Full-Time Technical Writer (Silicon Valley, CA)
Job Description
The Sr. Technical Publications Writer is responsible for internally and externally facing technical and help content in multiple formats online and offline. This position is the senior technical publication specialist at Lyris and as such, leads not only the development of content but also the overall management of technical publications architecture and design to meet the needs of various company internal and externally facing stakeholders. You must be experienced in understanding how customers actually use our products, not just how to document features. You must be an adept technical writer with a dash of content strategist thrown in to be able to see the broader strategy behind how we make user guidance, best practices, technical documentation and help content work together. You will also help create a voice and personality for all the content we publish. The audience you will be addressing spans a wide range of technical and business users. You must have a genuine passion for helping users accomplish their goals by making complex technical concepts and instructions clear, simple and consummately usable. You must be able to work closely and collaboratively with a cross-functional team that includes product management, user experience, engineering, customer support, QA and Professional Services.
Responsibilities:
- Drive/Architect development of help systems, user guides, internal design and architecture content and all manner support, services and account management required product and technical deliverables to support customer needs
- Produce quality help material including: best practices, tutorials, tips & tricks, comprehensive technical documentation as well as content that helps users understand how to apply the tools and features of our products.
- Collaborate with subject matter experts, product managers, customer service representatives and others to build appropriate help and technical documentation.
- Responsible for successful posting and maintenance of content, ensuring accuracy, consistency, and simplicity in design and usage.
- Manage review and feedback processes using techniques and approaches that ensure all identified domain experts are enabled to participate in the development and review of all deliverables
- Develop, maintain, and enforce the editorial tone, style and voice of all content.
- Develop a thorough understanding of the different audiences you will be writing for.
- Develop content strategy for ongoing development, growth, and improvement of your content.
- Contribute to customer forums and community-generated content.
Desired Skills & Experience:
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to explain technical concepts in non-technical terms and the ability to help users understand not just the literal steps to finishing a task but also how to create solutions using the tools we provide.
- Knowledge of principles, training methods and techniques used in the design, development, and implementation of effective user guidance content.
- Skill and ability to conduct research and analysis on the efficacy of content.
- Knowledge and skill in use of appropriate programs (i.e., Camtasia, Snagit, Flash, Microsoft Powerpoint, Madcap Flare, Acrobat)
- Ability to work independently, prioritize work and meet deadlines.
- Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with other employees and cross-functional teams.
- Self-starter that is comfortable with risk-taking, evolving structure, and interpersonal diplomacy.
- Methodical and organized – able to manage multiple projects and priorities concurrently in a highly dynamic startup environment.
- Basic knowledge of SVN repository
Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in Education, English, Journalism, Computer Science or related field.
- SaaS and online marketing domain knowledge required.
- Proven experience in technical writing for enterprise-class software.
- 10+ years related job experience to include help, technical documentation and user guidance development, experience in corporate, enterprise environment preferred.
- Deep knowledge of web based help systems, web applications, marketing tools, data tools and globalization
About Lyris:
Lyris helps companies engage with their customers in relevant and meaningful ways; we transform digital marketing through the use of advanced technology and services that increase customer engagement, conversions and revenue at every opportunity.
Lyris uniquely combines a heritage of pioneering innovation with technology to help businesses achieve value across all their electronic marketing investments. By actively informing message flows with real-time customer data, Lyris empowers companies to manage the customer experience as it is taking place. With more than 15 years’ experience and tens of billions of digital messages processed by our systems, Lyris is continuously transforming the ways companies deliver value to their customers.
Lyris’ high-performance, secure and flexible digital marketing platforms, Lyris ONE, Lyris HQ and Lyris ListManager (Lyris LM), radically improve digital marketing efficiency by providing automated message delivery, robust segmentation and integrated social, mobile, CRM and analytics. The Lyris portfolio is comprised of both in-the-cloud and on-premises solutions, combined with customer-focused services and support. Over 5,000 organizations worldwide are using our technology to manage their digital marketing programs.