Earn Up to $95,000 Working Remotely: CalMatters Is Looking for a Transcription Specialist to Join Its Team

Professionals with experience in transcription, data management, and civic technology have an exciting opportunity to join CalMatters/The Markup as a Transcription Specialist, Digital Democracy. This full-time remote position offers an annual salary ranging from USD $75,000 to $95,000, comprehensive benefits, and the chance to contribute to one of the most innovative journalism projects in the United States.

The role supports the Digital Democracy Project, an artificial intelligence-powered initiative that helps journalists, policymakers, and the public better understand state legislative proceedings. While the position is remote and open to candidates across the United States, CalMatters prefers applicants based in California and requires occasional travel to Sacramento and San Luis Obispo.

About the Digital Democracy Project

Digital Democracy is one of the nation’s most advanced applications of artificial intelligence in journalism and civic engagement. Developed by CalMatters, the platform captures and organizes legislative proceedings in real time, creating a searchable database that helps journalists identify important policy developments and hold governments accountable.

Initially launched in California, the project has expanded to Hawai’i and is now growing into Texas, Connecticut, and additional states. By combining AI technology with high-quality journalism, the initiative improves government transparency and provides citizens with easier access to legislative information.

About the Role

The Transcription Specialist will work closely with the Transcription Manager to prepare legislative videos and related data for processing by the transcription team. The successful candidate will review legislative hearings, identify discussions on specific bills, organize metadata, clean text files, and assist throughout the transcription process.

This is a highly detail-oriented position requiring strong organizational skills and the ability to manage independent workflows while maintaining exceptional accuracy.

The role offers an opportunity to work with cutting-edge speech recognition technologies while supporting investigative journalism and civic participation.

Key Responsibilities

The successful candidate will contribute to several important aspects of the Digital Democracy workflow, including:

• Reviewing legislative hearings and identifying bill discussions.
• Preparing legislative video content for transcription.
• Cleaning text to improve transcription accuracy.
• Supporting end-to-end transcription of legislative proceedings.
• Organizing metadata and categorizing legislative data.
• Maintaining high standards of quality assurance.
• Coordinating workflows with the transcription team.
• Helping improve the efficiency of AI-assisted transcription pipelines.

Through these responsibilities, the Transcription Specialist will help ensure that legislative records remain accurate, searchable, and accessible to journalists and the public.

Required Qualifications

CalMatters is seeking candidates with experience in transcription and legislative documentation who can work independently while maintaining exceptional attention to detail.

Applicants should demonstrate experience in:

• Legislative processes in any U.S. state, particularly Texas.
• Data tagging and metadata organization.
• Data cleanup and record management.
• Transcription workflows and style guides.
• Speech-to-text software.
• Copy editing, proofreading, and quality assurance.
• Coordinating workflows or reviewing work completed by small teams.

These qualifications are essential for maintaining the accuracy and reliability of legislative records used by journalists and researchers.

Preferred Skills

Candidates with additional technical and policy expertise are encouraged to apply.

Preferred qualifications include:

• Experience working with databases.
• Ability to write and execute SQL queries.
• Familiarity with AI speech-to-text technologies.
• Knowledge of data pipelines.
• Academic or professional background in public policy, political journalism, or legal studies.

These skills will allow candidates to contribute more effectively to the organization’s growing technology-driven journalism initiatives.

Salary and Benefits

The Transcription Specialist position offers a competitive annual salary ranging from USD $75,000 to $95,000, depending on experience and qualifications.

Employees also receive an extensive benefits package that includes:

• Medical insurance.
• Dental coverage.
• Vision insurance.
• Employer-paid coverage of 95% of health insurance costs for employees and dependents.
• 401(k) retirement plan with employer matching.
• Employer-paid life insurance.
• Full-time employment with union representation through the Pacific Media Workers Guild.

These benefits make the position highly attractive for professionals seeking long-term career stability within nonprofit journalism.

About CalMatters

CalMatters is an award-winning nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated to explaining California’s public policy and political landscape. In 2024, the organization merged with The Markup, expanding its focus on technology accountability and investigative reporting.

The newsroom produces multimedia journalism, data-driven investigations, and accountability reporting distributed through its own platforms and more than 250 media partners across the country. Its success is measured by public impact rather than website traffic, with projects such as the California Voter Guide, Blacklight privacy tool, and Digital Democracy helping millions of people make informed decisions.

CalMatters also emphasizes diversity, inclusion, equity, and collaboration, creating a supportive environment for journalists from a wide range of backgrounds.

How to Apply

Interested applicants should submit:

• A current resume.
• Relevant work samples.

Instead of a traditional cover letter, candidates will answer application questions during the online application process. CalMatters specifically asks applicants to complete these responses without using artificial intelligence or other automated writing tools.

Applicants should submit their applications through the organization’s online careers portal and avoid contacting hiring managers directly.

Final Thoughts

The Remote Transcription Specialist position at CalMatters offers a unique opportunity to combine transcription expertise, technology, and public service journalism. By supporting the Digital Democracy Project, the successful candidate will help improve government transparency while enabling journalists to uncover important stories that strengthen civic engagement.

With a competitive salary of up to $95,000 per year, outstanding employee benefits, remote work flexibility, and the opportunity to contribute to one of America’s most innovative nonprofit news organizations, this position is an excellent choice for professionals passionate about transcription, legislative research, and technology-driven journalism.

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Disclaimer: Remote Job Opportunities (RJO) is not the  organization offering this opportunity. For any inquiries, please contact the responsible organization directly. Please do not send your applications to RJO, as we are unable to process them. Due to the high volume of  emails we receive daily, we may not be able to respond to all inquiries. Thank you for your understanding.