Publications Specialist II – Magazine Editor

Position Overview

Remote Travel: Occasional travel for conferences, publication planning meetings, stakeholder engagements, and outreach events as required Background Investigation: Must be eligible to obtain and maintain required USDOT facility and network access Work Schedule: Monday-Friday during standard business hours with flexibility to support publication deadlines and production schedules Employment Type: Full-Time Key Responsibilities Manage the complete lifecycle of Public Roads magazine and associated publication products.

Develop and maintain editorial calendars, production schedules, and publication timelines. Coordinate multiple concurrent publication efforts and overlapping production cycles. Serve as the primary liaison between authors, editors, technical reviewers, graphic designers, web teams, and Government stakeholders. Manage article intake, review, approval, tracking, and final publication activities.

Oversee version control and publication workflow management throughout the production process. Ensure all content complies with Federal publishing requirements, editorial standards, branding guidance, and accessibility requirements. Support editorial review, proofreading, and quality assurance activities. Coordinate technical, legal, public affairs, and management reviews as required.

Track publication milestones and proactively resolve production delays or workflow issues. Support development of promotional content and publication outreach activities. Maintain publication records, archives, production documentation, and stakeholder contact lists. Prepare status reports and production updates for Government stakeholders.

Recommend improvements to publication processes, workflows, and quality control procedures. Required Qualifications Bachelor's degree in Communications, Journalism, English, Publishing, or a related field. Minimum 7 years of progressively responsible experience in publication management, editorial operations, or magazine production.

Experience managing recurring publications, magazines, journals, newsletters, or comparable communications products. Experience coordinating complex editorial review and approval processes. Strong project management and organizational skills. Experience managing publication schedules, production timelines, and multiple simultaneous deliverables.

Strong writing, editing, proofreading, and communication skills. Experience working with cross-functional teams and multiple stakeholder groups. Ability to manage priorities in a deadline-driven environment. Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite and publication management tools.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience managing technical, scientific, research, or government publications. FHWA, USDOT, or other Federal civilian agency publication experience. Experience using Adobe In. Design, Acrobat, or similar publication-production tools.