YouTube Documentary Scriptwriter –
YouTube Documentary Scriptwriter
Contract: Per-project freelance, ongoing work available for a strong fit
Comp: $300–500 per project (beat sheet & script + revisions)
Hours: Project-based
Location: Fully remote, any time zone is ok (North America preferred)
Who We Are
Four years ago, Dragonfruit set out to bring together some of the most talented visual storytellers, viral video strategists, and big-name clients, to change the way we create and consume on YouTube. Since then, we’ve generated over a billion organic views and hundreds of millions of subscribers for creators like MrBeast, Ali Abdaal, Mark Manson, Chris Williamson, Codie Sanchez, and organizations like Y Combinator, e.l.f. Beauty, WHOOP, ClickUp, and the Center for Humane Technology. We’re not here to chase cheap clicks, we’re here to make YouTube smarter.
Dragonfruit’s Mission
Dragonfruit exists to help the world’s most important ideas travel farther. We partner with experts, educators, scientists, founders, and creators to turn deep knowledge into media people actually want to watch, share, and act on. In a world where attention is often optimized for noise, we’re building a company that rewards clarity, substance, and human impact, combining creative judgment, production craft, and AI-powered systems to help better information reach more people. Our mission is to build the creative infrastructure for a healthier, more thoughtful internet.
Why This Role Matters
Important ideas fail on YouTube for one reason more than any other: they’re presented as information instead of story. The research can be immaculate and the footage beautiful, and viewers still leave in the first ninety seconds. This role is where that gets decided. The script sets whether a documentary earns its audience or talks past it, and everything downstream inherits that choice. Get the story right and the ideas travel.
What You’ll Do
- Script development: write narration, on-camera dialogue, and visual direction from a brief and in-depth research.
- Research and translation: work with researchers and the creative director to understand the ideas behind each episode, then write them precisely without making them inaccessible.
- Story architecture: structure each episode with a real arc, opening on a question and closing on something the viewer didn’t have before.
- Write with the camera in mind: note visual cues and build the script for YouTube retention, not just for the page.
- Develop host voice: establish and sustain a consistent written voice across a series.
- Revise through review: carry scripts through client and research review cycles without losing the story in the process.
Skills and Qualifications
- Writer with produced documentary or long-form digital credits, and clips you can point to.
- Able to research and synthesize complex technical material, then write about it with clarity and story instinct.
- Strong grasp of narrative structure, and the judgment to know when accuracy needs a caveat and when it needs a better sentence.
- Comfortable in screenplay and AV format across tools like Final Draft, Google Docs, or similar.
- Genuine curiosity about the subject matter, with the ability to self-research and arrive with questions rather than waiting to be briefed.
- Understanding of what holds attention on YouTube specifically, including how the opening minutes decide whether the rest gets watched.
- Takes notes well: collaborative through revision cycles, and able to separate a note worth taking from one worth pushing back on.
If you’re ready to join Dragonfruit and play a role in the future of YouTube, apply today!