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Associated Press Photography Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Machine Learning Engineer

Manhattan, NY · On-site

$145K - $180K/yr

The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting ... This role will develop and tune pipelines that transform millions of photos, videos, and text ...

Machine Learning Engineer

Manhattan, NY · Hybrid

$145K - $180K/yr

The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting ... This role will develop and tune pipelines that transform millions of photos, videos, and text ...

Machine Learning Engineer

New York, NY · Hybrid

$145K - $180K/yr

The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting ... This role will develop and tune pipelines that transform millions of photos, videos, and text ...

$52K - $69K/yr

... Associated Press (AP) style is preferred. Knowledge and experience in multiple forms of social media (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X) is preferred but not required. Prior experience in photography ...

Communications Specialist

Saint Louis, MO · On-site

$50K - $66K/yr

Remain current on emerging technology in integrated marketing communications * Assist with photography and video to complement story telling * Adhere to Associated Press style, Seminary style and ...

New

Take still photos and videos, if assigned, for digital use as applicable. * Advanced knowledge of the Associated Press Style. * Be available to work nights and/or weekends as needed to cover the beat ...

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Associated Press Photography information

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$5

$52

$192

How much do associated press photography jobs pay per hour?

As of Aug 1, 2026, the average hourly pay for associated press photography in the United States is $52.56, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $8.41 and $17.31 per hour, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is Associated Press Photography?

Associated Press (AP) Photography refers to the work done by photojournalists who capture images for the Associated Press, one of the world’s largest and most trusted news agencies. These photographers document news events, sports, features, and breaking stories around the globe, providing visual content to newspapers, websites, and broadcasters. Their work is essential in conveying the impact, emotion, and facts of current events to a wide audience. AP photographers adhere to strict ethical guidelines to ensure that their images are accurate, fair, and objective representations of the news.

What is the highest paid photography job?

In photography, commercial and fine art photographers tend to have the highest earning potential, especially those working in advertising, fashion, or with high-profile clients. Specialized skills, a strong portfolio, and experience with advanced equipment or digital editing can lead to higher salaries, often exceeding six figures for top professionals.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as an Associated Press Photographer, and why are they important?

To thrive as an Associated Press Photographer, you need expertise in photojournalism, a strong portfolio, and typically a degree in photography or journalism. Mastery of professional camera equipment, photo editing software like Adobe Photoshop, and adherence to ethical standards are crucial. Strong storytelling ability, adaptability under pressure, and effective communication help photographers capture compelling news moments and collaborate with editors. These skills ensure timely, accurate, and impactful visual reporting essential for global news coverage.

What is the difference between Associated Press Photography vs Photojournalist?

AspectAssociated Press PhotographyPhotojournalist
CredentialsTypically requires journalism or photography experience, sometimes a degree in related fieldsOften requires journalism or photography background, with a portfolio demonstrating storytelling skills
Work EnvironmentFast-paced newsrooms, on-location assignments, wire service distributionOn-the-ground reporting, covering news events, often working independently or with a team
Employer & Industry UsageMajor news agencies, wire services, media outletsNewspapers, magazines, online media, news agencies

Both roles involve capturing newsworthy images, but Associated Press Photography typically refers to photographers working for a wire service, delivering images to multiple outlets quickly. Photojournalists often create visual stories, sometimes working independently or for specific publications. While their skills overlap, AP photographers focus on rapid, wide distribution, whereas photojournalists emphasize storytelling through images.

What are some common challenges Associated Press photographers face when covering breaking news events?

Associated Press photographers often work in fast-paced, unpredictable environments where capturing impactful images under tight deadlines is essential. They must quickly adapt to changing conditions, ensure the safety of themselves and their equipment, and accurately convey the story through their photos. Additionally, they collaborate closely with reporters and editors to provide comprehensive coverage, which requires strong communication skills and the ability to work well under pressure.

How much does The Associated Press pay?

The Associated Press photography roles typically pay between $20 and $50 per hour, depending on experience, location, and assignment complexity. Salaries for full-time staff photographers can range from approximately $40,000 to $70,000 annually. Compensation may also include benefits such as health insurance and paid time off.

How to become an associated press photographer?

To become an Associated Press photographer, candidates typically need a strong portfolio of news photography, relevant experience in photojournalism, and proficiency with professional camera equipment. Many also pursue a degree in photography, journalism, or a related field, and develop skills in editing and storytelling. Building a network within the industry and gaining experience through internships or freelance work can improve chances of employment.

How much do Associated Press photographers make?

Associated Press photographers typically earn between $30,000 and $70,000 annually, depending on experience, location, and seniority. Salaries can vary based on the complexity of assignments and whether they are staff or freelance photographers.
What cities are hiring for Associated Press Photography jobs? Cities with the most Associated Press Photography job openings:
What states have the most Associated Press Photography jobs? States with the most job openings for Associated Press Photography jobs include:
Infographic showing various Associated Press Photography job openings in the United States as of July 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% As Needed, 82% Full Time, 14% Part Time, 1% Temporary, and 2% Contract. Highlights an 94% Physical, 2% Hybrid, and 4% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $109,318 per year, or $52.6 per hour.

