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Science Writing Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Travere

Senior Manager, Medical Writing

San Diego, CA · On-site +1

We continue to courageously forge new paths as we move toward a common goal of elevating science and service for rare patients . Position Summary: The Senior Manager, Medical Writing is responsible ...

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How much do science writing jobs pay per hour?

As of Sep 1, 2026, the average hourly pay for science writing in California is $30.56, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $19.23 and $36.78 per hour, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is science writing?

A Science Writing job involves communicating scientific information clearly and accurately to a broad audience. Science writers create content for journals, websites, magazines, and other media, translating complex research into accessible language. They may work for research institutes, government agencies, or as freelancers. Strong writing skills and an understanding of scientific concepts are essential for success in this field.

What does a science writer do?

Science Writers usually spend their days researching scientific topics, interviewing subject matter experts, and writing or editing content for various audiences and formats such as articles, reports, or press releases. They often interpret complex research findings and translate them into clear, engaging, and accurate language that can be understood by non-specialists. Collaboration with scientists, editors, and designers is common to verify technical accuracy and ensure effective communication. Managing deadlines, staying updated with scientific developments, and adhering to editorial standards are also key parts of the role.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive in science writing?

To thrive in Science Writing, you need a solid understanding of scientific concepts, excellent writing skills, and typically a background in science or journalism. Familiarity with style guides (such as AMA or APA), research databases, and citation management tools is often expected. Strong attention to detail, curiosity, and the ability to communicate complex information clearly are highly valued soft skills. These competencies help ensure accurate, engaging, and accessible content that bridges the gap between scientific communities and the public.

How much do science writers make?

Science writers' salaries vary based on experience, location, and employment type. Entry-level positions typically start around $40,000 to $60,000 annually, while experienced writers or freelancers can earn $70,000 or more, especially when working with specialized topics or reputable publications.

Is science writing a good career?

Science writing is a viable career that involves communicating scientific concepts to diverse audiences through articles, reports, and digital media. It requires strong writing skills, a background in science or research, and often familiarity with editing tools and deadlines. The field offers opportunities in media outlets, research institutions, and freelance work, with job stability depending on experience and specialization.

What is a science writer's job?

A science writer creates clear, accurate, and engaging content to communicate scientific concepts to a general audience. They often work for magazines, websites, or research institutions, and use skills in research, writing, and editing to translate complex information into accessible language.

What are the most commonly searched types of Science Writing jobs in California?

The most popular types of Science Writing jobs in California are:

What are popular job titles related to Science Writing jobs in California?

For Science Writing jobs in California, the most frequently searched job titles are:

What job categories do people searching Science Writing jobs in California look for?

The top searched job categories for Science Writing jobs in California are:

What cities in California are hiring for Science Writing jobs?

Cities in California with the most Science Writing job openings:

Science Writing jobs near you
Infographic showing various Science Writing job openings in California as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% As Needed, 77% Full Time, 20% Part Time, and 2% Contract. Highlights an 76% Physical, 3% Hybrid, and 21% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $63,557 per year, or $30.6 per hour.

Scientific Writer, Life Science (Radial)

Astera

Emeryville, CA • On-site

$120K - $180K/yr

Full-time

Posted 5 days ago

Job description

About Astera:
Astera is a private foundation on a mission to steer science and technology toward an abundant future. We believe the coming years will bring an era of unprecedented scientific and technological advancement as exponential progress in AI converges with central advances in other fields to dramatically accelerate innovation. This inflection point provides an unparalleled opportunity to fundamentally rethink the institutions, systems, and tools that drive scientific progress.
Unlike traditional non-profit research organizations, projects supported by Astera operate like high-velocity startups, allowing us to focus on ambitious goals, match structure to problem, and attract strong technical talent and leadership. You can read more about our mission, vision, and programming here.
About Radial
Radial is a research organization within Astera focused on rethinking life science research at a systems level. The systems that enable how we fund, do, and build upon science have long needed an update. At Radial, we design, fund, and operate programs that tackle foundational scientific problems while simultaneously testing better ways to do science. We're looking for people who are willing to take big risks, build useful things and share their learnings in the open.
Position Summary
Radial is seeking a Scientific Writer to shape and sharpen the scientific content our teams publish - editing research outputs for argument and clarity, drafting blog posts from interviews and raw results, and helping our scientists release work in formats better suited to it than a static PDF. This position reports to the CEO of Radial.
You have a real appetite for creative scholarly communication (e.g. interactive figures, video, executable models) and you're motivated by what happens after publication: work that others can reuse, build on, and openly critique. You'll draft and edit, direct figure and design work, and train researchers at Radial on what good scholarly communications looks like. You'll support Radial's programs, like Deliverome, OpenADMET, Prism, and the Radial Residency, with audiences ranging from structural biologists and biochemists to gene delivery researchers and prospective residents.
This is a full-time position.
Responsibilities:
Scientific Writing
  • Edit research outputs and scientific publications - both content editing (argument, structure, framing, what the reader needs to know) and copy editing
  • Draft and edit blog posts from interviews with scientists, internal documents, and raw results

