Experience Level: Senior / Lead
Compensation: Competitive, based on experience and portfolio
About the Role
Nathan Doan Comedy is looking for a highly experienced Short Film Narrative Editor to join our production team.
This is a senior-level editing position for someone who is confident taking ownership of an edit from raw footage through a polished first assembly with minimal day-to-day oversight.
Our ideal candidate is not someone who needs extensive direction or a detailed checklist for every cut. You should be able to watch the footage, understand the intended story and comedic timing, make creative decisions independently, and produce an edit that is already close to final quality before receiving director notes.
You will be working closely with Nathan's existing production workflow and editing style, so the ability to quickly learn and adapt to an established creative vision is extremely important.
What You'll Do
- Edit short-form and long-form YouTube videos from raw footage through a polished first assembly
- Take ownership of the editing process with minimal supervision
- Learn and closely match Nathan Doan Comedy's existing editing style, pacing, comedic timing, and visual language
- Make independent creative decisions regarding pacing, cuts, reactions, comedic beats, music, sound effects, graphics, and overall flow
- Turn around strong first assemblies that require primarily director-level notes rather than extensive restructuring
- Work with raw footage from scripted and unscripted/comedic productions
- Organize and manage large amounts of footage efficiently
- Collaborate with the director/producer while maintaining significant creative independence
- Incorporate feedback efficiently and accurately
- Maintain consistency across videos while continuing to improve the editing process
- Meet established production deadlines and communicate proactively about any potential issues
- Potentially help establish and improve editing workflows as the channel's production continues to scale
What We're Looking For
Required:
- Several years of professional video editing experience
- Strong experience editing YouTube content, particularly short-form content
- An excellent understanding of comedic timing, pacing, storytelling, and audience retention
- A strong portfolio demonstrating polished, personality-driven editing
- Ability to work independently without constant oversight
- Ability to quickly learn an existing creator's editing style and reproduce it consistently
- Strong organizational skills and the ability to work efficiently with large amounts of footage
- Excellent attention to detail
- Ability to take creative direction and implement notes without needing excessive explanation
- Reliable communication and consistent deadline management
- Proficiency in professional editing software such as Adobe Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, or equivalent
Especially valuable:
- Experience editing comedy, sketch, entertainment, or personality-driven YouTube channels
- Experience working directly with creators, directors, or producers
- Understanding of YouTube audience retention and pacing
- Strong sound design skills
- Experience with motion graphics, visual effects, compositing, or advanced editing techniques is a plus
- Experience working within an established production team or content studio
- Ability to identify what makes a scene funnier, faster, clearer, or more engaging without being told
The Kind of Editor We're Looking For
This position is not a good fit for someone who needs to be heavily managed throughout an edit.
We are looking for someone who can receive raw footage and a general creative direction, understand what the finished video needs to accomplish, and run with it.
A successful editor in this role should be able to make decisions like:
"This scene is dragging — I'll tighten it.""This reaction is funnier if I hold it for another beat.""This section needs a sound effect/visual gag to land.""This part isn't contributing to the story, so I'll cut it.""The pacing here isn't matching the rest of the video, so I'll restructure it."
You should be comfortable making those decisions before the director ever sees the assembly.
The workflow will generally be: raw footage → independent edit → director notes → revisions → final.
We are looking for an editor whose first assembly is already strong enough that the director is primarily refining the work rather than rebuilding it.
What We Offer
- Significant creative independence
- Direct involvement in a large and established YouTube channel
- Opportunity to become a key member of the production team
- Consistent volume of editing work
- Collaborative creative environment without excessive micromanagement
- Opportunity to help shape and improve the channel's editing workflow as we continue to grow
How to Apply
Please submit:
- Your resume or relevant work history
- A portfolio/reel of your editing work
- At least 2–3 examples of YouTube videos you personally edited
- A description of your role in those projects
- Your typical turnaround time for a short-form (1-3 minutes) and a long-form (10-20 minutes) YouTube video
- Your preferred editing software
- Your desired compensation/rate
Please prioritize examples that demonstrate comedic timing, storytelling, pacing, and personality-driven editing.
We are particularly interested in seeing work that demonstrates what you can do without relying heavily on pre-existing direction or templates.
Important
Please do not apply unless you can provide examples of YouTube content that you personally led or edited independently. Do not submit projects where you were only a supporting/junior editor or responsible for a limited portion of the edit. We are specifically looking for candidates who can demonstrate that they have independently taken ownership of substantial projects from raw footage through a polished edit.
We are looking for a senior editor who can take ownership of the edit, adapt quickly, and deliver high-quality work with minimal oversight.
Pay: $32.00 - $40.00 per hour
Application Question(s):
- Will you be able to work on-site in Oceanside, CA? (Please note this job requires on-site editing and will not consider remote applicants.)
- How many years of professional video editing experience do you have?
- Please provide links to 2–3 YouTube projects that you personally led or edited independently.
- For the projects above, briefly describe your role and how independently you handled each edit.
- Are you comfortable working primarily independently and receiving director notes after completing an initial assembly rather than receiving continuous feedback throughout the edit?
- What is your expected compensation for this position?
Work Location: In person
