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Feature Writer Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Apple

Display Feature Architect

Bodega Bay, CA

$184K - $324K/yr

... written skills for developing specifications, proposing and presenting solutions, and reporting data in a clear and concise way A passion for delivering world-class display features to our customers ...

RADAR

Systems Engineer

Sunnyvale, CA · On-site

Requirements: Write detailed, testable feature requirements with well-defined acceptance criteria for testing to ensure the implemented feature meets both internal and customer expectations.

RADAR

Systems Engineer

Sunnyvale, CA · On-site

Requirements: Write detailed, testable feature requirements with well-defined acceptance criteria for testing to ensure the implemented feature meets both internal and customer expectations.

RADAR

Systems Engineer

San Diego, CA · On-site

Requirements: Write detailed, testable feature requirements with well-defined acceptance criteria for testing to ensure the implemented feature meets both internal and customer expectations.

Xforia, Inc.

Rust Engineer

Los Angeles, CA · On-site

Write, design, and test API's (both RESTful and graphQL) * Design SQL and No-SQL database schemas ... Utilize numerous technologies such as NATS, OpenSearch, and Postgres when building a feature to ...

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Feature Writer information

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$26

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How much do feature writer jobs pay per hour?

As of Aug 14, 2026, the average hourly pay for feature writer in California is $26.77, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $19.54 and $27.07 per hour, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What does a feature writer do?

A feature writer is a journalist at a magazine, newspaper, or online publication who is responsible for researching and writing feature stories, such as the cover story or a long-form article. As a feature writer, you produce pieces that are longer than a typical news story and rely on in-depth interviews and extensive research or investigative reporting. You typically work under a features editor, and you can work on either a freelance or salary basis. As a features writer, you may pitch stories to the editor, or you may be assigned topics.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a feature writer, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Feature Writer, you need strong storytelling abilities, excellent research skills, and a solid grasp of grammar and style, typically supported by a degree in journalism, English, or a related field. Familiarity with content management systems (CMS), SEO tools, and digital publishing platforms is often required. Creativity, adaptability, and the ability to meet deadlines help feature writers stand out in producing engaging and timely content. These skills are crucial for crafting compelling stories that attract and retain readers in a competitive media landscape.

What is the difference between Feature Writer vs Copywriter?

AspectFeature WriterCopywriter
Primary FocusCreating in-depth, engaging articles on specific topicsWriting persuasive content to promote products or services
Work EnvironmentMagazines, online publications, journalism outletsAdvertising agencies, marketing departments, online platforms
Required SkillsResearch, storytelling, journalistic writingPersuasive writing, marketing knowledge, creativity
Common UsagePublishing, journalism, editorial contentAdvertising, branding, direct marketing

While both roles involve writing, Feature Writers focus on producing detailed, informative articles for publications, whereas Copywriters craft concise, persuasive content aimed at marketing and sales. Understanding these differences helps employers and writers align their skills with the right job opportunities.

What is a feature writer?

A feature writer is a journalist who researches, writes, and produces in-depth articles that explore a topic, person, or event in greater detail than standard news reporting. Feature writers often focus on storytelling, offering insights, background, and human interest angles to engage readers. Their work can be found in newspapers, magazines, and online publications, covering a wide variety of subjects such as lifestyle, culture, or current events.

What are some common challenges feature writers face when working on in-depth stories, and how can they overcome them?

Feature writers often encounter challenges such as sourcing credible information, securing interviews with key subjects, and meeting tight deadlines while maintaining narrative quality. To overcome these obstacles, it's important to build strong research skills, cultivate professional relationships for access to sources, and develop efficient time management strategies. Collaborating with editors and fact-checkers also helps ensure accuracy and clarity. Staying organized and adaptable allows feature writers to produce compelling stories even in dynamic newsroom environments.
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Feature Writer jobs near you
Infographic showing various Feature Writer job openings in California as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 82% Full Time, 9% Part Time, 2% Temporary, and 7% Contract. Highlights an 87% Physical, 3% Hybrid, and 10% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $55,687 per year, or $26.8 per hour.

