Manager, Technical Writing Team
mainspringenergy · Menlo Park, CA ·
- Work mode
- Onsite
- Category
- Technical writing
- Experience
- 2+ years
- Salary
- USD 117,000 – 137,000 / year
Manage a technical writing team at a clean-energy hardware company, leading documentation strategy, overseeing CAD/schematic visuals, and collaborating hands-on with engineering and manufacturing teams on the shop floor.
About Mainspring
Mainspring Energy manufactures and delivers fuel-flexible, low-emissions local power solutions that rapidly add new capacity and deliver reliable, affordable, and sustainable electric power. The company began commercial shipments of its Mainspring Linear Generators in 2020 and today has hundreds of megawatts in advanced development and field operations for leading Fortune 500 companies, data centers, and utilities. Mainspring also partners with global energy leaders including AEP, NextEra Energy Resources, Schneider Electric, and more.
The core values that ground our work, guide our decisions, and connect us together:
- Pragmatic Optimism
- Excellence without Ego
- Proactive Collaboration
Job Overvew
Why Join Us
At Mainspring, technical documentation isn't just a support function—it’s the backbone of our operations. You won’t be tethered to a desk; you’ll be on the floor, working directly with our hardware and engineering teams. This role offers the unique opportunity to lead and evolve our established documentation systems while staying deeply connected to the 'hands-on' reality of building the grid of the future. If you thrive on translating complex physical systems into clear, actionable guides and want to lead a team that is as comfortable with a wrench as they are with a style guide, this is the place for you.
As Mainspring scales, our technical documentation must be as innovative and reliable as our energy technology. We are looking for a Manager of Technical Writing to lead the team responsible for translating complex engineering and manufacturing processes into the clear, actionable documentation that fuels our growth. You will be a player-coach: driving high-level documentation strategy, overseeing the creation of digital technical visuals (CAD, schematics, process flows), and mentoring a team of writers. Your mission is to ensure that our technical documentation is accurate, accessible, and scalable, and that all relevant technical writing SOPs are maintained and kept up to date.
Key Responsibilities
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Team Leadership & Mentorship: Lead a high-performing team of technical writers. Foster a culture of excellence, natural curiosity, and "hands-on" technical engagement. Manage workloads, set priorities, and provide professional development for the team
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Documentation Strategy & Governance: Establish and maintain global standards for technical documentation styles, tools, processes, and systems for company-wide documentation management and revision control. Ensure consistency across all manuals, assembly instructions, and digital databases
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Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with Engineering, Manufacturing, and Field Service to ensure documentation is deeply integrated with hardware development and operational workflows. Act as the bridge between technical experts and end-users
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Visual Content Oversight: Guide the team in creating high-quality technical visuals, including CAD-derived illustrations, schematics, and process flows. Ensure the team has the necessary tools and training in software like Enovia PLM and Solidworks Composer
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Hands-on Content Development: Act as a player-coach by actively contributing to the creation of high-priority technical documentation. You will balance management duties with direct involvement in complex documentation tasks to ensure we meet critical project milestones
Qualifications
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Experience: 7+ years of experience in technical writing within an engineering or manufacturing environment, with at least 2+ years in a leadership or management role
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Educational Background: Bachelor's degree in Technical Communication, English, Engineering, or a related field
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Technical Mastery: Proven ability to distill complex mechanical and electrical systems into unambiguous documentation. Strong proficiency in CAD software and visual documentation tools
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Hands-On Mindset: You enjoy working in-person in a "hands-on" shop environment. You have excellent mechanical intuition and aren't afraid to pick up a tool to better understand a process
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Communication & Influence: Exceptional writing and interpersonal skills. Ability to influence stakeholders and build buy-in for documentation standards across a rapidly scaling organization
Does your experience not meet all of our posted requirements? Studies have shown that some people are less likely to apply to positions unless they meet every listed requirement. At Mainspring, we are committed to building a diverse, inclusive, flexible, and collaborative environment, so if you want to help us transition the world to clean and affordable electricity, and don’t meet all posted requirements for a particular role, we’d still love to hear from you. Mainspring can sometimes be flexible enough to shift responsibilities for the right person, or otherwise identify open or upcoming roles that may better fit your professional background.
In more traditional words, Mainspring Energy, Inc is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.
This compensation and benefits information is based on Mainspring Energy's estimate as of the date of publication and may be modified in the future. We generally do not negotiate on salary once we have made an offer. The level of pay within the range will depend on a variety of job-related factors that may include location, relevant prior experience and/or education, or particular skills and expertise. New hires joining the company tend to be paid within the starting base pay range noted above, with opportunities to increase pay over time based on development of additional skills, competencies, and company-specific knowledge.