“主编”常见的英文表达有 chief editor 或 editor-in-chief。
chief editor：侧重于强调在编辑工作中处于主要、领导地位，负责整体编辑事务的负责人。例如：The chief editor made the final decision on which articles to include in the magazine.（主编对杂志收录哪些文章做出了最终决定。）
editor-in-chief：更正式、更书面一些，常用于新闻媒体、出版行业等专业领域，指主编这一职位。例如：He was appointed as the editor-in-chief of the well-known newspaper.（他被任命为这家知名报纸的主编。）