Master Video Editor / Editing Manager - YouTube-First

Part-Time | Remote

Compensation: $2,000-$4,000 per month

Who We Are

Cali BBQ Media is the media company for business storytellers in hospitality. We started in 2008 with a barbecue restaurant in Spring Valley and an iPhone. Today we run Cali BBQ's three San Diego locations and produce shows watched by restaurant operators and technology leaders around the world.

Our shows include Restaurant Influencers, presented by Entrepreneur, Pepsi, and Toast, with over 71 million views. We also produce the Digital Hospitality podcast, which has published every week since 2017, and Rising Tides Live.

We make content for our own channels and for restaurant technology brands that want to tell real stories about real operators.

What We Believe

• Be the show, not the commercial. We document the real journey instead of producing ads.
• Hospitality creates trust. Storytelling scales it. Technology accelerates it.
• A rising tide lifts all ships. We build community first, and business follows.
• Stay curious, get involved, ask for help.
• The best story is usually in the unscripted moment. Your job is to find it.

Who We Don't Want

• People who need a full crew, a shot list, and perfect conditions to do great work.
• Editors who make polished commercials but can't find the story in a raw interview.
• Anyone who doesn't watch YouTube and doesn't care why videos win or lose.
• People who wait to be told every next step.
• Anyone who takes creative feedback personally or can't give it clearly.
• Anyone who sees AI tools as a threat instead of a way to work faster.
• People who miss deadlines chasing perfect.

Role Overview

Cali BBQ Media is looking for an experienced Master Video Editor / Editing Manager to lead the quality, storytelling, and execution of post-production work across our owned content and client projects.

This role is for someone who is an exceptional editor first and who can also guide and manage other editors.

You will edit priority projects, review work produced by other editors, provide clear creative feedback, and help keep multiple projects moving through the post-production pipeline.

The ideal candidate has strong YouTube instincts and can quickly identify how to improve a video through story, pacing, hooks, music, graphics, structure, and platform-specific creative decisions.

Key Responsibilities

• Edit high-priority long-form YouTube videos and client content.
• Shape compelling stories from interviews, podcasts, and lightly scripted or unscripted footage.
• Review work produced by internal and external editors and provide clear, actionable notes.
• Give creative feedback on story, pacing, hooks, music, graphics, sound, structure, and overall direction.
• Guide editors from initial assembly through revisions and final delivery.
• Help determine which editor or resource is best suited for specific projects.
• Review scripts, transcripts, footage, and selects before or during the editing process.
• Organize footage, create selects, or set up projects before handing them to another editor when needed.
• Maintain consistent creative standards across Cali BBQ Media and client content.
• Manage multiple projects across editing, feedback, revisions, approval, and delivery.
• Identify post-production bottlenecks and keep projects organized and moving toward deadlines.
• Collaborate with producers and leadership on creative direction.
• Contribute to titles, thumbnails, hooks, and other packaging decisions that affect YouTube performance.
• Use YouTube analytics and audience behavior to inform future editing decisions.
• Own and maintain the team drive and archive system, including folder structure, project handoffs, and final project archives.
• Establish and enforce consistent file naming conventions across projects and editors.
• Own and maintain editing templates and reusable project setup standards.
• Own, organize, and maintain the team motion graphics library.
• Help improve editing systems, standards, workflows, and quality control across the team.

Required Skills & Experience

• Strong professional experience editing long-form YouTube or digital video content in a high-volume environment.
• Advanced Adobe Premiere Pro skills.
• Excellent storytelling instincts and strong editorial judgment.
• Strong understanding of pacing, music, graphics, sound design, and story structure.
• Ability to take raw interviews and unscripted footage and identify the strongest narrative.
• Experience reviewing other editors' work and giving clear creative feedback.
• Ability to manage several projects and editors at different stages of production.
• Strong communication and organizational skills.
• Ability to make independent creative decisions while working collaboratively through internal and client feedback.
• Strong understanding of both long-form and short-form content.
• Comfort using AI tools to support transcription, story development, footage organization, graphics, and other creative workflows.

YouTube Expertise

You should understand how editing and packaging influence:

• Audience retention
• Average view duration
• Watch time
• Click-through rate
• Hooks and openings
• Titles and thumbnails
• Story structure and viewer drop-off

The ideal candidate actively follows YouTube creators, editing styles, formats, platform changes, and emerging creative trends and can translate those observations into better content decisions.

Nice to Have

• Experience managing freelance, contract, or remote editors.
• Advanced motion graphics skills.
• Thumbnail design experience.
• Audio cleanup and enhancement experience.
• Experience building post-production workflows, standards, or SOPs.

What Success Looks Like

• Raises the overall quality and consistency of the team's editing.
• Gives editors clear direction without needing to personally redo every project.
• Keeps post-production organized and on schedule.
• Maintains consistent creative standards across multiple editors and projects.
• Can identify when an edit needs more work and clearly explain why.
• Uses performance data and creative judgment to improve future content.
• Balances speed, quality, storytelling, and client expectations.
• Keeps the drive and archive system organized, ensures file naming standards are followed, and maintains usable editing templates and the motion graphics library.

Compensation

Compensation for this part-time role is $2,000-$4,000 per month, depending on experience, availability, and agreed scope.

Paid Skills Test

Finalists will complete a paid skills test consisting of written notes on a rough cut plus a 60-second recut.

How to Apply

Please include:

• 3-5 complete long-form videos you have edited
• A short description of your specific role on each project
• Examples where you shaped the story from interviews or unscripted material
• Examples of projects where you reviewed or directed other editors, if applicable
• Your portfolio and/or YouTube channel
• A brief explanation of how you approach giving feedback to another editor
• A brief example of how you have used YouTube analytics or audience behavior to improve content