Company Overview
ShortMax is a fast-growing global vertical drama platform with worldwide business coverage. As one of the fastest-evolving players in the serialized short drama industry, we are revolutionizing entertainment consumption for global audiences.
In 2025, ShortMax officially entered the AI content track and has now become the world’s top-ranked AI content enterprise. Boasting a team of over 10,000 employees and a mature global content production system, we focus on developing and distributing hit vertical dramas tailored for mobile viewing. Our productions feature tight pacing and high emotional engagement, covering diverse genres including romance, billionaire lifestyle, werewolf/urban fantasy, revenge, and family relationship dramas.
Our content is widely released on TikTok, proprietary platforms and multiple multimedia channels, reaching hundreds of millions of global viewers. We launch more than 100 new short dramas every month. Adhering to innovation and premium content creation, we strive to build a world-class, audience-centric global content ecosystem. Join us to shape the future of global short-form serialized storytelling.
Position Overview
We are looking for a writer with direct experience in vertical short drama, short-form serialized scripts, or fast-paced digital scripted content. This role focuses on adapting, localizing, and polishing serialized short drama scripts for Western and North American audiences, with an emphasis on strong hooks, emotional conflict, fast pacing, and cliffhanger-driven storytelling.
You will work with web novel IPs, Chinese-origin scripts, story outlines, and original creative concepts, transforming them into high-engagement vertical drama scripts optimized for mobile viewing. The ideal candidate understands how to build addictive story arcs, emotional turning points, dramatic reversals, and episode-ending hooks within short 1–2 minute episodes.
This role is best suited for writers who have experience in vertical drama, short-form video storytelling, serialized romance, web novel adaptation, or commercial digital scripted content, especially in romance, billionaire romance, revenge, family drama, werewolf/urban fantasy, YA, or similar emotionally driven genres.
Key Responsibilities
Story Development & Script Adaptation
- Adapt web novels, Chinese-origin scripts, story outlines, and existing materials into structured vertical short drama screenplays.
- Create original storylines, season outlines, and episodic scripts for short-form serialized dramas.
- Write scripts designed for 1–2 minute episodes, typically across 60–120 episodes per season.
- Restructure long-form literary or scripted content into short, high-retention episodes with strong openings, emotional payoffs, and cliffhanger endings.
Vertical Drama Content Optimization
- Optimize story pacing, emotional beats, conflict escalation, and episode hooks for mobile-first viewing.
- Refine episode openings, scene transitions, reversals, and cliffhanger placement to improve audience engagement and retention.
- Revise scripts based on creative feedback, production needs, viewer response, and content performance insights.
Cross-Cultural Localization
- Localize and rewrite Chinese-origin or international short drama scripts for Western and North American audiences.
- Improve dialogue, character motivation, emotional logic, cultural relevance, and story flow.
- Ensure scripts feel natural, commercially engaging, and emotionally compelling to English-speaking viewers.
Original Creation & Team Collaboration
- Develop original creative content for in-house vertical drama projects.
- Collaborate closely with writers, editors, translators, producers, and production teams throughout the script development process.
- Participate in script discussions, table reads, evaluations, and creative review meetings.
- Provide professional and constructive feedback to support overall script quality.
Production Support
- Provide script updates, revisions, and creative adjustments during production.
- Help ensure the final production remains aligned with the original creative direction, audience positioning, and platform content standards.
Requirements
- 2+ years of experience writing, adapting, editing, or polishing vertical short dramas, short-form serialized scripts, mobile-first scripted video, or comparable fast-paced digital drama content.
- Strong understanding of vertical drama structure, including 1–2 minute episode pacing, opening hooks, emotional escalation, reversal points, and cliffhanger endings.
- Proven writing experience in romance, billionaire romance, revenge, family drama, werewolf/urban fantasy, YA, or other emotionally driven commercial genres.
- Ability to adapt web novels, Chinese-origin scripts, story outlines, or existing materials into natural and engaging English scripts for Western and North American audiences.
- Strong English writing skills, with the ability to create dramatic, emotionally intense, and commercially engaging dialogue.
- Ability to quickly understand and implement revision feedback.
- Comfortable working under tight deadlines in a fast-paced, high-volume creative environment.
- Strong communication skills and ability to collaborate with cross-functional creative and production teams.
Preferred Qualifications
- Prior experience with vertical drama platforms, short drama studios, web novel adaptations, serialized romance content, or mobile-first scripted entertainment.
- Experience localizing Asian-origin or Chinese-origin scripts for English-speaking audiences.
- Professional working proficiency in Mandarin Chinese is strongly preferred.
- Familiarity with short drama audience preferences, especially romance, revenge, family conflict, billionaire romance, werewolf/urban fantasy, and emotional cliffhanger-driven storytelling.
- Background in writer’s rooms, digital media, film/TV production, publishing, online fiction platforms, or serialized content development.
- Ability to mentor junior writers or support collaborative group writing.
- Flexibility to collaborate across U.S. and Asia time zones.
Benefits
- Full-time salary range: $55,000 – $90,000 per year
- Final compensation will be determined based on experience, writing ability, portfolio quality, and role fit
- Competitive compensation package with potential performance bonuses based on project needs
- Eligible full-time employees may receive medical, financial, and other employee benefits
- H-1B sponsorship may be considered for eligible full-time roles
- H-1B transfer support will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, depending on the candidate’s current immigration status, role fit, and company approval
- Full-time and project-based opportunities are both open for discussion