Senior Writer, AIX Creative Studio

Microsoft

Mountain View, CA • On-site

Full-time

Posted 11 days ago

Microsoft rating

8.5

Company rating: 8.5 out of 10

Based on 132 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz

79th of 244 rated software companies

Job description

Overview
About AIX
Hundreds of millions of people start their day with something AI Experiences (AIX) built: asking Copilot a question, searching on Bing, opening a new tab in Edge. Parents planning a trip. Students cramming for an exam. Engineers debugging at 2am. Small business owners writing their first pitch deck. AIX is the part of Microsoft that makes AI feel intuitive, useful, and people-first in all of those moments.
About the Role
We're looking for a Senior Writer to help shape how AI Experiences sounds. This role will report into the Brand Writing lead, and working in close partnership with Strategy and Design. The studio is built on three disciplines carrying equal weight: strategy, language, and visual craft - so language isn't in service of the visuals, it's an equal partner shaping the idea from the start.
This is a rare kind of writing role. You'll need range across formats: brand voice, campaign copy, product/UX writing, scripts, naming, and the instinct to know when a single word choice is doing more work than a paragraph. You should think in systems as much as in lines: a voice that holds together across a keynote, a notification, and a billboard. And because this studio treats design and language as one craft, you'll be expected to have real opinions about the visual work too, not just the words sitting inside it.
Responsibilities
  • Write and edit across formats - brand campaigns, product and UX copy, scripts, naming, taglines, and executive communications - with a voice that stays consistent across all of them

  • Partner with Strategy and product teams to make sure creative concepts are grounded in a clear, defensible point of view before language is finalized

  • Shape story at the product and campaign level, helping build the narrative arc behind a product or feature launch, not just the copy that sits inside it

  • Partner closely with design and art direction to make sure language and visuals are developed together, not language dropped in after the fact

  • Define and maintain the voice for AI Experiences, building the tone, vocabulary, and language principles that keep work sounding like it belongs to one studio, even across dozens of contributors

  • Build and maintain voice and language guidelines - writing the documentation and standards that let writers, designers, and partner teams apply the voice consistently without you in the room

  • Stay hands-on with the craft - personally drafting headlines, scripts, and copy under deadline, not only briefing and reviewing the work of others

  • Translate complex AI concepts into language that feels human, clear, and compelling - making technical ideas legible without flattening them

  • Stay genuinely plugged into culture - language, meme culture, music, entertainment - so the work reads as current rather than corporate

  • Share and stand behind language and narrative choices with the Brand Writing lead, the Creative Director, senior leadership, and cross-functional partners

  • Mentor and give feedback to other writers and creatives in the studio, raising the bar on language craft across the team

Qualifications
Required Qualifications:
  • 3+ years proven writing or content design experience AND a certification, degree, or training in English, Writing, Human-centered Design, Literature, or related field OR equivalent experience.
  • 1+ year(s) project leadership experience.

Preferred Qualifications:
  • 8+ years of professional writing experience, including senior or lead writing roles at an agency, in-house brand/creative studio, or comparable environment
  • Both agency and in-house experience, ideally you understand how voice work gets made under agency pressure-testing and how it has to hold up at in-house scale and speed
  • Experience creating voice, tone, or brand language guidelines - you've built documentation that other writers and teams use
  • A portfolio that shows real range - brand voice and campaign work alongside more functional writing like UX copy, scripts, or naming
  • A strong point of view on visual craft, even though writing is your primary discipline, you can sit in a design review and contribute meaningfully
  • A track record as a strong partner to both strategy and design - you don't default to one side or the other, and you can move fluidly between a strategy conversation and a design crit
  • The ability to write in multiple voices without losing the underlying brand DNA - knowing when a moment calls for restraint versus boldness
  • Real cultural fluency - genuine engagement with music, entertainment, internet culture, or adjacent creative communities
  • Strong presentation and communication skills - comfortable talking through language choices with senior leadership, including the Brand Writing lead and Creative Director
  • Experience translating technical or complex subject matter into clear, resonant creative writing
  • Comfort working in a large, matrixed organization while protecting the integrity of the studio's voice
  • Experience writing for AI or emerging-technology products specifically
  • A personal creative practice - publishing, music, screenwriting, a newsletter, or similar - that signals a genuine relationship with language beyond the day job
  • Experience writing for experiential or live formats (events, keynotes, installations) in addition to digital and print

Writing IC4 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $119,800 - $234,700 per year. There is a different range applicable to specific work locations, within the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, and the base pay range for this role in those locations is USD $160,200 - $261,000 per year.
Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here:
https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/us-corporate-pay
This position will be open for a minimum of 5 days, with applications accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled.
Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, immigration status, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran or military status, race, ethnicity, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance with religious accommodations and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, read more about requesting accommodations.

What Microsoft employees say

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About Microsoft

Sourced by ZipRecruiter

Our infrastructure is comprised of a large global portfolio of more than 100 datacenters and 1 million servers. Our foundation is built upon and managed by a team of subject matter experts working to support services for more than 1 billion customers and 20 million businesses in over 90 countries worldwide. With environmental sustainability and optimization at the forefront of our datacenter design and operations, we continue to grow and evolve as we meet the ever-changing business demands that hold Microsoft as a world-class cloud provider.

Industry

Computer and computer peripheral equipment and software wholesalers

Company size

10,000+ Employees

Headquarters location

Redmond, WA, US

Year founded

1975

Social media

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