Technical Writer

As the leading transit bus manufacturer in the United States, GILLIG buses play a critical role in the environmental and social initiatives in communities across our nation. GILLIG is on the forefront in the transition to zero-emission vehicles and has an unmatched reputation in the industry for quality, reliability, durability, service, and support. From initial design through final assembly, each GILLIG bus is designed and built in Livermore, CA.

WHY GILLIG

• Leader in environmentally friendly mobility solutions including battery electric, hybrid electric, near-zero CNG and clean diesel transit buses

• Renowned for its inclusive team/family-oriented culture

• Stable, successful, and growing organization - a Bay Area business for over 132 years!

• Flexible schedules (*depending on project needs)

• Excellent compensation including company paid medical premiums, generous retirement plan and other comprehensive benefits

DEPARTMENT OVERVIEW

The Publications department directly impacts the success of GILLIG customers nationwide. Our team of writers, illustrators, specialists, and editors supports GILLIG's Customer Care and Aftermarket Parts organizations in our shared mission to effectively deliver timely and relevant technical product content to our customers. GILLIG customers depend on GILLIG publications for the successful adoption and operation of their buses.

ABOUT THE ROLE

We are looking for a technical writer who seeks to extend the traditional bounds of this titular role. In addition to turning technical specifications into beautiful customer-facing content, the successful candidate will help architect and build our new content repository and delivery mechanisms. This role requires an imaginative candidate who will support scripting, governance and design for the new systems. We hope to hire a writer who will support the implementation of content systems and still recognize the need to maintain existing delivery models. The role requires laser focus on customer success while building the next generation technical publications system.

IN THIS ROLE YOU WILL:

• Develop and maintain comprehensive and accurate technical information for GILLIG's customer-specific Operator's and Technical Service manuals, internal Sales support documentation, and other customer-facing content

• Help design and develop the architecture and page layouts for a new content system that optimizes content delivery with various reader experiences in mind, including video and the Web

• Help build out processes for provisioning content to that new system

• Perform technical publications authoring in accordance to established procedures, including ensuring on-time delivery

• Research and understand the required aspects of a component, system, or subsystem to be described and represented in the manuals or technical document

• Work with subject matter experts (such as engineers, quality assurance, program managers, and technicians) to produce authoritative content from initial specifications through reviews to final outputs

• Interpret and understand associated source data such as Bills of Material, technical summaries, vendor documentation, photos, technical drawings, and schematics

• Develop new manual content by extracting, translating, re-writing, and transforming complex source data into appropriate language, using established styles and templates for a wide audience, from maintenance and repair technicians to drivers to fleet managers

• Analyze and identify illustration requirements for new content; source, create, or update graphics appropriately

• Consider all aspects of a document or content request. Anticipate potential downstream issues that may not have been considered by others

• Support and collaborate with other team members to align on content strategy, variations, relationships, and impacts

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's degree, certificate in Technical Writing, or equivalent professional experience

• Minimum 7 years of technical writing experience, with an emphasis in the preparation of written content for highly customized equipment (Automotive, Commercial Vehicle, Aerospace, or similar strongly preferred)

• In-depth experience driving technical content creation processes (e.g., via structured or semi-structured authoring (content as data), content management, XML) and related software solutions (Siemens Teamcenter, etc.)

• Experience with Web technologies for content transformation and delivery, such as HTML, JavaScript, Perl, Python and RESTful APIs

• Familiarity with technologies supporting innovation in the publications authoring and delivery space, particularly the use of headless CMSs

• Demonstrated mastery of word processing, publishing, and technical illustration using Adobe Creative Cloud (i.e., InDesign, Acrobat, Illustrator, Photoshop)

• Excellent knowledge of technical document lifecycle strategies

• Excellent computer skills in a range of OS environments

• Translation or localization skills for English to Spanish (preferred, not required)

• Process certification experience (ISO 9000) (preferred, not required)

WORK ENVIRONMENT

• Ability to lift 25 lbs.

• Prolonged periods of sitting/standing at a desk and working on a computer

• Regularly required to sit, stand, and walk and occasionally kneel or squat

• The ideal candidate must be able to complete all physical requirements of the job with or without a reasonable accommodation.

• No Travel Required

• Standard start time: 7:00 am Pacific (negotiable)

EXPECTED COMPENSATION

$75,000 - $275,000/annual salary + premium benefits

Pay offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including market location, job classification, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. The total compensation package for this position may also include other elements dependent on the position offered. Details of participation in these benefit plans will be provided if a candidate receives an offer of employment.

GILLIG is an equal employment opportunity and affirmative action employer.