Technical Editor

Schnabel, Inc.; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 56,000 - 70,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Flexible spending accounts

Company-paid life insurance

Short-term disability

Long-term disability

Supplemental life insurance

401(k) and profit-sharing

ESOP

Paid time off

9 Paid Holidays

Wellness program

Professional development and tuition

Job summary

Schnabel, Inc. in Seattle, WA is seeking a Technical Editor to support our diverse engineering teams.

You will refine complex technical documents for clarity, maintain editorial standards, and collaborate with engineers, PMs, and technical writers to deliver polished client and internal deliverables. The ideal candidate has 5+ years in technical editing within engineering, strong grammar and organizational skills, and proficiency with Word, Acrobat/Bluebeam, SharePoint, and templates.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in English, Technical Communication, Journalism, or a related field.
• 5+ years related experience in a technical writing or editing role, preferably in an engineering environment.
• Ability to translate complex technical information into accessible, user-friendly content with strong grammar and editing skills.
• High attention to detail and strong organizational skills.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel; experience with Word styles, citations, captions, cross-referencing, TOCs, and bookmarks; SharePoint/Teams preferred.
• Advanced proficiency with Adobe Acrobat Pro and Bluebeam for PDFs and document assembly.
• Familiarity with Construction Specifications/technical documents and client-facing documents.
• Interest in learning engineering terminology and applying it to technical content.
• Strong interpersonal and written communication; ability to meet deadlines and work with SMEs and project teams.
• Willing to work occasional evenings or weekends; able to manage multiple assignments under pressure.

Responsibilities

• Review and refine technical documents to ensure clarity, accuracy, and adherence to standards.
• Collaborate with engineers, project managers, and writers to translate data into professional materials.
• Proofread and edit proposals, reports, specifications, templates, and marketing materials.
• Ensure consistency in style, terminology, grammar, and formatting per company guides.
• Review documents for completeness, consistency, and coordination issues before delivery.
• Coordinate input, edits, and feedback with project teams; track revisions.
• Work with SMEs to verify technical concepts and audience suitability.
• Ensure charts, tables, and diagrams are accurate and well-integrated.
• Assist in producing, assembling, distributing, and filing documents.

Skills

Technical editing

MS Word

Editing

Documentation

Communication

Multi-tasking

Attention to detail

Editorial standards

Education

Bachelor's degree in English/Technical Communication/Journalism

Tools

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Excel

SharePoint

Teams

Adobe Acrobat Pro

Bluebeam

Job description

Schnabel is an employee-owned, professional engineering and consulting firm that focuses on solving problems related to the earth and environment through specialization in geotechnical, geostructural, tunnel, and dam engineering. Schnabel’s high standards for quality, business ethics, and concern for the communities in which we live are a vital part of who we are. Schnabel is an ENR Top 500 Design Firm with 700+ employees in over 32 offices throughout the United States

Recognized by CE News as one of the Best Engineering Firms to Work for, Schnabel provides employees with a competitive benefits package including maternity leave, tuition reimbursement for continuing education, health, dental, life and disability insurance and a wellness program. As an employee-owned company, through the Employee Stock Ownership Plan, Schnabel employees directly benefit from the success of our growing firm

Benefit options include

• Medical insurance
• Flexible spending accounts
• Employee life & ADD insurance (100% company-paid)
• Short-term disability (100% company-paid)
• Long-term disability
• Supplemental life insurance
• 401(k) and profit-sharing plan
• Employee stock ownership plan (ESOP)
• Paid time off
• 9 Paid Holidays
• Wellness program
• Professional development and tuition reimbursement

Job Description:

Welcome to Schnabel! We approach problems with creativity and innovation. Schnabel is in search of Technical Editor with a positive can-do attitude to support Schnabel’s Seattle, WA office, and beyond. The right candidate will be meticulous, highly organized, capable of multi-tasking, committed to quality, and excited to help uphold our commitment to excellence in all client-facing and internal documentation. Our Seattle office includes civil, structural, hydraulic, geotechnical, and mechanical engineers; designers; and support professionals.

Job Responsibilities:

The Technical Editor will be responsible for reviewing and refining technical documents to ensure clarity, accuracy, consistency, and strict adherence to company and industry standards. This role requires collaboration with engineers, project managers, and technical writers to transform complex technical data into clear, concise, and professional-grade materials.

• Responsible for performing and documenting the Quality Control checks of client deliverables to ensure that they consistently meet the standards of Schnabel and the client.
• Draft, edit, and revise technical content for proposals, reports, specifications, templates, marketing materials, and project communications under the direction of project leads and team members.
• Proofread a variety of technical documents, including engineering reports, project proposals, specifications, manuals, and marketing materials.
• Ensure all content is consistent in style, terminology, clarity, consistency, grammar, formatting, and organization referencing company style guides and industry standards.
• Review documents for spelling, consistency, missing information, and coordination issues before internal or client delivery.
• Work with project managers, engineers, and technical staff to collect input, clarify edits, track comments, and support document updates through review and delivery.
• Collaborate with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to clarify technical concepts, verify accuracy, and ensure content is appropriate for the target audience.
• Ensure visual elements, such as charts, tables, and diagrams, are accurate and clearly integrated into documents.
• Assist technical staff with report production and delivery, including assembling, distributing, and filing digital and physical documents.
• Assist in managing the document review cycle, tracking revisions and coordinating feedback from multiple project team members. Assist with document revisions, file organization, version tracking, and project recordkeeping using company and project-specific tools.
• Help develop and maintain editorial guidelines, templates, and best practices for technical documentation.
• Maintain physical and virtual filing systems for deliverables.
• Prepare documents for use during field inspections including formatting, pre-filling content, publishing, and collating.
• Transcribe records from field work for use in client deliverables.
• Compile photologs to be included in client deliverables.
• Create custom template documents, as needed.

Required Skills/Experience:

• Bachelor's degree in English, Technical Communication, Journalism, or a related field.
• 5+ years related experience in a technical writing or editing role, preferably in an engineering environment supporting engineering, construction, infrastructure, or professional services projects is preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to grasp and translate complex technical information into accessible, user-friendly content. Strong grammar, proofreading, editing, and document organization skills, with the ability to make technical information clear and easy to follow.
• High level of attention to detail and strong organizational skills.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word and Excel), including Word features such as styles, citations, captions, cross-referencing, footnotes, table of contents, heading levels, table properties, links, bookmarks, and section/page breaks, etc. Experience with Microsoft SharePoint and Teams preferred.
• Advanced proficiency with Adobe Acrobat Pro and/or Bluebeam including creating PDF from different types of source files, compiling multiple files into a single PDF, adding/removing/editing bookmarks, adding links, and compressing.
• Familiarity with Construction Specifications/technical documents, project deliverables, specifications, reports, proposals, or client-facing documents.
• Interest in learning engineering, construction, environmental, or infrastructure terminology and applying that knowledge to technical documents.
• Strong interpersonal and written communication skills. Ability to work with project managers, engineers, and technical teams, ask thoughtful questions, incorporate feedback, and meet deadlines.
• Willing to work occasional evenings or weekends, as needed, to meet deadlines.
• Ability to prioritize and work under pressure to meet tight deadlines.
• Ability to manage multiple assignments, track revisions, follow instructions, and maintain accuracy and consistency in documents.

The compensation range for this position is between $40.87 to $50.48 per hour. Compensation for this position may vary based on geographic location and other factors. We remain committed to providing competitive and equitable compensation to all employees, regardless of their location.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities
This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws.For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.