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Senior Technical Writer

Livermore, CA

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 senior technical writer who has previous experience with, and passion for, extending the bounds of this familiar 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 lead the structuring of content, identify scripting needed for automation, implement governance models and help design new systems. We hope to hire a senior writer who will understand how to implement new content systems while maintaining existing delivery models in the service of happy customers.  The role requires a focus on customer success while building the next-generation technical publications system. This role reports into the Senior Manager of Technical Publications.

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
  • Lead the design, implementation, and development of page layouts and architecture for a new, more-structured content system that optimizes content delivery with various reader experiences in mind, including video and the Web
  • Build out processes for provisioning content to that new system
  • Perform technical publications authoring at the level of a senior writer and in accordance with established procedures, including ensuring on-time delivery
  • Research and come to understand the required aspects of a component, system, or subsystem to be described and represented in the manuals or technical document
  • Collaborate with subject matter experts (such as engineers, quality assurance, program managers, and technicians) as a knowledgeable partner to produce authoritative content from initial specifications through reviews to final outputs
  • Authoritatively interpret and understand associated source data such as bills of material, technical summaries, vendor documentation, photos, technical drawings, and schematics
  • Identify and create needed manual content by extracting, translating, re-writing, and transforming complex source data into appropriate customer-friendly language, using established styles and templates for a wide audience, from maintenance and repair technicians to drivers to fleet managers
  • Obtain mastery at using established graphics tools to create supporting visual content for written material using your analysis and identification of illustration requirements for new content
  • Lead the creation of and communicate the priorities for content requests that come from various sources
  • Take on a lead role as you collaborate with Technical Publications team members to design and build a digital content strategy

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS

  • Bachelor’s degree, certificate in Technical Writing, or equivalent professional experience
  • Minimum 10 years of technical writing, including experience as a team or project lead 
  • Experience with the preparation of written content for highly customized equipment a plus (Automotive, Commercial Vehicle, Aerospace, or similar strongly preferred)
  • First-hand experience designing and 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 markdown, HTML, JavaScript, Perl, Python and RESTful APIs
  • Hands-on experience with technologies supporting innovation in the publications authoring and delivery space, particularly the use of headless CMS’s
  • Demonstrated mastery of word processing, publishing, and technical illustration using Adobe Creative Cloud (i.e., InDesign, Acrobat, Illustrator, Photoshop) and other authoring tools such as Oxygen XML Editor
  • Excellent knowledge of technical document lifecycle strategies
  • Excellent computer skills in a range of OS environments
  • Process certification experience (ISO 9000) preferred

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
  • Must be able to navigate manufacturing environment, comfortable around heavy machinery, tools, etc.
  • Must be able to wear Personal Protective Equipment, (i.e. safety glasses, bump caps, hearing protection, etc.)
  • No Travel Required
  • Standard start time: 7:00 am Pacific (negotiable)

EXPECTED COMPENSATION

$75,000 - $165,330/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.

 

Other Duties

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

GILLIG is committed to providing equal opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment. We are committed to creating an inclusive and diverse workplace that values and respects the unique talents, experiences, and perspectives of our employees and the people we serve. As an equal opportunity employer, we do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, sexual orientation, pregnancy, gender identity or any other characteristic protected by law.

 

 

 

 

 

GILLIG is an equal employment opportunity and affirmative action employer.

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