Lead Technical Writer

Canvas Inc.

About The Position

Key Responsibilities: Lead and mentor the technical writing team: Provide guidance, feedback, and professional development opportunities for technical writers, fostering a collaborative and high-performing environment. Develop documentation strategy and standards: Establish and implement the overall strategy, style guides, and best practices for the company's technical documentation to ensure consistency and quality. Oversee documentation architecture: Design and manage the structure and organization of all technical content, ensuring it is scalable, easy to navigate, and discoverable for all users. Drive process improvement: Identify and implement new tools, technologies, and workflows to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the documentation process. Serve as a subject matter expert: Act as the principal author for the most complex and critical documentation projects, leveraging your deep technical understanding. Collaborate with cross-functional leadership: Partner with leaders in Engineering, Product Management, and Support to align documentation efforts with product roadmaps and customer needs. Champion the user experience: Advocate for the end-user by ensuring all documentation is clear, concise, and effectively addresses their needs. Duties: Manage the daily activities of the technical writing team, including task assignment, project scheduling, and performance management. Establish and track key performance indicators (KPIs) for the team to measure content quality, productivity, and impact. Define and maintain the content strategy, information architecture, and voice/tone guidelines for all technical publications. Serve as the lead writer for high-priority or highly complex documentation projects, setting the standard for quality and clarity. Establish and oversee a peer review and editing process to ensure all documentation is accurate, clear, consistent, and adheres to established standards. Develop and maintain templates for all documentation types to ensure consistency across the product suite. Act as the primary point of contact for all documentation-related matters, representing the team in cross-functional meetings. Build strong relationships with Engineering, Product Management, and Customer Support to ensure a seamless flow of information and feedback. Requirements: Bachelor's degree in a technical field such as Engineering, Computer Science, or a related discipline. A minimum of 8-10 years of experience in technical writing, with at least 3 years in a leadership or senior role managing other writers. Proven ability to translate highly complex technical concepts into clear, concise, and accurate documentation for a variety of audiences. Demonstrated experience in developing and implementing documentation strategies, style guides, and quality control processes. Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with a keen eye for detail and grammar. Strong leadership and mentoring skills with a passion for developing talent. Experience working in an Agile development environment and familiarity with related tools (e.g., Jira, Confluence). Security Clearance: · Must be able to obtain and maintain a Top-Secret clearance Canvas was founded by Jami Peyton in 2007 to deliver real-world engineering and technology solutions that strengthen national defense. Since then, we’ve been guided by technical excellence, operational insight, and a shared commitment to the warfighter. Teamwork drives everything we do, enabling close collaboration across programs, customers, and colleagues to solve complex challenges. Our work supports key national security priorities like missile defense, test and evaluation, digital transformation, and warfighter readiness. As an award-winning company built on integrity, agility, and innovation, Canvas continues to grow and deliver mission-critical solutions that support the future of national defense.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in a technical field such as Engineering, Computer Science, or a related discipline.
A minimum of 8-10 years of experience in technical writing, with at least 3 years in a leadership or senior role managing other writers.
Proven ability to translate highly complex technical concepts into clear, concise, and accurate documentation for a variety of audiences.
Demonstrated experience in developing and implementing documentation strategies, style guides, and quality control processes.
Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with a keen eye for detail and grammar.
Strong leadership and mentoring skills with a passion for developing talent.
Experience working in an Agile development environment and familiarity with related tools (e.g., Jira, Confluence).
Must be able to obtain and maintain a Top-Secret clearance

Responsibilities

Lead and mentor the technical writing team: Provide guidance, feedback, and professional development opportunities for technical writers, fostering a collaborative and high-performing environment.
Develop documentation strategy and standards: Establish and implement the overall strategy, style guides, and best practices for the company's technical documentation to ensure consistency and quality.
Oversee documentation architecture: Design and manage the structure and organization of all technical content, ensuring it is scalable, easy to navigate, and discoverable for all users.
Drive process improvement: Identify and implement new tools, technologies, and workflows to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the documentation process.
Serve as a subject matter expert: Act as the principal author for the most complex and critical documentation projects, leveraging your deep technical understanding.
Collaborate with cross-functional leadership: Partner with leaders in Engineering, Product Management, and Support to align documentation efforts with product roadmaps and customer needs.
Champion the user experience: Advocate for the end-user by ensuring all documentation is clear, concise, and effectively addresses their needs.
Manage the daily activities of the technical writing team, including task assignment, project scheduling, and performance management.
Establish and track key performance indicators (KPIs) for the team to measure content quality, productivity, and impact.
Define and maintain the content strategy, information architecture, and voice/tone guidelines for all technical publications.
Serve as the lead writer for high-priority or highly complex documentation projects, setting the standard for quality and clarity.
Establish and oversee a peer review and editing process to ensure all documentation is accurate, clear, consistent, and adheres to established standards.
Develop and maintain templates for all documentation types to ensure consistency across the product suite.
Act as the primary point of contact for all documentation-related matters, representing the team in cross-functional meetings.
Build strong relationships with Engineering, Product Management, and Customer Support to ensure a seamless flow of information and feedback.