Technical Writer Intern

Zipline International Inc.; South San Francisco, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 34,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

Zipline International Inc. is seeking a Technical Writer Intern in South San Francisco to craft and maintain clear documentation for our drone logistics platform. The role partners with engineers and operations to translate complex information into manuals, guides, references, and onboarding materials.

The position supports full documentation lifecycle, prioritizing accuracy, clarity, consistency, and timely updates for a fast‑growing system deployed globally.

Qualifications

• Pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in English, Technical or Professional Writing, Journalism, Communications, Information Science, CS, or related field.
• Strong editing and writing skills, with ability to produce precise, clear docs.
• Ability to explain technical concepts to varied audiences.
• Curious about software, hardware, and operational systems.
• Strong organization and attention to detail for complex information.
• Think logically and creatively about how to structure information.
• Collaborative, self‑directed and open to feedback on projects.

Responsibilities

• Documentation Quality: Review manuals, procedures, guides for clarity, accuracy, completeness, and usability.
• Training and Guide Refresh: Update materials to reflect current product behavior.
• Information Architecture: Improve site navigation and content structure around user tasks.
• Troubleshooting Page Structure: Clarify prerequisites and steps to guide users.
• Contributor Onboarding: Clarify prerequisites, setup, and review expectations.
• Technical Understanding: Read source material and identify gaps or opportunities.
• Review and Collaboration: Work with engineers and ops to validate content.

Skills

Editing

Writing

Technical writing

Communication

Organization

Collaboration

Feedback

Education

Pursuing Bachelor’s degree in English, Technical Writing or related field

Tools

Content management systems

Version control workflows (Git)

Job description

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Technical Writer Intern

South San Francisco, California, USA

About Zipline

Zipline is the world’s largest and most experienced drone delivery service. We are on a mission to serve all humans equally by ensuring access to food, medicine and essential goods anytime, anywhere. We design, build, and operate the world’s largest autonomous logistics system, delivering critical supplies quickly and reliably. Today, Zipline operates on four continents, makes a delivery somewhere in the world every 30 seconds, and has completed millions of deliveries to date, including blood, vaccines, medical supplies, food, and retail products.

Our customers include the world’s largest and most prominent healthcare systems, governments, retailers, restaurants and global businesses who rely on us to save lives, reduce emissions, increase economic opportunity, and provide delivery from point A to point B as fast as possible. The drone is only 15% of what we’ve built to enable seamless, reliable, global operations.

Our system strengthens supply chains, reduces congestion, and gives people time back. With more than 140 million commercial autonomous miles safely flown, Zipline is redefining access to healthcare, consumer products, and food across the globe.

We operate at a global scale and are looking for practical problem solvers who thrive on real‑world challenges and rapid growth. Our team is motivated by building systems that have a direct, meaningful impact on people’s lives and by scaling the future of logistics. We are seeking people who sculpt from first principles, enjoy facing adversity, and can do the impossible at record breaking speeds.

About You and The Role

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.

What You’ll Do

• 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.

What You’ll Bring

• 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 field.
• 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.
• Technical Curiosity: Interest in learning how software, hardware, and operational systems work, and willingness to learn from technical source material.
• 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.
• Logical and Creative Thinking: Ability to think logically and creatively about how information should be structured for different audiences and tasks.
• Collaboration and Independence: Collaborative, self‑directed, and comfortable receiving feedback while making progress on defined projects

Bonus Qualifications:

• Experience with version‑controlled documentation workflows or content management systems.
• Experience creating documentation for software, hardware, operations, or other complex technical domains.
• Experience using AI tools to draft, edit, or review content, with an interest in developing responsible editorial workflows.
• Interest in robotics, aviation, logistics, service operations, or other technical products.

What Else You Need to Know

The final cash pay for this role will depend on a variety of factors, including a specific candidate's experience, qualifications, skills, working location, and projected impact. The total compensation package for this role may also include: equity compensation; discretionary annual or performance bonuses; sales incentives; benefits such as medical, dental and vision insurance; paid time off; and more.

Zipline is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard torace, color, ancestry, national origin, religion or religious creed, mental or physical disability, medical condition, genetic information, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, military or veteran status, citizenship, or other characteristics protected by state, federal or local law or our other policies. We value diversity at Zipline and welcome applications from those who are traditionally underrepresented in tech. If you like the sound of this position but are not sure if you are the perfect fit, please apply!