Technical Writer - GM Defense
General Motors · Warren, Michigan, United States of America ·
- Employment
- Contract
- Category
- Technical writing
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 engineers, technicians, and subject matter experts to validate technical content, resolve discrepancies, confirm nomenclature, and ensure that safety-critical information is complete and correctly represented.
- Coordinate with graphic artists and technical illustrators to define figure requirements, identify line art and exploded views, integrate graphics with written steps, and verify that figures support the associated procedure.
- Identify and incorporate relevant content from engineering and service systems, including GM MATH, Teamcenter, art folders, Electronic Parts Catalog information, virtual-reality content, drawings, schematics, and other approved sources when required.
- Manage revisions, change incorporation, traceability, document configuration, and version control as engineering designs, parts, procedures, customer requirements, and program configurations evolve.
- Participate in technical reviews, peer reviews, quality audits, logistics demonstrations, maintenance evaluations, and formal validation and verification activities.
- Perform hands-on validation with technicians, vehicles, equipment, test articles, and customers when assigned; walk through procedures, document discrepancies, and drive corrections to closure with the appropriate technical owner.
- Support development and resolution of moderate-scope technical-publication issues during engineering development, prototyping, production, field support, and sustainment.
- Communicate status, risks, dependencies, technical concerns, assumptions, and potential schedule impacts early to the Technical Publications Team Lead and affected partners.
- Resolve moderate-scope documentation problems independently using established processes and sound technical judgment; escalate issues requiring engineering authority, customer direction, contract interpretation, or a change to an approved technical baseline.
- Recommend and help implement improvements to authoring methods, content reuse, templates, terminology, quality checks, review processes, validation practices, and publication-delivery workflows.
- Maintain a safe work environment and follow all applicable GM Defense, customer, facility, equipment, and high-voltage safety requirements.
Basic qualifications
- Demonstrated experience developing, authoring, editing, or maintaining technical publications, service information, maintenance documentation, engineering documentation, technical orders, training documentation, or comparable structured technical content.
- Demonstrated ability to interpret and use engineering drawings, CAD or 3D math, wiring schematics, parts information, system diagrams, engineering changes, requirements, or other technical source data.
- Demonstrated ability to write clear, accurate, and actionable operator, maintenance, repair, troubleshooting, inspection, servicing, or training procedures.
- Experience working in a structured-authoring, XML/SGML, content-management, PLM, service-information, technical-order, or comparable publication environment, or demonstrated ability to learn those systems.
- Ability to independently manage multiple assignments, coordinate dependencies, meet delivery commitments, and follow work through review, validation, and resolution.
- Strong technical writing, editing, analytical, organizational, and cross-functional communication skills.
- Ability to learn vehicle and equipment systems, including high-voltage, battery, propulsion, controls, electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic, and software-enabled systems as required by assigned work.
- Ability to work safely around vehicles, equipment, test articles, maintenance activities, and high-voltage systems as required by assigned work.
- U.S. citizenship and ability to obtain and maintain a Common Access Card and any customer or program security clearance required for assigned work.
Preferred qualifications
- Experience authoring GM Service Information using GM Service Information authoring tools, GM MATH, GM graphic-art processes, Electronic Parts Catalog information, or related GM service-publication workflows.
- Experience developing military, aerospace, aviation, marine, heavy-equipment, or industrial technical manuals using applicable standards such as MIL-STD-40051, MIL-STD-3031, MIL-STD-38784, MIL-STD-2361, S1000D, or comparable customer requirements.
- Experience with Teamcenter, Arbortext, structured XML editors, content-management systems, PLM software, Interactive Electronic Technical Manual processes, or comparable authoring and publishing systems.
- Experience developing publications for complex vehicle systems, propulsion, controls, electrical systems, software-enabled equipment, hydraulics, pneumatics, or other integrated hardware and software.
- Experience reading and analyzing full-vehicle wiring schematics, system architecture, software requirements, diagnostic information, or engineering-change documentation.
- Experience performing physical validation, verification, logistics demonstrations, maintenance evaluations, technician reviews, or customer acceptance activities.
- Experience managing document configuration, revision tracking, change incorporation, traceability, content reuse, or publication archives.
- Experience applying Simplified Technical English or another controlled-language standard.
- Associate’s or bachelor’s degree in technical writing, English, communications, engineering, computer science, technical communication, or a related discipline, or equivalent practical experience.
- High-voltage safety training or certification applicable to the assigned program.
- Experience improving technical-publication workflows, templates, quality checks, review methods, traceability, or content-reuse practices.
- Experience training or mentoring others in technical writing, maintenance documentation, authoring systems, or related technical skills.
- Green Belt or Black Belt certification.
About GM
Our vision is a world with Zero Crashes, Zero Emissions and Zero Congestion and we embrace the responsibility to lead the change that will make our world better, safer and more equitable for all.
Why Join Us
We believe we all must make a choice every day – individually and collectively – to drive meaningful change through our words, our deeds and our culture. Every day, we want every employee to feel they belong to one General Motors team.
Benefits Overview
From day one, we're looking out for your well-being–at work and at home–so you can focus on realizing your ambitions. Learn how GM supports a rewarding career that rewards you personally by visiting Total Rewards resources.
Non-Discrimination and Equal Employment Opportunities (U.S.)
General Motors is committed to being a workplace that is not only free of unlawful discrimination, but one that genuinely fosters inclusion and belonging. We strongly believe that providing an inclusive workplace creates an environment in which our employees can thrive and develop better products for our customers.
All employment decisions are made on a non-discriminatory basis without regard to sex, race, color, national origin, citizenship status, religion, age, disability, pregnancy or maternity status, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a veteran or protected veteran, or any other similarly protected status in accordance with federal, state and local laws.
We encourage interested candidates to review the key responsibilities and qualifications for each role and apply for any positions that match their skills and capabilities. Applicants in the recruitment process may be required, where applicable, to successfully complete a role-related assessment(s) and/or a pre-employment screening prior to beginning employment. To learn more, visit How we Hire.
Accommodations
General Motors offers opportunities to all job seekers including individuals with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation to assist with your job search or application for employment, email us or call us at 1-800-865-7580. In your email, please include a description of the specific accommodation you are requesting as well as the job title and requisition number of the position for which you are applying.