Manufacturing Technical Writer- I

Company Description

Inspired Flight's Purpose Statement says it all - Conserving resources, creating jobs, and saving lives by innovating American drone manufacturing. Founded in San Luis Obispo, California our entirely U.S. based team designs, builds and supports highly capable and flexible drone platforms for both commercial and government customers.


Our purpose driven team exemplifies our Core Values. We are:


Collaborative: We harness the collective intelligence and energy of our team to surpass individual potentials and achieve shared goals.

Resilient: We approach obstacles with flexibility and creativity, supporting one another to stay focused, resourceful, and determined.

Diverse: We place a high value in people of all heritages, genders, sexual orientations, and points of view to spark innovation and solutions, enriching our work environment and outputs.

Continuously Improving: We are committed to ongoing learning and innovation by always seeking ways to enhance our processes, products, and personal expertise.

Underlying all of this is our deeply rooted belief that the cutting-edge aerial tools we create are advancing an industry that is good for people, good for our planet and good for the United States of America.


Location

This is an in-office position for hire at Inspired Flight's HQ in San Luis Obispo, CA.


Job Description

The Manufacturing Technical Writer I develops, standardizes, and maintains manufacturing documentation supporting production and assembly operations at a fast-growing UAS manufacturer. This role performs non-manual work directly related to business operations and quality systems, and exercises independent judgment in organizing, interpreting, and publishing technical documentation. The position partners with engineering, manufacturing, and quality teams to ensure documentation supports operational efficiency, regulatory compliance, and product quality objectives.

Typical responsibilities:

• Develop, edit, and publish work instructions, SOPs, quality control instructions, technical guides, travelers, and QC forms for aircraft assembly operations.
• Translate redlines, engineer markups, and undocumented process knowledge into clean, accurate, production-ready documentation.
• Interpret engineering drawings, bills of materials, and manufacturing specifications into structured documentation.
• Maintain revision histories, apply consistent formatting standards, and manage document publishing and distribution workflows.
• Identify documentation gaps and proactively drive them to written form through collaboration with engineers and production technicians.
• Collaborate cross-functionally to validate documentation accuracy against real production conditions.
• Exercise discretion in determining documentation structure, content organization, and prioritization of assignments.
• Support audit readiness and the company's ongoing quality system development by ensuring documentation accuracy and traceability.
• Participate in continuous improvement initiatives related to documentation workflows and systems.

You'll excel in this role if you have:

• Experience writing manufacturing documentation in a hands-on production environment- you understand the difference between how a process is documented and how it's actually performed.
• Comfort working in an environment where systems are still being built, not just maintained.
• Familiarity with quality management frameworks such as ISO 9001 or AS9100- direct certification experience is a plus, not a requirement.
• Demonstrated ability to translate complex technical processes into clear, scalable documentation.
• A background in aviation, aerospace, UAS, or defense (strongly preferred).

Education/Experience Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Technical Communication, Industrial Technology, or a related field - or equivalent practical experience.
• 1-3 years of experience in technical writing within a manufacturing or regulated environment; strong entry-level candidates with relevant industry exposure will be considered.
• Ability to work independently and exercise sound judgment with minimal supervision.
• Strong organizational and analytical skills with attention to detail.

Salary & Benefits Offered

• $30-$40 per hour DOE
• Paid Time Off
• World Class Health, Dental, Vision Insurance Plan
• 401k w/ 6% company match
• Quarterly Team Bonus Plan

Physical Demands: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee may need to sit and stand for long periods; talk, hear, and use hands and fingers to operate a computer and telephone.

Equal Opportunity Employer


Inspired Flight is deeply committed to building a workplace where inclusion is not only valued, but prioritized. We pride ourselves on being an equal opportunity employer that seeks to create a welcoming and diverse environment. All applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, or expression, family status, marital status, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, neurodiversity, age, or veteran status, or any other non-merit based or legally protected grounds.


The above job description is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of duties and standards of the position. Incumbents will follow any other instructions, and perform any other related duties, as assigned by their supervisor.