Lead Technical Writer, Maritime & Undersea Systems

SwiftCruit; Costa Mesa (CA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Full Family Health Coverage

16 Weeks Paid Parental Leave

Family Planning & Support

Incentivized Time Off

Mental Health Resources

Financial Planning

Unlimited Provisions

Professional Development

Job summary

Anduril Industries is seeking a Lead Technical Writer in Costa Mesa, CA. You will partner with Maritime Product and Operations to produce accurate user documentation across diverse products, with a focus on clear tone and usability.

You will coordinate with engineering and program delivery to close gaps in workflows and produce high-quality manuals, guides, and release notes. You will develop and maintain XML-based content (S1000d) for DoD programs, ensure Mil-Std-40051 compliance, and lead a

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience generating XML-based technical documentation, preferably for DoD/Navy
• Ability to relocate to onsite in Costa Mesa, CA
• Impeccable project-management skills and ability to handle competing priorities
• Strong written and verbal communication, with technical subject matter expertise
• Eligible for Secret or higher security clearance (US)
• Experience building structured content in XML for engineering documentation

Responsibilities

• Partner with Engineering, Operations and SMEs to understand products and user workflows
• Deliver accurate, updated, and easy-to-understand user manuals, maintenance and operational guides
• Lead documentation roadmap with milestones and stakeholder engagement
• Write and edit task-based, standard-centric documentation and release notes
• Create XML-based Data Modules in S1000d XML in collaboration with program teams
• Support DoD programs with documentation that meets Mil-Std-40051 and S1000d standards
• Ensure on-time contract deliverables and aligned formatting

Skills

XML-based documentation

S1000d standards

Mil-Std-40051

Naval/DoD documentation

Agile documentation in software

XML tooling (XMetal)

Tools

XMetal

Job description

Responsibilities

• Anduril’s Mission Success team is a cross‑functional group that partners with every business line and supports all products that Anduril builds
• Our responsibilities include product operations, training and adoption, and user documentation
• We are seeking an experienced Technical Writer to create and maintain user documentation across our diverse business lines
• We believe that the quality of our documentation should reflect the quality of products, which are world‑class
• As a Lead Technical Writer, your mission is to partner with our Maritime Product and Operations teams to deliver accurate, updated, and easy‑to‑understand documentation on how to use Anduril products
• You will do whatever it takes to organize our engineering and program delivery functions in this mission
• In this role, you will work closely with Engineering, Operations, and various subject matter experts to understand our products, identify user workflows, and use documentation to close the gap
• As such, the Technical Writer will play a foundational role in setting the bar for tone, voice, and quality across our written artifacts
• With Anduril’s focus on defense and national security, user documentation plays a critical role in ensuring front‑line operators know how to leverage the “Arsenal of Democracy.” Your mission is to make the process of learning how to operate systems as easy and seamless as possible, with exceptionally written and presented artifacts
• You will identify relevant stakeholders and lead them through a documentation roadmap with established key milestones and targets
• This will require an in‑depth understanding of what teams are relevant to documentation, and what an organized effort toward collaboration, undertakes
• You are to ensure that stakeholders are engaged at the right time, and you will guide them towards a finished user‑facing document that plainly meets customer needs
• Finally, you will work with our account teams to ensure that contract deliverables are accurate, on‑time, and in the right format
• Written content artifacts under this charter may include things like: technical manuals, operational manuals, maintenance manuals, procedures, checklists, templates, user guides, troubleshooting guides, and release notes
• You will partner with account, product, and engineering teams across all phases of product development to ensure users have the right documentation available
• Generate, review, and edit documentation that is user‑focused. Work with Engineering and Operations to deliver task, conditions, standard‑centric documentation
• Research Anduril products and scope Tech Data deliverables for Programs of Record with DOD customers, and write Data Modules in S1000d xml, using Rapid Author
• Evaluate and prioritize tasks required to successfully support product documentation efforts and keep them on track. Help drive the best decision for the company by using a data‑driven approach and consider input from stakeholders to ensure well‑informed decisions. You should be prepared to fill gaps that represent risks to the documentation roadmap
• Communicate and help manage expectations. Ensure risks are noted with adequate time, mitigations are identified, and resources are allocated
• Help build a culture of technical documentation by creating process and training for others to contribute content. Refine our product maturity framework so that documentation is a meaningful step towards productization of new systems

Benefits

• Full Family Health Coverage
• 16 Weeks Paid Parental Leave for All Caregivers
• Family Planning & Support
• Incentivized Time Off
• Mental Health Resources
• Financial Planning
• Unlimited Provisions
• Professional Development

Qualifications

• Must be able to relocate to onsite in Costa Mesa, CA
• Must thrive with autonomy and responsibility, managing competing priorities and tight deadlines
• Must possess impeccable project‑management skills
• Must have strong communication (written and verbal) and interpersonal skills, with emphasis on technical subjects
• Must have 7+ years of demonstrated excellence generating XML‑based technical documentation, preferably in a DOD space (preferably Navy)
• Must have experience reading and interpreting engineering documentation
• Must be eligible for Secret and higher security clearance (US)
• Must have experience building structured content in XML in a tool such as Xmetal
• Must have passion for excellent documentation and user experience
• Must have military exposure and experience, particularly with military technical documentation writing and formatting standards, guidelines, and verbiage (S1000d, Mil‑Std‑40051, etc.)
• Must have experience documenting software UIs in an Agile environment
• Must have previous experience creating technical documentation for Naval products (for DoD)