Senior Technical Writer Api - Hatfield, United Kingdom - Ocado Group

Ocado Group

Verified Company

Hatfield, United Kingdom

2 weeks ago

Posted by:

Tom O´Connor

beBee Recruiter

Description

**
Technical Writer

Job Purpose

The Technical Writer is part of a business stream technical writing team, and a wider technical communications community, but will work alongside one or more development teams to provide all content related to the development, release and use of products and features. This ranges from writing help instructions, through to writing UI text and messages, release notes, API and data feed reference material, and preparing any other documentation or content needed for usage and training.

OSP is a large-scale solution which is used by retailers around the world. It is essential that the software we build can be used effectively by those we build it for. The usability of the software is achieved in several ways, and the Technical Writer is responsible for collaborating on content and documentation.

The text in the software we build needs to be written in a clear and consistent manner, in accordance with best practice and the OSP UI style guide. It needs to be written with internationalisation in mind. In addition, any documentation, instructions, help guides and tutorials also need to be written to industry agreed standards, to ensure they are effective in communicating their message.

OSP features cannot be released unless they have approved UI text and documentation, so this role is essential for us to be able to release new functionality.

Key Customers/Stakeholders
-
Principal Product Manager
-
Lead Technical Writer
-
Product Managers
-
UX Designers
-
Training Managers

Roles & Responsibilities

The Technical Writer is responsible for the delivery of all written content relating to the development and release of products or features for Ocado Smart Platform (OSP).

Working directly with several development teams, the Technical Writer provides technical communication support to the team(s) and is involved in the development of new features and functionality from conception through to release.

All features we develop must have approved UI text and documentation in order for them to be released, so this role is essential in helping us continuously deploy new functionality. For technical features, such as APIs and data feeds, this includes ensuring consistent naming of data fields and attributes, as well as full reference material.

While the Technical Writer works directly with a development team, they are a member of a technical writing team within their business stream which provides the support, guidance and education needed to perform the role, and also a wider Technical Communications unit.

Away from the direct work with the development team(s), the Technical Writer is expected to take an active role in furthering the aims of the technical writing team. They will do this by contributing to improve the practices and working methods that are followed, and to enhance the clients' experience of using the OSP Help and Learning Centre.

As a Technical Writer you will:

Produce clear, easy-to-read, and consistent documentation and supporting content, for end-user systems, apps, APIs and data feeds

-
Write concise, usable UI text in accordance with the UI style guide, and ensure consistent attribute naming for technical features.-
Work closely with Product Managers, UX Designers, Developers, and other Technical Writers.
-
Understand the needs of Training Managers responsible for training clients in the use of our software, to ensure help content supports and complements their efforts.
-
Produce consistent screenshots and other visualisations or media when required, such as videos.
-
Review and proofread other writers' work.
-
Contribute to the working methods and processes of the wider Technical Communications team.

We're looking for someone who has strong technical writing experience and is a content enthusiast - who knows the impact well-written content can have, and also who is looking to explore new ways of enhancing the experience of learning to use, and using, the software with new and emerging approaches.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

Essential
-
Proven technical writing experience for software, such as help instructions, user guides, release notes, and tutorials, according to accepted industry standards.
-
Proven experience of writing for user interfaces, and to be able to demonstrate what makes effective UI writing and what doesn't.
-
Ability to understand the different needs of different audiences, and to be able to adjust the approach accordingly.
-
Impeccable written English, and the ability to write consistently and concisely in accordance with a style guide.
-
The ability to write easy-to-read, fluent text in plain English, and the capability to organise content clearly.
-
Proven experience of working directly with development teams.
-
Proven ability to understand sometimes complex flows or technical information, and to be able to explain them clearly and simply to an end-user.
-
Ability to work independently to tight deadlines, across multiple projects simultaneously.

Desirable
-
Writing for internationalisation - and working with software and content that is delivered in multiple languages.
-
Using static site generators such as Jekyll, and writing in Markdown.
-
Using Git, or other version control systems.
- **Working in an Agile environment