Technical Writer II

Spectra Logic•Boulder, CO

1d•$65,000 - $80,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The technical writer is a primary communicator between the engineering team and the customer, translating highly technical information into easily understandable technical documentation that can be followed by both new customers and trained support personnel. They are responsible for interfacing directly with the engineering teams to gather necessary information for the creation and updating of customer- and support-facing documentation, such as release notes, user guides and service guides, collating the assets into easily understood directions and reference material. As product branding evolves, they will often be asked to update existing publications with new collateral, helping to maintain the relevance and freshness of one of the main interfaces between Spectralogic and its customers.

Requirements

Excellent and demonstrable command of English language and grammar.
Ability to forge relationships with the engineering and other extended teams, including finding trusted reviewers and subject matter experts.
Must be an active member of the product release teams to ensure publications are not treated as an afterthought, requiring the ability to ask questions, search out disconnects between specifications and delivered products, and point out inconsistencies or errors in the user interfaces they are tasked with documenting.

Nice To Haves

Previous examples of technical writing are preferred to demonstrate the ability to craft a publication with common tools, such as MS Word, Madcap Flare, Adobe Acrobat, and Photoshop.

Responsibilities

During new product introductions (NPI), works with the engineering team to gather necessary information and collateral (i.e. screenshots, product photos, etc.) to create high-quality technical publications that are clear, simple to follow and easy to understand by the intended customers, while adhering to established Spectra style guides and branding requirements.
When products are revised (i.e. new software releases), gather information and collateral related to the new changes, incorporating revisions into the relevant existing publications to ensure they accurately reflect and relay the new additions.
Work with the marketing group to plan the incorporation of new branding requirements corresponding with planned technical revisions or new product introductions. Provide feedback on the effort and timelines necessary to implement these branding changes.
Provide guidance to product managers during the planning phases to account for the effort and timelines necessary to revise or create relevant publications.
Conduct reviews of revisions and new publications with the technical team, soliciting feedback and error corrections in order to ensure high-quality documents for product release.
Once revisions or new documents are reviewed, guide the publications through the Spectra Logic engineering change (EC) release process. This responsibility may require separate ECs for publications, or collaborating with the technical team to include release on existing, larger ECs.
Work with their team lead to decide on workload divisions and how deliverables for different releases impact each other, providing this feedback to the relevant product managers during product planning.
Evaluate and implement new tools for the generation of content and collateral, as newer technologies become available (i.e. the inclusion of digital documentation in shipped products).
In the case of printed documents, partner with the purchasing department to determine printing times and plan document releases accordingly to meet product introduction deadlines.
Report errors, defects or inconsistencies in product user interfaces or touch points via the relevant defect reporting tools (i.e Jira). Track the progress of issue resolution so new collateral or changes can be incorporated into the relevant publication when appropriate.