The IAB sends a call for candidates for this position every two years. The current appointee is Eliot Lear, whose term is up for renewal in February 2026. Eliot has indicated that he is interested in serving another term.

The IAB (with help from the other RFC streams) is identifying potential candidates for this role, with the intent to gather community feedback and make an appointment by early next year. Suggestions for candidates are welcome at ise-search26@iab.org.

The requirements and responsibilities for the role are documented in RFC 8730, "Independent Submission Editor Model." Eliot has indicated that the current workload varies based on when documents are ready to advance, but has been averaging about 3-4 hours per week.