Technical Writer

Material Handling Systems, Inc.

$87K — $131K *
Technical Services
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in English, History, Communications, Technical Writing, or a related discipline, or equivalent experience.
  • 5+ years of technical writing experience, or 3+ years with a specialized degree.
  • Strong written and verbal communication skills to translate technical concepts clearly.
  • Ability to understand and navigate technical drawings and specifications.
  • Familiarity with CAD tools or similar engineering/design software.
  • Strong attention to detail and commitment to accuracy in documentation.
  • Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, Adobe Acrobat Pro, and image editing software.

Responsibilities

  • Create, revise, and maintain comprehensive technical documentation for FORTNA products.
  • Collaborate with engineers and product teams to gather and verify technical information.
  • Gather source material from diverse resources including engineering documents and hands-on observation.
  • Apply critical thinking to improve clarity and completeness of technical information.
  • Review existing documentation to understand FORTNA products and implementations.
  • Navigate specifications and mockups to create accurate instructions.
  • Coordinate stakeholder reviews, track revisions, and prepare documentation for publication.
  • Establish guidelines and promote consistent documentation standards across deliverables.

Benefits

  • Opportunity to work closely with engineers and product teams on cutting-edge technologies.
  • Collaborative environment encouraging proactive inquiry and learning.
  • Experience across established and emerging product lines.
  • Potential for remote work with occasional site observation and travel to projects.
  • Mentoring opportunities for growth within documentation teams.
Full Job Description
FORTNA is seeking a Technical Writer to create clear, accurate, and user-friendly technical documentation supporting our products and technologies. This role works closely with engineers, product teams, and other subject matter experts to gather and interpret technical information and translate it into documentation that can be easily understood and used by the intended audience.

As a Technical Writer, you will have an opportunity to learn the technologies behind these systems and work directly with the people developing them. You will support both established products and newer technologies as they move through development and real-world implementation. This is a highly collaborative role for someone who enjoys learning how things work. You will not simply receive finished technical information and reformat it. You will ask questions, research existing documentation, review drawings and specifications, and, when needed, observe equipment and processes firsthand to develop a thorough understanding of the subject matter.

The ideal candidate combines strong writing ability with technical curiosity, initiative, and the confidence to proactively engage subject matter experts to obtain the information needed to move documentation forward.

What You'll Do

  • Create, revise, and maintain technical documentation for FORTNA products, including Operations & Maintenance Manuals, Technical Service Bulletins (TSBs), installation and commissioning manuals, application guides, instructions, and other technical deliverables.


  • Collaborate with engineers, product teams, and subject matter experts across the organization to gather, verify, and clarify technical information.


  • Gather source material from engineering information, internal documentation, drawings, specifications, product samples, and hands-on observation.


  • Apply critical thinking and interpretation when developing documentation, identifying opportunities to make technical information clearer, safer, more complete, and easier to follow.


  • Review existing project and product documentation to understand FORTNA product offerings and project-specific implementations.


  • Understand and navigate engineering drawings, specifications, mockups, and product information when developing documentation.


  • Review and update existing documentation as products, components, processes, and field requirements evolve.


  • Coordinate document reviews with appropriate stakeholders, incorporate feedback, track revisions, and prepare documentation for publication.


  • Help establish and maintain guidelines, standard procedures, templates, and documentation standards to promote consistency across deliverables.


  • Collaborate with other technical writers to promote consistent approaches and best practices.


  • Lead technical writer meetings as needed to support consistency and alignment across documentation.


  • Provide training and mentoring to new technical writers.


  • Manage multiple documentation assignments and changing priorities while consistently completing work with minimal supervision.


What You'll Bring

  • Bachelor's degree in English, History, Communications, Technical Writing, or a related discipline, or equivalent relevant education and experience.


  • 5+ years of technical writing experience, or 3+ years of experience with a degree specialization in technical writing.


  • Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to translate technical concepts into clear, understandable language.


  • Ability to understand and navigate technical drawings, specifications, mockups, and product information.


  • Familiarity with CAD navigation or similar engineering/design tools.


  • Strong attention to detail and commitment to documentation accuracy.


  • Ability to work independently while remaining highly engaged with a cross-functional and geographically distributed team.


  • Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, Adobe Acrobat Pro, Photoshop/Illustrator or similar image editing software.


Preferred Qualifications

  • Experience with MadCap Flare or similar documentation platform.


  • Experience developing documentation for industrial equipment, automation, robotics, material handling, distribution, fulfillment, manufacturing, aerospace, pharmaceutical, or another technically complex environment.


  • Experience developing installation, maintenance, operations, service, or similar technical documentation.


  • Experience working directly with engineers or technical subject matter experts to develop documentation from source information.


  • Experience using photographs, engineering drawings, diagrams, or other visual aids within technical documentation.


Work Environment & Travel

This role operates primarily in a professional office or remote work environment and routinely uses standard office equipment.

The position can largely be performed remotely; however, the work requires a willingness to participate in hands-on or site-based observation when needed. Travel may include visits to FORTNA facilities, customer locations, or project sites to observe equipment, installations, maintenance activities, or product operations.

Travel is up to 10-15% based on product and project needs. Travel may be somewhat higher during the initial onboarding and product-familiarization period.

When working at project or customer sites, the environment may be industrial and may require appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE).

Louisville-area candidates are preferred due to opportunities for in-person product exposure and collaboration. Geographic flexibility may be considered based on candidate qualifications and business needs.

Compensation

The base salary range for this role is $87,600 to $131,300. This range represents the low and high end of the base salary range for this position. Actual base salary offered will vary based on factors including, but not limited to, location, level, job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and performance.

This job description describes the general nature and level of work expected of a person assigned to this position. All job requirements listed indicate the minimum level of knowledge, skills and/or ability deemed necessary to perform the job proficiently. Employees may be required to perform any other job-related duties as requested by their supervisor.

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