Technical Writer Intern

Zipline; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Zipline is seeking a Technical Writer to build and maintain a comprehensive documentation system across its products and operations. You will translate complex technical and operational information into manuals, guides, onboarding content, and troubleshooting references.

You will partner with engineering, operations, and support to ensure accuracy, clarity, and consistency, while maintaining a high standard of usability and timely updates.

Qualifications

• Pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in English, Rhetoric and Composition, Technical or Professional Writing, Journalism, Communications, Information Science, or Computer Science, or related field.
• Strong writing and editing skills with ability to explain complex information clearly.
• Experience with technical material and ability to adapt tone for different audiences.
• Familiarity with documentation tooling and content management workflows.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain a dependable documentation system across Zipline’s products and operations.
• Translate complex technical information into clear manuals, procedures, guides, references, onboarding materials, and troubleshooting content.
• Collaborate with engineering, operations, and support to ensure accuracy and usability of content.
• Review and refresh materials for accuracy, clarity, and timeliness; organize content for easy navigation.

Skills

Collaboration

Independence

Writing and Editing

Technical Communication

Organization and Information Design

Technical Curiosity

Logical and Creative Thinking

Education

English

Rhetoric & Composition

Technical Writing

Professional Writing

Journalism

Communications

Information Science

Computer Science

Tools

Version-controlled documentation workflows

Content Management Systems

Job description

• The Technical Writing team builds and maintains a dependable documentation system that supports safe, effective work across Zipline’s products and operations
• We partner with engineering, operations, and support to translate complex technical and operational information into clear manuals, procedures, guides, references, onboarding materials, and troubleshooting content
• Our work spans the full documentation lifecycle, from understanding user needs and how systems operate to organizing, editing, reviewing, and publishing content
• We set a high bar for accuracy, clarity, consistency, usability, and timeliness while making it easier for people to find the right information at the right time
• Documentation Quality: Help review and improve manuals, procedures, guides, and other content for clarity, accuracy, completeness, consistency, timeliness, and usability
• Training and Guide Refresh: Update materials to reflect current product behavior, use timeless language, and broaden content for the audiences and products it serves
• Information Architecture: Improve site navigation and content structure around user tasks and workflows so readers can reach the right information more easily
• Troubleshooting Guide Structure: Reorganize troubleshooting pages so context, prerequisites, and supporting information lead clearly into step-by-step guidance
• Contributor Onboarding: Simplify onboarding documentation by clarifying prerequisites, setup, contribution guidelines, review expectations, and the path from a proposed change to published content
• Technical Understanding: Read technical source material, ask questions about how systems and processes operate, and help identify documentation gaps or opportunities for improvement
• Review and Collaboration: Work with technical writers, engineers, and operations partners to validate accuracy, check clarity and page flow, and incorporate feedback

• Collaboration and Independence: Collaborative, self-directed, and comfortable receiving feedback while making progress on defined projects
• Writing and Editing: Strong editing and writing skills, with the ability to make documentation accurate, clear, specific, complete, and concise
• Technical Communication: Ability to explain technical concepts to people with different levels of technical familiarity
• Organization and Information Design: Strong organizational skills and attention to detail, including the ability to structure complex information, evaluate priorities, and manage multiple documentation tasks
• Technical Curiosity: Interest in learning how software, hardware, and operational systems work, and willingness to learn from technical source material
• Logical and Creative Thinking: Ability to think logically and creatively about how information should be structured for different audiences and tasks
• Educational Background: Currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in English, Rhetoric and Composition, Technical or Professional Writing, Journalism, Communications, Information Science, Computer Science, or a related fieldInterest in robotics, aviation, logistics, service operations, or other technical productsExperience using AI tools to draft, edit, or review content, with an interest in developing responsible editorial workflowsExperience creating documentation for software, hardware, operations, or other complex technical domainsExperience with version-controlled documentation workflows or content management systems