Visiting Scientific Outreach Specialist

SciLine, a program of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), is accepting applications for a bilingual (English, Spanish) Visiting Scientific Outreach Specialist-a full-time, two-year-long opportunity to contribute to the organization's mission of connecting journalists to scientific expertise. This individual will play a central role researching, identifying, vetting, and recruiting scientific experts to participate in SciLine's flagship Expert Matching Service for journalists, including by identifying Spanish-speaking scientists to add to SciLine's database of media-ready experts. A competitive candidate will have fluency in both English and Spanish, a concrete understanding of the principles, methods, and culture of science; familiarity with current research trends; excellent research, data analysis, and time management skills; and a well-calibrated ability to communicate effectively with busy peers in the science community-all within the context of a bustling, deadline-driven, newsroom-like shop. Familiarity with the news media landscape is a plus.

This is a two-year, term-based position with the possibility of extension. The position may be especially attractive to individuals with a Master's or PhD degree in a field of science who are considering science communication, journalism, public relations, or other non-academic career options.

Help us ignite the next era of science.

What You'll Do

• Identify scientific experts from SciLine's internal database and, when necessary, from other sources, and vet those experts' scientific expertise and communication skills for possible referral to journalists seeking sources on deadline;
• As a peer-to-peer science professional, reach out to scientific experts to recruit them to participate in interviews with journalists from local and national media outlets for specific stories;
• Partner with SciLine's Scientific Outreach Managers to expand SciLine's database of experts, including through recruitment of scientific experts who are bilingual and/or who come from a diversity of personal and professional backgrounds;
• As time allows, help analyze quantitative and qualitative data collected by SciLine to assess the efficacy and value of its services for journalists and scientists; and
• Depending on the skills and interests of the successful candidate and the needs of the organization, there may also be opportunities to participate in other SciLine activities, such as organizing media briefings, arranging one-on-one interviews with scientists, teaching media communication to scientists or science to reporters, or other activities.

Minimum Qualifications

• Master's degree or Ph.D. in a scientific discipline, in social sciences a plus;
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in both English and Spanish;
• Excellent research skills and commitment to scientific rigor;
• Ability to build trusting relationships with scientists, research institutions, and scientific organizations;
• Ability to read, digest, and quickly extract meaning from scientific and technical papers across a wide range of scientific domains;
• Ability to identify and assess scientific communications skills using a diverse range of potential resources;
• Ability to clean, analyze, and extract conclusions from large qualitative and quantitative datasets; proficiency with Tableau, Power BI, R, and/or Salesforce a plus;
• Ability to balance short- and long-term deadlines simultaneously;
• Ability to work independently, but appreciative of collaborative inputs;
• Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion across the scientific and journalistic enterprises-themes central to SciLine's mission and success;
• Sensitivity to social and ethical issues relevant to science, science communication, and journalism;
• Appreciation for SciLine's overarching mission of enhancing journalism with scientific expertise and context and leveraging journalism in support of evidence-based decision-making.

Location

SciLine is a fully remote team. The person in this role has the option of working fully remotely or hybrid or full-time from the Washington, D.C., headquarters of AAAS-where a few local SciLine team members retain offices. Remote job candidates must be located in or willing to relocate to a state where AAAS has a business presence. Please review the approved states list below to confirm eligibility. If you have any questions, please contact our Talent Team at jobs@aaas.org.

Application Process

Submit a resume and cover letter outlining qualifications and interest in the position by August 22, 2026. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. A Recruiter will contact you with next steps if you are selected for an interview.

AAAS is aware of fraudulent messages from individuals and entities falsely claiming to represent our organization. Please note that all official recruitment communications will come from an @aaas.org email address, and all open positions are posted on our Careers page (aaas.org/careers). AAAS will never ask applicants to provide payment, financial information including credit card numbers, or Social Security numbers during the hiring process via an email. If you receive an email claiming to be from AAAS that looks suspicious, do not click on any links or open any attachments. Instead, please contact us at jobs@aaas.org before responding or sharing any personal information.

The anticipated initial rate of compensation for this position is between $80,000 and $90,000 per year. AAAS currently provides the following benefits for this position: paid vacation leave, paid sick leave, paid holidays, health insurance, flexible spending account, dental insurance, life insurance, vision insurance, retirement benefits, short- and long-term disability, and life insurance, each subject to the terms of the applicable program. Additional benefits may apply.

Any actual offer of employment, reflecting the total compensation package and benefits, will be made in the sole discretion of AAAS and will be based on a variety of factors, including years of experience, depth of experience, and other relevant factors. AAAS reserves the right to amend or modify its employment benefits and compensation structure at any time.

AAAS is an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or other protected category. AAAS uses E-Verify to confirm the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. No visa sponsorship is available for this position.

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The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) does not accept unsolicited agency resumes. Any unsolicited resumes sent to AAAS from a third party, such as an agency, including unsolicited resumes sent to an AAAS mailing address, fax machine or email address, directly to AAAS employees, or to the AAAS resume database will be considered AAAS property. Verbal or written communications from any employee of AAAS shall not be considered binding obligations. AAAS Human Resources is the only AAAS representative authorized by AAAS enter into any employment agreements with any third party. AAAS will not pay a fee for any placement resulting from the receipt of an unsolicited resume.

*Approved States

• California
• Colorado
• District of Columbia
• Florida
• Georgia
• Illinois
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• New Jersey
• New York
• North Carolina
• Ohio
• Pennsylvania
• Texas
• Virginia
• Washington