Video Editor Job Description Template (2026)

Full JD (copy-ready)

Paste this into your ATS or careers page. Edit the company name and any bracketed placeholders.

# Video Editor — Job Description

## Role summary
A Video Editor owns the post-production pipeline — rough cut through final export — across long-form (YouTube, course content) and short-form vertical (TikTok, Reels, Shorts). They work in Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, or Final Cut Pro, with motion graphics in After Effects, handle color correction, sound design and mixing, caption generation, and platform-specific framing and export. They understand pacing, subject framing, B-roll selection, and broadcast-safe audio levels.

## Responsibilities
- Review raw footage, build story-first rough cuts with clear narrative beats, and eliminate filler without killing natural delivery cadence.
- Edit long-form YouTube content (8–20 minutes) with intentional pacing, retention hooks at 30-second intervals, and chapter markers.
- Edit short-form vertical (9:16) for TikTok, Reels, and Shorts with fast cuts, on-screen text, and hook within the first 1.5 seconds.
- Run color correction (exposure, white balance match across cameras) and primary/secondary grade in DaVinci Resolve or Lumetri — using brand LUTs where established.
- Mix sound: dialogue cleanup with noise reduction and EQ in Adobe Audition or Resolve Fairlight, music ducking under voice (-12 to -18dB beneath dialogue), levels mixed to -14 LUFS for platform standards.
- Select licensed music from Artlist, Epidemic Sound, Musicbed, or Motion Array — matching tone and energy to edit pacing.
- Build motion graphics in After Effects: lower thirds, title cards, data callouts, text animations — tied to brand templates so repeat work ships faster.
- Generate captions and burn-in subtitles — SRT files from auto-transcription (Descript, Premiere speech-to-text) with human correction pass.
- Reframe for multi-platform delivery — 16:9 YouTube master, 9:16 Reels/Shorts, 1:1 feed — respecting subject framing, text safe areas, and pacing changes per format.
- Manage file organization and media workflow — folder structures, proxy workflows for 4K+ footage, Frame.io reviews, and clean archive exports.

## Must-have skills
- 3+ years professional editing with a reel covering YouTube long-form, short-form vertical, and at least one client testimonial or brand video.
- Mastery of at least one NLE: Adobe Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, or Final Cut Pro.
- After Effects basics — text animation, lower thirds, masking, tracking — without needing a dedicated motion designer for standard graphics.
- Color correction fundamentals: scopes (waveform, vectorscope), exposure matching, white balance, LUT application, primary grade.
- Sound mixing basics — EQ on dialogue, noise reduction, ducking music, broadcast-safe levels, removing clicks and mouth noise.
- Platform-specific delivery knowledge — YouTube bitrate specs, Reels/TikTok safe zones, caption burn-in vs SRT, thumbnail aspect ratios.
- File management discipline — named clips, organized bins, proxy workflows for large footage, archive exports.

## Nice-to-have skills
- Motion graphics depth — keyframe curves, expressions, Rotoscoping, 3D layers in After Effects.
- Descript or Captions.ai fluency for dialogue-driven editing and auto-caption workflows.
- Thumbnail design in Photoshop or Figma — A/B tested thumbnails for YouTube.
- Podcast video editing — multi-cam dialogue, waveform-based editing.
- Basic color grading beyond correction — mood grades, film emulation, LUT creation.

## Tools and technology
- Adobe Premiere Pro
- DaVinci Resolve
- Final Cut Pro
- Adobe After Effects
- Adobe Audition
- Descript
- Frame.io
- Artlist / Epidemic Sound
- CapCut (short-form)
- Dropbox / Frame.io (media)

## Reporting structure
Reports to the Content Director, Head of Marketing, or in creator-owned channels directly to the founder/creator. Collaborates with the graphic designer on thumbnails and overlay assets, with the copywriter on scripts and captions, with the social media manager on publishing cadence, and with the audio engineer (if applicable) on dialogue polish.

## Success metrics (KPIs)
- Retention curve on long-form YouTube videos (average view duration, audience retention percentage).
- Short-form hook retention (3-second and 10-second watch rates on Reels/TikTok).
- Weekly delivery cadence hit rate against publishing schedule.
- Revision rounds per deliverable — trending toward 2 or fewer as rapport builds.
- Turnaround time from raw footage delivery to first cut.
- Zero platform rejections (caption compliance, aspect ratio, audio levels).