Machine Learning Engineer

Associated Press

Manhattan, NY • On-site

$145K - $180K/yr

Full-time

Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, Retirement, PTO

Re-posted 4 days ago


Job description

The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting. Founded in 1846, AP today remains the most trusted source of fast, accurate, unbiased news in all formats and the essential provider of the technology and services vital to the news business. More than half the world's population sees AP journalism every day.
Why this role matters:
The ML Engineer is a new role within the AP Engineering organization, responsible for shaping how we build and scale machine learning systems at AP, helping to lay the foundation for our machine learning capabilities. The ML Engineer has hands-on experience building and optimizing ML inference systems that run in production environments. This role will develop and tune pipelines that transform millions of photos, videos, and text documents into searchable representations using a combination of deep learning models (e.g., DistilBERT, SBERT, TransNetV2) and external multimodal APIs. The ideal candidate has experience optimizing inference at scale, orchestrating ML workloads, and working with both PyTorch and TensorFlow in a cloud environment, focusing on model performance, integration patterns, and inference efficiency.
This is an individual contributing role who will report directly to our Director of Development, Enterprise Application Services.
What you will do:
  • Design, build, and scale ML-powered inference systems that process large volumes of text, image, and video data to power news-based intelligence products.
  • Productionize and optimize state of the art models and inference pipelines. These models include, but are not limited to:
    • DistilBERT for Named Entity Recognition (NER) over hundreds of thousands of search queries/day
    • TransNetV2 for video shot boundary detection at scale for archival video as well as real-time
    • SBERT for embedding generation from textual descriptions
    • External multimodal APIs for image/video captioning
  • Support hybrid search architectures by defining embedding/re-ranking interfaces, evaluation metrics, and inference performance requirements; partner with search/platform engineers on index configuration, sharding, and cluster tuning.
  • Design and implement scalable data processing pipelines across hybrid CPU/GPU environments to handle millions of media assets.
  • Partner with MLOps and platform engineering to enable the deployment and operation of ML systems reliably, contributing to:
    • Distributed inference architectures
    • Cloud-based execution (e.g., AWS EC2, Batch, Lambda, SageMaker)
    • Efficient resource utilization across workloads
  • Optimize inference latency and throughput across distributed workloads using cloud-based resources (AWS EC2, Batch, Lambda, SageMaker, etc.)
  • Build resilient asynchronous processing systems for large-scale workloads, ensuring:
    • Reliability (retries, fault tolerance)
    • Efficiency (caching, deduplication)
    • Observability (metrics, logging, traceability)
  • Work closely with data scientists and product teams to iterate on models, improve performance, and deliver measurable impact in production.

Who you are:
  • 8+ years of experience building production ML inference systems.
  • Demonstrated ownership of deep-learning inference optimization in production (quantization, distillation, compilation, kernel/profile-level performance work) for transformer NLP and/or CV models.
  • Experience with both TensorFlow (SavedModel, tf.data, XLA, TFLite) and PyTorch (TorchScript, ONNX, FastAPI/TorchServe)
  • Hands-on experience optimizing inference pipelines on AWS infrastructure, ideally across different types of media assets.
  • Experience with video frameworks/tools (e.g., FFmpeg), and working with large-scale frame-level inference.
  • Demonstrated experience monitoring and debugging model latency, memory, and pipeline throughput.
  • Experience with hybrid search architectures (BM25 + vector search + cross-encoder reranking).
  • Familiarity with OpenAI APIs or other foundation model providers.
  • Familiarity with open source HuggingFace LLMs.
  • Experience with data pipeline and workflow orchestration tools (e.g., Airflow)

Who This Role is Not For:
Candidates whose primary background is MLOps platform work (e.g., DAG orchestration, Terraform, Kubernetes administration, generic CI/CD pipelines) will not be a fit. We are looking for a senior level engineer who has experience profiling a transformer, rewriting its serving path for a 2-3x latency reduction, tuning an HNSW index, and can tell us which SageMaker instance type will hit our p95 target at the lowest cost.
Why join us:
  • A mission-driven, inclusive environment focused on both individual and collective success.
  • Opportunities for professional development to help you reach your career goals.
  • Access to tools, mentorship, and resources tailored to elevate your proficiency and contributions.

Salary & Benefits:
The anticipated salary range for this position is $145,000 - $180,000 based on a candidate's skills, qualifications and location. The Associated Press offers comprehensive benefits, which include:
  • Competitive medical, dental and vision coverage
  • Retirement benefits
  • Company paid life insurance
  • Paid vacation and sick days
  • Paid parental leave for any new parent
  • Mental well-being resources

AP seeks to build an inclusive organization grounded in respect for differences. We support all aspects of diversity and provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, marital status, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, status as a veteran, or other characteristic protected by law.