Senior Technical Writer

Leidos; Gaithersburg (MD); Hybrid; USD 83,000 - 149,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health and Wellness programs

Income Protection

Paid Leave and Retirement

Job summary

Leidos in Gaithersburg, MD is seeking a Senior Technical Writer to lead documentation for software, IT systems, and mission-critical technologies supporting national-security missions. You will gather information from engineers and SMEs to produce clear, accurate, and maintainable documentation in a software development environment.

This role requires strong writing and editing skills, experience with SDLC and Agile, and familiarity with Confluence and Jira.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or higher in a related field with 8+ years of relevant experience.
• 5+ years of professional technical writing experience in software development or IT systems.
• Ability to translate complex technical concepts for diverse audiences.
• Experience creating user guides, SOPs, release notes, and system documentation.
• Familiarity with SDLC and Agile environments.

Responsibilities

• Lead development, writing, editing, and maintenance of technical documentation.
• Translate complex technical concepts into audience-appropriate materials.
• Collaborate with engineers and subject-matter experts to validate information.
• Create and maintain SOPs, user guides, manuals, and release notes.
• Manage documentation deliverables across multiple projects.

Skills

Technical writing

Confluence

Jira

SDLC

Agile

Editing

Attention to detail

Education

Bachelor's degree in related field

Tools

Markdown

Git

XML

JSON

Job description

As a Senior Technical Writer, you will lead documentation efforts for software applications, IT systems, and mission-critical technologies supporting national-security missions. You'll work closely with software engineers, systems engineers, program leadership, subject-matter experts, and customer stakeholders to gather information, understand technical concepts, and produce clear, accurate, mission-ready documentation. We're looking for an experienced technical writer who is comfortable working in a software development environment, understands technical terminology, and can independently translate complex information into documentation that is easy to understand and maintain. Programming experience is not required. This is an opportunity to do more than document products. You'll help shape how critical technical information is communicated, understood, maintained, and ultimately used. Gaithersburg, MD is the primary work location. The Senior Technical Writer can have a flexible, telework-friendly schedule but must be local to Gaithersburg, MD to come in throughout the week as needed. Clearance Level Required Active Top Secret/SCI with the ability to successfully pass a Polygraph examination.

Primary Responsibilities

• Lead the development, writing, editing, and maintenance of technical documentation for software applications, IT systems, GEOINT capabilities, and mission-critical technologies.
• Translate complex technical concepts into clear, concise, audience-appropriate documentation.
• Collaborate with engineers, developers, architects, analysts, and subject-matter experts to gather and validate technical information.
• Create and maintain system documentation, user guides, standard operating procedures (SOPs), release notes, technical manuals, and other program deliverables.
• Develop documentation that supports software development, system operations, application functionality, and end-user workflows.
• Review and update existing documentation for accuracy, consistency, clarity, and completeness.
• Interview technical and mission personnel to gather information and translate it into usable documentation.
• Independently manage documentation assignments from initial information gathering through final review and delivery.
• Participate in Agile team meetings, technical discussions, and release activities to stay informed of system changes and documentation needs.
• Manage multiple documentation assignments and meet established deadlines.
• Work within controlled and classified environments while following program security and documentation requirements.
• Help establish and maintain consistent documentation standards, templates, and content-management practices across development teams.

Basic Qualifications

• U.S. citizenship is required per contract.
• Bachelor's degree in English, Technical Communication, Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or a related field with 8+ years of relevant experience; additional relevant experience may be considered in lieu of a degree.
• 5+ years of professional technical writing experience supporting software development, IT systems, systems engineering, or similar technical environments.
• Demonstrated experience creating and maintaining technical documentation for software applications or IT systems, including user guides, SOPs, system documentation, technical manuals, and release notes.
• Ability to understand technical terminology and communicate effectively with software engineers, system administrators, and other technical personnel.
• Experience working with technical teams to gather, understand, and document system or software information.
• Familiarity with the software development lifecycle (SDLC) and Agile development environments.
• Hands‑on experience with Confluence and Jira or similar collaboration/documentation tools.
• Strong writing, editing, proofreading, and information‑organization skills.
• Ability to research unfamiliar technical topics and work with subject‑matter experts to develop accurate documentation.
• Proven ability to independently organize and manage documentation deliverables across multiple projects or teams.
• Strong attention to detail and technical accuracy.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast‑paced environment.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting Intelligence Community (IC), Department of Defense (DoD), or other federal customers.
• Experience working in a classified environment.
• Experience documenting enterprise software applications, web-based systems, or data analytics platforms.
• General familiarity with software architecture, APIs, databases, cloud infrastructure, and modern software development environments.
• Experience documenting Agile software development or DevSecOps teams.
• Experience with Markdown, Git, XML, JSON, or similar documentation/content‑management tools.
• Familiarity with software release processes, system deployments, and configuration management concepts.
• Certified Professional Technical Communicator (CPTC) or similar certification.

#Maru #NSBA If you're looking for comfort, keep scrolling. At Leidos, we outthink, outbuild, and outpace the status quo — because the mission demands it. We're not hiring followers. We're recruiting the ones who disrupt, provoke, and refuse to fail. Step 10 is ancient history. We're already at step 30 — and moving faster than anyone else dares.

Original Posting: October 26, 2026 For U.S. Positions: While subject to change based on business needs, Leidos reasonably anticipates that this job requisition will remain open for at least 3 days with an anticipated close date of no earlier than 3 days after the original posting date as listed above.

Pay Range: Pay Range $82,550.00 - $149,225.00 The Leidos pay range for this job level is a general guideline only and not a guarantee of compensation or salary. Additional factors considered in extending an offer include (but are not limited to) responsibilities of the job, education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity, alignment with market data, applicable bargaining agreement (if any), or other law.

Leidos Leidos is an industry and technology leader serving government and commercial customers with smarter, more efficient digital and mission innovations. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, with 47,000 global employees, Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $17.2 billion for the fiscal year ended January 2, 2026. For more information, visit www.Leidos.com.

Pay and Benefits

Pay and benefits are fundamental to any career decision. That's why we craft compensation packages that reflect the importance of the work we do for our customers.

• competitive compensation
• Health and Wellness programs
• Income Protection
• Paid Leave and Retirement

More details are available here.

Securing Your Data

Leidos will never ask you to provide payment-related information at any part of the employment application process. And Leidos will communicate with you only through emails that are sent from a Leidos.com email address. If you receive an email purporting to be from Leidos that asks for payment-related information or any other personal information, please report the email to [e-mail].

Commitment and Diversity

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, race, ethnicity, age, national origin, citizenship, religion, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, pregnancy, family structure, marital status, ancestry, domestic partner status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran or military status, or any other basis prohibited by law. Leidos will also consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories consistent with relevant laws.