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Computercraft has a growing a team of Technical Writers to develop user documentation for cutting-edge web- and cloud-based products at the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), part of the National Library of Medicine (NLM) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The Technical Writers will support NCBI in developing preeminent, open-source tools and technologies used worldwide to contribute to scientific research and discovery, facilitate the work of clinicians, and improve human health. Each Technical Writer will be assigned to one of NCBI’s Agile product development teams to create and maintain documentation for existing features as well as new tools and products.

Responsibilities:

• Write and edit various types of public-facing documentation for web interfaces, command-line tools, and APIs supporting research in biosciences, including how-to and user guides, troubleshooting articles, tutorials, demo pages, and quick-starts
• Become familiar with the products, enhancements, and their functionality by using the products, interviewing team members, and accessing existing product documentation
• Write original content (may include examples of code) for all documents to be produced, ensuring consistency in style and content with documents used for similar purposes
• Translate technical or complicated information into clear, direct, and concise documents appropriate for audiences with varying technical expertise
• Interview subject matter experts, developers, and other technical staff to collect information, prepare written text, and coordinate layout and materials organization
• Submit drafts for technical review, and edit to accommodate change requests, ensuring content clarity, completeness, accuracy, and quality

Required Skills/Experience

• Bachelor’s degree
• Excellent verbal and written communication, including superb writing and editorial skills
• 5 years or more in content strategy, technical writing, and product documentation with a minimum of 2 years in writing external-facing documents for software products
• Demonstrated ability to produce compelling and intuitive content including end-to-end product installation guides, user guides, and release notes for a multitude of audiences, and ability to show a strong portfolio of previous work samples
• Experience with structured documents and knowledge of XML/HTML, Markdown, or DocBook
• Experience developing documentation for web-based, cloud-based, and/or command line interfaces
• Demonstrated experience in communicating with developers and SMEs and coordinating work across multiple teams and departments
• A strong understanding of IT concepts such as networks, Big Data, and cloud computing
• Expertise in Microsoft Word and PowerPoint, including advanced formatting features
• Self-starter with a strong technical aptitude and ability to learn quickly

Desired Skills/Experience

• Project management skills
• Experience with scientific or biological data
• Knowledge of the software development lifecycle (SDLC) and Agile methodology
• Familiarity with GitHub