Technical Writer

Technical Writer – Technical Publications

GM Defense is seeking a Technical Writer – Technical Publications to develop and maintain accurate, usable, and compliant technical documentation supporting military and commercial vehicle and equipment programs.

This position converts complex engineering, service, logistics, maintenance, and customer information into clear technical procedures and supporting content for operators, maintainers, technicians, instructors, field-service personnel, and other end users.

The Technical Writer will collaborate with service and sustainment engineers, design engineers, technicians, Technical Illustrators, software and controls specialists, logistics personnel, program teams, customers, and subject matter experts. Deliverables may include operator and maintenance manuals, repair manuals, troubleshooting procedures, inspection and servicing procedures, training manuals, technical orders, service information, work cards, job aids, and electronic technical-manual content.

Key Responsibilities

• Independently plan and execute assigned technical-publication work while balancing technical accuracy, quality, schedules, and competing program priorities.
• Review Statements of Work, contract requirements, publication specifications, logistics requirements, engineering inputs, service requirements, and customer expectations to determine required content and deliverable formats.
• Develop, author, edit, update, and maintain operator, maintenance, inspection, servicing, repair, troubleshooting, parts, and training documentation for complex vehicles, equipment, hardware, and software systems.
• Analyze engineering drawings, CAD and 3D math data, wiring schematics, system diagrams, requirements, parts data, software information, engineering changes, photographs, and test results to extract accurate technical information.
• Translate complex engineering and service information into clear, concise, actionable procedures supporting safe operation, inspection, maintenance, diagnosis, repair, training, and equipment readiness.
• Organize information using structured and topic-based writing principles to create consistent, reusable, traceable, and maintainable content.
• Create and maintain procedures within GM Service Information, structured XML/SGML environments, military technical-publication systems, and other applicable authoring platforms.
• Apply applicable technical-writing, terminology, formatting, safety, warning, caution, note, illustration, cross-reference, and delivery requirements, including Simplified Technical English when required.
• Identify required warnings, cautions, notes, initial conditions, special tools, personnel requirements, consumables, parts, torque values, measurements, and expected results necessary for safe and complete procedures.
• Collaborate with engineers, technicians, and subject matter experts to validate technical content, resolve discrepancies, confirm terminology, and ensure safety-critical information is accurately represented.
• Coordinate with Technical Illustrators to establish figure requirements, identify line art and exploded views, integrate graphics into written procedures, and verify that figures support associated instructions.
• Incorporate approved information from engineering and service systems, including GM MATH, Teamcenter, Electronic Parts Catalog, engineering drawings, schematics, virtual-reality content, and other technical sources as required.
• Manage revisions, engineering changes, document configuration, traceability, and version control as designs, parts, procedures, and program requirements evolve.
• Participate in technical reviews, peer reviews, quality audits, logistics demonstrations, maintenance evaluations, and formal validation and verification activities.
• Perform hands-on validation with technicians, vehicles, equipment, test articles, and customers when assigned.
• Document discrepancies identified during validation and coordinate corrections through closure with the appropriate technical owner.
• Support technical-publication activities throughout engineering development, prototyping, production, field support, and sustainment.
• Identify and communicate project status, risks, dependencies, assumptions, technical concerns, and potential schedule impacts.
• Recommend improvements to authoring methods, templates, content reuse, terminology, quality checks, review processes, validation practices, and publication workflows.
• Maintain a safe working environment and comply with applicable GM Defense, customer, facility, equipment, and high-voltage safety requirements.

Basic Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience developing, authoring, editing, or maintaining technical publications, service information, maintenance documentation, engineering documentation, technical orders, training documentation, or comparable structured technical content.
• Demonstrated ability to interpret and use engineering drawings, CAD or 3D math data, wiring schematics, parts information, system diagrams, engineering changes, requirements, or other technical source data.
• Demonstrated ability to write clear, accurate, and actionable operator, maintenance, repair, troubleshooting, inspection, servicing, or training procedures.
• Experience working within a structured-authoring, XML/SGML, content-management, PLM, service-information, technical-order, or comparable publication environment, or demonstrated ability to learn these systems.
• Ability to independently manage multiple assignments, coordinate dependencies, meet deadlines, and follow work through review, validation, and resolution.
• Strong technical writing, editing, analytical, organizational, and cross-functional communication skills.
• Ability to learn complex vehicle and equipment systems, including propulsion, controls, electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic, software-enabled, battery, and high-voltage systems as required.
• Ability to safely work around vehicles, equipment, test articles, maintenance activities, and high-voltage systems.
• U.S. citizenship required.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a Common Access Card (CAC) and any customer or program security clearance required for assigned work.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience authoring GM Service Information using GM authoring tools, GM MATH, GM graphic-art processes, Electronic Parts Catalog information, or related service-publication workflows.
• Experience developing military, aerospace, aviation, marine, heavy-equipment, or industrial technical manuals.
• Experience applying technical-publication standards such as MIL-STD-40051, MIL-STD-3031, MIL-STD-38784, MIL-STD-2361, S1000D, or comparable customer requirements.
• Experience with Teamcenter, Arbortext, structured XML editors, content-management systems, PLM software, Interactive Electronic Technical Manual (IETM) processes, or comparable authoring and publishing systems.
• Experience developing documentation for complex vehicle systems, propulsion, controls, electrical systems, software-enabled equipment, hydraulics, pneumatics, or integrated hardware and software.
• Experience reading and analyzing full-vehicle wiring schematics, system architecture, software requirements, diagnostic information, or engineering-change documentation.
• Experience performing physical validation, verification, logistics demonstrations, maintenance evaluations, technician reviews, or customer acceptance activities.
• Experience managing document configuration, revision tracking, change incorporation, traceability, content reuse, or publication archives.
• Experience applying Simplified Technical English or another controlled-language standard.
• Associate's or bachelor's degree in Technical Writing, English, Communications, Engineering, Computer Science, Technical Communication, or a related discipline, or equivalent practical experience.
• High-voltage safety training or certification.
• Experience improving technical-publication workflows, templates, quality checks, review methods, traceability, or content-reuse practices.
• Experience training or mentoring others in technical writing, maintenance documentation, authoring systems, or related technical skills.
• Green Belt or Black Belt certification.