Assistant Editor, Cooking

The Los Angeles Times, 2300

E. Imperial Hwy, El Segundo, California, United States of America

Posted Thursday, January 22, 2026 at 8:00 AM

The Los Angeles Times is seeking a cooking editor and content creator to lead the development of cooking videos for  and our social platforms, and to strengthen our position as an essential destination for cooking journalism in Southern California.

This role is for a hands-on creator with a contagious passion for food, cooking and Los Angeles, a strong on-camera presence and voice, and a deep understanding of how cooking content performs across digital platforms. We are open to a wide range of concepts and encourage applicants to bring their own creative vision for what recipes and cooking videos can be for our brand and our subscribers in Southern California.

The ideal candidate will offer a dynamic vision for reestablishing the L.A. Times Test Kitchen as a living cooking lab and nucleus for exploring cooking at every level across the region.

The cooking editor will develop recipes; oversee the testing of recipes by contributors; supervise Food section activities in the Times Test Kitchen in coordination with Food’s editors, writers and the Test Kitchen manager; produce recipes in our CMS; and help set up photo and video shoots for stories and recipes on all platforms.

Responsibilities:

• Plan, edit, test and write clear and interesting recipes that reflect a West Coast perspective for cooking stories to be published regularly, digitally and often for print
• Be the primary on-camera face of L.A. Times Cooking
• Pitch and produce cooking videos, working closely with editors and the L.A. Times’ video team
• Oversee recipe testing in The Times Test Kitchen for quality control
• Make sure that all recipes are written in L.A. Times style and accurately entered into the L.A. Times’ content management system
• Help coordinate and organize guest chef, cookbook author and home cook appearances in The Times Test Kitchen and on location
• Work with photo, video and design teams as well as outside stylists to ensure that the food in our images entices readers to make our recipes
• Make appearances in social media and L.A. Times videos as well as occasional local news segments, live cooking demos and classes plus other platforms to help L.A. Times Food connect with readers
• Edit, revise and organize archived recipes as needed
• Adhere to the company’s editorial ethics policies and guidelines and other company policies regarding employee conduct
• Other duties as assigned

Requirements:

• At least two to three years of experience developing original recipes and testing recipes
• Experience creating vertical video for social from start to finish
• Ability to stay organized while multitasking recipe testing with staff meetings; editing and/or writing; and maintaining editorial and creative workflows
• Ability to meet deadlines with minimal supervision and obsessive attention to detail
• Excellent communication skills and ability to work with multiple teams, including photo, design and video
• Ability to write new recipes and edit recipes from other sources, including chefs, home cooks, cookbook writers and the L.A. Times archives
• An understanding of audience data and analytics to help determine recipe selection, as well as an instinct for anticipating trends that might not show up in the data
• Experience in a professional test kitchen at a media company is a bonus

This position is classified as Assistant Editor in the Los Angeles Times Guild and will be based in El Segundo, Calif. Occasional night and weekend work is expected.

Qualified candidates should submit a resume, cover letter and applicable clips and videos to Deputy Food Editor Betty Hallock at the apply link. In that cover letter, applicants should detail what kind of cooking videos they envision and include up to three sample recipes.

The L.A. Times is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes all qualified applicants regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We actively work to create an inclusive environment where…