications, film, life science, medicine or related field

• 10+ years of experience in journalism, science/health media, documentary, editorial storytelling, science communications or related fields.

• Reporting or storytelling in science, medicine, biotechnology, or another technically complex field preferred.

• A strong portfolio of original, research-based storytelling that makes complex subjects compelling to general audiences.

Knowledge / Skills / Abilities:

• Significant experience in journalism, documentary development, editorial leadership, screenwriting for factual content, or a related field.

• Excellent interviewing and reporting skills, including the ability to move beyond prepared answers and uncover meaningful detail.

• Exceptional writing and editing ability, with a strong command of narrative structure, accessible language, and audience engagement.

• Demonstrated ability to understand scientific material, evaluate sources, and work productively with subject-matter experts.

• Strong editorial judgment about accuracy, relevance, fairness, and the distinction between established findings and future possibilities.

• Experience translating a story into a clear creative brief, treatment, or script and guiding collaborators through execution.

• Experience working in global teams across time zones and cultural contexts.

• Developing documentaries, animated factual content, or original editorial series.

• Working across written and audiovisual formats.

• Building an editorial initiative, publication, program, or creative team.

• Managing commissioned work and external creative or production partners.

An Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.

This job description does not state or imply that the above are the only duties and responsibilities assigned to this position. Employees holding this position will be required to perform any other job-related duties as requested by Management.