Publication and release
  • Ensure every release meets Astera's Open Science policy - persistent identifiers, open licenses, data in FAIR repositories, runnable code - and maintain the pipeline of upcoming pubs
  • Advise on publication strategy and ideal unit of release: help scientists find the smallest independently useful thing they could publish now

Creative and visual communication
  • Work with scientists to identify findings that are poorly served by conventional formats, and propose alternatives: interactive figures, web-hosted visualizations, executable code, etc.
  • Direct external designers and developers on figures, interactive builds, and demos: write the brief, judge the result, manage the revision loop
  • Build templates and tools that make those formats a cheap default rather than a one-off effort
  • Refine slide decks for talks, funder meetings, and internal reviews

Documentation support
  • Help researchers document the computational methods and algorithms our programs produce: what the method does, what it assumes, what its parameters mean, how it fails, and how a user can tell whether it worked
  • Partner with Data Steward on documentation and dataset standards for open-source releases

Qualifications and Experience
  • PhD in a life science field plus at least 2 years of work experience in scientific writing and editing; or 5+ years of equivalent industry experience.
  • Technical depth: you can read a method section or a codebase in an unfamiliar area, work out what the algorithm actually does, and ask the author the question that exposes the undocumented assumption.
  • Demonstrated technical writing - documentation, tutorials, or method write-ups you can point to, ideally public
  • Demonstrated editing range: you can improve someone else's argument and structure, then copy edit the result, without flattening their voice
  • Comfort with Git/GitHub, Markdown, notebooks, and at least one documentation toolchain (Sphinx, MkDocs, Quarto, Jupyter Book, or similar)
  • Judgment about audience: you can tell the difference between documentation for a method's likely users, a post for a general scientific reader, and a proposal for a funder, and you write differently for each
  • Experience publishing research outputs in formats other than the static PDF - interactive figures, executable notebooks, navigable datasets, or web-native pubs
  • Ability to work across several programs in different technical domains
  • Preferred:
    • experience building interactive scientific content (e.g. D3, Observable, Plotly, Quarto, or similar)
    • experience maintaining or contributing to open-source scientific software
    • familiarity with any of our domains - structural biology, drug discovery and ADMET, gene and drug delivery, or scientific infrastructure

Location
This position is on site at our office in Emeryville, CA. Some travel may be required from time-to-time for in-person collaboration and work.
Compensation
Range: $120-180K
The posted salary range is based on location in the Bay Area. The successful candidate will receive a competitive compensation package, commensurate with their experience and location.
  • Benefits Summary

Cultural Alignment
  • Surprising problem-solver - you love finding unexpected solutions to problems we don't even know we have, and see options where others only see constraints.
  • Flexible by default - you don't draw hard lines around your job description and expect your role to evolve significantly over 6-12 months.
  • Bias to action - you launch and iterate on thoughtful experiments rather than waiting for perfect plans, and you're energized by novel problems.
  • High standards, internally driven - you believe you can build the world's best vehicle for unleashing extraordinary individuals to create public goods, and you hold yourself to that bar without benchmarking against others.
  • Open to feedback - You create opportunities to give and receive honest feedback, staying focused on both personal and team growth, and committing to transparency even when it's uncomfortable.
  • Operate with the highest levels of integrity, judgment, and stewardship -- you treat residents, peers, and vendors with genuine respect for their time and contributions.
  • Embrace the tools that define great work today - Astera is building for an AI-driven future and equips the team accordingly. We see these as genuine force multipliers, not optional extras, and we expect our people to use them.

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