Technical Writer at Intuitive in Sunnyvale, CA, United States

Job description

• Primary Function of Position
• As a member of the Services organization’s technical writing team, you’ll serve as both an independent contributor and leader in the development, delivery, and maintenance of Field Service documentation. This role combines hands-on technical writing with responsibility for establishing documentation standards, mentoring junior writers and contractors, and driving continuous improvement in documentation processes and quality.
• To be successful in this role, applicants must demonstrate independence in extracting and synthesizing complex technical information from systems, subject matter experts, field demonstrations, and laboratory environments. Strong technical judgment, combined with exceptional communication skills, enables this role to evolve with changing business needs while ensuring documentation remains accurate, clear, and usable, while staying compliant with company guidelines.
• This is an on-campus position with a minimum of 3 days a week in office and laboratory environments. Hands-on lab access is essential to this role’s effectiveness.

Responsibilities

• Plans, writes, edits, and maintains Field Service documentation (i.e., Field Service procedures) for medical device systems with strong independent technical judgment.
• Independently investigates and extracts technical requirements through systems review, laboratory demonstrations, engineering consultation, and field observation. Takes ownership of information gathering rather than relying on engineers to provide pre-written content.
• Establishes and maintains documentation standards, style guidelines, templates, and best practices. Develops and refines processes to improve team productivity and quality.
• Mentors and coaches junior writers and contractors. Provides technical feedback, reviews documentation, and contributes to team member development.
• Completes documentation control steps to release final documentation, tracking work in JIRA and maintaining Change Order records.
• Collaborates across product, engineering, training, and field service teams to ensure documentation meets end-to-end needs and aligns with company goals and quality standards.
• Evaluates and recommends process improvements, tooling enhancements, and workflow optimizations. Leads or participates in documentation infrastructure initiatives.
• Builds and maintains technical knowledge of Intuitive Surgical hardware systems sufficient to translate complex engineering concepts for field audiences.

Requirements

• Required Skills and Experience
• 5+ years technical writing experience for complex hardware and medical device products (installation, maintenance, troubleshooting, repair).
• Demonstrated ability to independently learn and understand mechanical systems through direct investigation and lab/field demonstrations.
• Expertise in minimalist hardware documentation using DITA XML tools (Oxygen XML Editor or equivalent).
• Professional writing samples must demonstrate technical depth, minimalist principles, and clear communication of complex concepts.
• Exceptional writing and analytical skills; ability to grasp, validate, and effectively communicate complex scientific and engineering concepts with technical rigor.
• Solid project-management skills; ability to manage multiple projects under tight deadlines and mentor others in project execution.
• Proficiency with current Adobe tools (Acrobat, Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop) for documentation graphics.
• Medical device industry experience required. Field service or customer-facing documentation experience strongly preferred.
• Ownership mindset, commitment to quality and continuous improvement.
• Required Education and Training
• Bachelor’s Degree in Technical Writing, Engineering, or related field required.

Skills

Required

• Project management skills
• Medical device industry experience

Benefits

• This position may be filled at a different job level than listed here depending on
• business need and/or on the selected candidate’s experience, knowledge and skills.
• Compensation will be based primarily on the job level at which the role is filled and the
• candidate’s qualifications, consistent with applicable law.
• We provide market-competitive compensation packages, inclusive of base pay, incentives, benefits, and equity. It would not be typical for someone to be hired at the top end of range for the role, as actual pay will be determined based on several factors, including experience, skills, and qualifications. The target base compensation ranges are listed.