The mission of The New York Times is to seek the truth and help people understand the world. That means independent journalism is at the heart of all we do as a company. It’s why we have a world-renowned newsroom that sends journalists to report on the ground from nearly 160 countries. It’s why we focus deeply on how our readers will experience our journalism, from print to audio to a world-class digital and app destination. And it’s why our business strategy centers on making journalism so good that it’s worth paying for.
About the Role
The Times has an unparalleled reputation for excellence in visual journalism. We have defined multimedia storytelling for the news industry and established ourselves as the clear leader. Over the past several years, our work with 3D and spatial formats has revealed new and unique opportunities to tell stories that expand our readers’ understanding of the world and help them navigate it.
The New York Times is seeking a temporary Graphics Editor/Developer to explore how Web XR can expand the possibilities of journalism and visual storytelling. This role will sit at the intersection of graphics, visual journalism, design, engineering, and R&D.
You will conduct hands-on research and development, build experimental prototypes, and help establish reproducible approaches for immersive storytelling.
Potential subject areas include climate change, environmental data, science and other complex global issues that benefit from immersive explanation.
The role is designed to advance both published journalism and the wider field through public documentation, open experimentation, and knowledge sharing. In addition to being a part of a team that builds cutting-edge visual experiences, you will collaborate on opportunities to share technical findings, contribute to reproducible approaches for the field, and participate in industry knowledge sharing.
This is a temporary (12 month) in-office position based in New York and includes regular attendance in the office four days a week.
Responsibilities
- Conceive, prototype, and test web and WebXR experiences for journalism.
- Conduct technical experiments across immersive storytelling formats, interaction models, and web-based XR technologies.
- Develop new methods for translating complex environmental data, systems, and scenarios into understandable immersive experiences.
- Work with journalists, graphics editors, designers, engineers, and R&D partners to shape concepts from early exploration through prototypes or publication.
- Apply strong editorial judgment to ensure that immersive experiences are accurate, clear, accessible, and grounded in journalistic principles.
- Document and share technical decisions, discoveries, and reproducible frameworks throughout the R&D process, disseminating insights to internal teams and the wider creative ecosystem via public posts, conference presentations, peer workshops, or open-source resources.
- Demonstrate support and understanding of our value of journalistic independence and a strong commitment to our mission to seek the truth and help people understand the world.
- You will report to the Special Projects Editor on the Graphics desk.
Basic Requirements
- 3+ years of relevant professional experience
- A portfolio of 3D/immersive work
- 3D web development
- Familiarity with Unity or Unreal
- Expertise in Blender, Maya or Cinema 4D
- Proficient in 3D modeling, optimization and animation
- Familiarity with Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and After Effects and Figma
- An appetite for experimentation and prototyping
- Experience translating complex technical workflows, engineering challenges, and 3D graphics concepts into clear, accessible written documentation and case studies.
Preferred Requirements
- Experience developing for Apple Vision Pro, Meta Quest or similar HMDs
- WebXR experience
- Familiarity with Python and/or Javascript
- Experience with GLSL a plus
- Experience using machine learning and AI tools for building 3D scenes and interactions
- Comfort presenting technical work to diverse audiences, ranging from newsroom journalists and product designers to external developer communities and industry panels.
- Excellent problem-solving skills and attention to detail.
This position is represented by the NewsGuild of NY.
Additional Compensation and Benefits
For roles in the U.S., dependent on your role, you may be eligible for variable pay, such as an annual bonus and restricted stock. Benefits may include medical, dental and vision benefits, Flexible Spending Accounts (F.S.A.s), a company-matching 401(k) plan, employee stock purchase plan, paid vacation, paid sick days, paid parental leave, tuition reimbursement and professional development programs.
For roles outside of the U.S., information on benefits will be provided during the interview process.
The hourly rate of base pay for this role is:
$62.61—$93.41 USD
