An American corporation that manufactures agricultural, construction, and forestry machinery, diesel engines, drivetrains (axles, transmissions, gearboxes) used in heavy equipment, and lawn care equipment is looking for a Diagnostic Author in the Waterloo, IA area. This is a 1-year CONTRACT position. No per diem available.

Responsibilities for the Technical Writer

• Author detailed, complex technical information regarding operation characteristics, diagnostics, and repair procedures. Writing at this level requires extensive investigation and may include hands-on product familiarity.
• Work with engineering information such as schematics, but may also be required to develop information from other engineering data.
• Serve as the contact with other functional areas, including product safety, legal, patent, and engineering to ensure functional standards are incorporated and utilized appropriately in technical information publications.

Requirements for the Technical Writer

• Associate”s degree in a relevant field and 2 years of experience. Must have engine and engine electrical system knowledge.
• Automotive or off-highway technician experience is desirable. Experience with SGML based authoring tools, for example Arbortext, is desirable.

Benefits

• 401K
• Healthcare

Responsibilities for the Technical Writer• General job duties may include the development of procedures, guidelines, job aids, training materials, and project documentation
• Work directly with subject matter experts, end users, and other staff members to understand the direction of the documentation. May work with HTML and web based software tools
• Apply technical writing methodology to draft and clarify information from fragmented raw data, and facilitate the review and approval process for documents

Requirements for the Technical Writer

• Bachelor degree in Technical Communication, Professional Writing, Engineering or Technical Writing or equivalent experience
• 5+ years experience
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook)
• Experience with SharePoint, K2, MadCap Flare, and Visual Basic is a plus

Benefits

• Long term assignment
• Holidays and vacation
• Medical plan available

• Writes and edits content for public relations, business and trade publication by-line articles and digital (blogs, web copy, demand generation campaigns, social media, account based advertising), corporate and sales collateral, client success stories, print and online advertising, event invitations, tradeshows, video scripts, newsletters.
• Develops expertise in DDI products, services, technology, and markets, as required.
• Works with marketing team, content experts, and thought leaders at all levels of the organization to develop and execute DDI marketing content.
• Demonstrate business acumen that will guide an understanding of DDI’s customers and how DDI’s solutions will address customer needs.
• Will work with Marketing team members including writers, graphic designers, digital marketing specialists, public relations, etc. to develop & execute marketing tactics.
• Co-manages projects within the Marketing Communications team.
• Be a brand ambassador for DDI

• Bachelors Degree
• Minimum of 3-5 years of marketing writing experience, with an emphasis on journalism, preferably in a corporate setting, or advertising/PR agency.  When applying, provide at least three professional writing samples, at least one of which should be a byline article.
• High level of creativity and strong motivation to write compelling stories
• High level of professional integrity, interpersonal, organization, and communication skills.
• Aptitude to learn about DDI’s business and offerings.
• Desire to work in a collaborative environment. Experience interviewing clients and industry experts to gather information to execute projects.
• Portfolio that demonstrates synthesizing “corporate speak” into a commercial, business-to-business, conversational voice.
• Experience and expertise in digital content/social media for marketing applications.
• Must be able to work independently, and manage multiple projects and deadlines simultaneously.
• Must be able to work in a collaborative team setting.

• Experience with agile marketing a plus.
• Experience working directly with senior executives is a plus.
• Familiarity with human resources practices a plus—not required.

Project Description:
Our Client is implementing a next generation in vitro biology software platform to replace custom, legacy applications that have been in use for over ten years. As the scale and complexity of in vitro biology experiments grows, existing tools that were built around small-molecule, single-entity, single-measurement assays are no longer sufficient.

The legacy platform broke significant ground in the area of High Throughput Screening and continues to add unparalleled value while the future-looking system continues development. To ensure a smooth transition and preservation of the key features of the current environment, our Client needs comprehensive technical and scientific documentation of the legacy applications, their functions, architecture, work instructions, deviations, and other materials. The documentation will act as a current state production manual, a knowledge repository for continued support of the legacy systems, and enabler for the Enterprise Support Organization to maintain the tools during transition to the new, modern in vitro platform.

• Author system documentation that is complete, informative, robust, and detailed.
• Generate and organize material according to high standards of order, clarity, style, and terminology.
• Identify and proactively document business processes or additional systems germane to the legacy environment which are poorly understood or have low visibility.
• Incorporate or consolidate existing materials in support of the legacy solution, centralizing our comprehensive understanding.
• Edit, standardize, or make changes to material prepared by others to improve ability of reader to more clearly understand.
• Manage and maintain all documented materials.
• Work with project team members to clearly define any upstream/downstream interdependencies.
• Under the direction of the project lead and PM, contribute to the ongoing project where opportunity and needs exist.

This 6+month position starts ASAP.

Please E-MAIL your resume (attachment to email) with rate and availability to Bridget: bridget@alphaconsulting.comHelp