Senior Technical Writer

Intuitive; Sunnyvale (CA); On-site; USD 100,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Intuitive Surgical in Sunnyvale, CA, is seeking a talented technical writer for the Services organization. You will develop, deliver, and maintain Field Service documentation, and mentor junior writers and contractors while upholding documentation standards and quality.

This on-campus role requires hands-on lab access, independent information extraction from systems and demos, collaboration across product, engineering and field service teams, and a commitment to continuous improvement.

Qualifications

• Strong ability to extract and simplify complex technical information.
• Experience maintaining Field Service documentation and standards.
• On-site work in Sunnyvale, CA with hands-on lab access.
• Collaborates with product, engineering and field service teams.

Responsibilities

• Plans, writes, edits, and maintains Field Service documentation for medical device systems with strong independent technical judgment.
• Extracts technical requirements via systems review, lab demonstrations, engineering consultation, and field observation.
• Establishes and maintains documentation standards, style guidelines, templates, and best practices.
• Mentors and coaches junior writers and contractors; provides technical feedback.
• Completes documentation control steps and tracks work in JIRA, maintaining Change Order records.
• Collaborates across product, engineering, training, and field service teams to meet end-to-end needs.
• Evaluates process improvements, tooling enhancements, and workflow optimizations.
• Builds and maintains knowledge of Intuitive Surgical hardware to translate concepts for field audiences.
• ONSITE 3-DAYS PER WEEK

Skills

Technical writing

Mentoring

Independent contributor

Process improvement

Cross-functional collaboration

Tools

JIRA

Job description

Job Description

Primary Function of Position

As a member of the Services organization’s technical writing team, you’ll serve as both an independent contributor and leader in the development, delivery, and maintenance of Field Service documentation. This role combines hands‑on technical writing with responsibility for establishing documentation standards, mentoring junior writers and contractors, and driving continuous improvement in documentation processes and quality.

To be successful in this role, applicants must demonstrate independence in extracting and synthesizing complex technical information from systems, subject matter experts, field demonstrations, and laboratory environments. Strong technical judgment, combined with exceptional communication skills, enables this role to evolve with changing business needs while ensuring documentation remains accurate, clear, and usable, while staying compliant with company guidelines.

This is an on-campus position with a minimum of 3 days a week in office and laboratory environments. Hands‑on lab access is essential to this role’s effectiveness.

Essential Job Duties

• Plans, writes, edits, and maintains Field Service documentation (i.e., Field Service procedures) for medical device systems with strong independent technical judgment.
• Independently investigates and extracts technical requirements through systems review, laboratory demonstrations, engineering consultation, and field observation. Takes ownership of information gathering rather than relying on engineers to provide pre‑written content.
• Establishes and maintains documentation standards, style guidelines, templates, and best practices. Develops and refines processes to improve team productivity and quality.
• Mentors and coaches junior writers and contractors. Provides technical feedback, reviews documentation, and contributes to team member development.
• Completes documentation control steps to release final documentation, tracking work in JIRA and maintaining Change Order records.
• Collaborates across product, engineering, training, and field service teams to ensure documentation meets end‑to‑end needs and aligns with company goals and quality standards.
• Evaluates and recommends process improvements, tooling enhancements, and workflow optimizations. Leads or participates in documentation infrastructure initiatives.
• Builds and maintains technical knowledge of Intuitive Surgical hardware systems sufficient to translate complex engineering concepts for field audiences.
• ONSITE 3-DAYS PER WEEK