Technical Writer - GM Defense

General Motors; Milford Charter Township (MI); Hybrid; USD 85,000 - 115,000; Full time

Job summary

GM Defense is seeking a Technical Writer to develop and sustain accurate, compliant technical publications for military and commercial vehicles. You will convert engineering and service data into clear procedures for operators, technicians, instructors, and field personnel.

Hybrid role requiring collaboration with multi-disciplinary teams, learning GM's publication standards, and delivering operator, maintenance, and training manuals across publication formats.

Qualifications

• Experience writing technical manuals or service publications in defense, aerospace, or industrial settings.
• Ability to translate engineering data into clear, actionable procedures for operators and technicians.
• Familiarity with structured publishing and content-management workflows.

Responsibilities

• Plan, author, edit, and maintain operator, maintenance, and troubleshooting publications.
• Analyze drawings, wiring schematics, and software data to extract accurate technical content.
• Ensure compliance with publication standards and delivery formats for multiple audiences.

Skills

Technical writing

Structured writing

Cross-functional collaboration

Tools

XML/SGML editors

Job description

Job Description: Technical Writer, Technical Publications

About GM Defense

GM Defense is driving the future of military mobility by leveraging the best-in-class capabilities of General Motors for unmatched innovation, proven performance, and breakthrough life-cycle economics. We deliver dependable, affordable, and innovative products across a full spectrum of capabilities, including integrated vehicles, electrification, autonomy, robotics, and security.

Within GM Defense, the Integrated Product Support organization ensures that customers receive world-class aftermarket support. The team develops and sustains the documentation and support products required to keep GM Defense vehicles and systems operational throughout their lifecycle. This includes technical manuals, service information, parts cataloging, diagnostic software, service programming, design-for-serviceability inputs, field service support, and spare parts.

Work arrangement

This role is categorized as hybrid. The successful candidate is expected to report to Warren, Michigan, or Milford, Michigan, at least three times per week and more frequently when required by work assignments, validation activities, or program needs.

The role

GM Defense is seeking a Technical Writer to develop and sustain accurate, usable, and compliant technical publications for military and commercial vehicle and equipment programs. This role converts engineering, service, logistics, maintenance, and customer information into clear procedures and supporting content for operators, maintainers, technicians, instructors, field-service personnel, and other end users.

The Technical Writer works under general supervision and uses independent judgment to plan and complete assigned writing work packages. The role partners with the Technical Publications Team Lead, service and sustainment engineers, design engineers, technicians, graphic artists, technical illustrators, software and controls specialists, logistics personnel, program teams, customers, and subject matter experts.

Deliverables may include operator manuals, maintenance manuals, repair manuals, troubleshooting procedures, inspection and servicing procedures, training manuals, parts-related documentation, technical orders, service information procedures, electronic technical-manual content, work cards, job aids, and other technical-publication products required by the assigned program. Deliverables may be produced for GM Service Information, military technical manuals, customer‑specific systems, structured XML/SGML environments, or other controlled publication formats.

Candidates may bring experience from GM Service Information, military or aerospace technical manuals, commercial vehicle service documentation, heavy equipment, industrial equipment, or another structured technical-publication environment. The selected candidate will be expected to learn the authoring standards, systems, terminology, and deliverable formats required for assigned programs.

What you’ll do

• Independently plan and execute assigned technical‑publication work packages under general supervision, balancing scope, technical accuracy, quality, schedule, and competing program priorities.
• Review statements of work, contract requirements, publication specifications, logistics requirements, engineering inputs, service requirements, and customer expectations to determine the content and format needed for each deliverable.
• Develop, author, edit, update, and maintain operator, maintenance, inspection, servicing, repair, troubleshooting, parts, and training publications for complex vehicles, equipment, hardware, and software systems.
• Analyze engineering drawings, CAD and 3D math data, wiring schematics, system diagrams, requirements, software information, parts data, engineering changes, photographs, test results, and other source material to extract accurate technical content.
• Translate complex engineering and service information into clear, concise, actionable procedures that support safe operation, inspection, maintenance, diagnosis, repair, training, and equipment readiness.
• Organize content using topic‑based and structured‑writing principles so information is consistent, reusable, traceable, maintainable, and appropriate for the target publication and audience.
• Create and maintain procedures in GM Service Information authoring systems, structured XML/SGML environments, military technical‑publication systems, or other applicable content‑authoring platforms.
• Apply applicable writing, terminology, formatting, safety, warning, caution, note, illustration, cross‑reference, and delivery requirements, including Simplified Technical English when required.
• Identify where warnings, cautions, notes, initial conditions, special tools, personnel requirements, consumables, parts, torque values, measurements, and expected results are needed to make a procedure complete and safe to execute.
• Work with service and sustainment engineers, design eng