SlipstreamJobs tracks this role from the company's public career site. Apply directly on the employer's site.
Shield AI, a venture-backed defense-tech company, is seeking an experienced Technical Writer to support the development, release, and lifecycle management of V-BAT aircraft system service bulletins. This hands-on technical publications role works closely with engineering, quality, manufacturing, and field support teams to translate complex technical changes, safety concerns, inspection requirements, corrective actions, and operational limitations into clear, accurate, and actionable communications for operators and maintainers.
The Technical Writer will partner with mechanical, electrical, software, systems, quality, and fleet support engineers to develop and maintain accurate service bulletins communicating required inspections, corrective actions, modifications, operational limitations, maintenance actions, parts replacements, or configuration changes affecting aircraft safety, airworthiness, reliability, or maintainability. Key responsibilities include developing step-by-step maintenance and inspection procedures that are technically accurate, safe, complete, and usable in operational environments; observing and documenting maintenance, assembly, inspection, troubleshooting, ground-test, and flight-test activities to ensure procedures reflect actual work execution; developing or coordinating supporting technical visuals including annotated photographs, exploded views, system diagrams, task flows, wiring or schematic excerpts, and illustrations; assessing documentation impact of engineering changes, software releases, flight-test findings, and operational feedback; determining and clearly documenting bulletin applicability, prerequisites, compliance requirements, labor estimates, required tools, consumables, replacement parts, and return-to-service requirements; writing and maintaining warnings, cautions, notes, limitations, and hazard statements; managing multiple service bulletin efforts across issue identification through field communication in a fast-paced environment; facilitating cross-functional reviews with stakeholders; researching and interpreting engineering artifacts; identifying missing, incomplete, conflicting, unsafe, or ambiguous technical content and driving resolution; maintaining service bulletin templates, style guides, numbering conventions, and document-control processes; supporting rapid publication and revision in response to flight-test findings and field issues; reviewing field feedback to improve bulletin clarity; ensuring alignment with applicable technical publications and approved engineering configurations; and maintaining organized source material and traceability records.
The ideal candidate understands how aircraft are assembled, operated, inspected, troubleshot, repaired, and returned to service, and can turn that knowledge into precise, usable, configuration-controlled documentation. Background in A&P certification, military aviation maintenance, UAS maintenance or operations, avionics, flight-test, or aerospace field service is valued.
REQUIREMENTS:
- Bachelor's degree in a technical discipline, or equivalent relevant experience (aircraft maintenance, military aviation, UAS maintenance or operations, avionics, flight test, aerospace field service, engineering technician work, or technical publications)
- 3+ years of relevant experience in maintenance documentation, service engineering, or technical writing in aerospace, defense, aviation, unmanned aircraft systems, or other complex electromechanical systems
- Demonstrated ability to create, revise, or technically validate maintenance procedures, troubleshooting instructions, operator procedures, service bulletins, work instructions, test procedures, or other post-delivery documentation
- Experience developing maintenance instructions for aircraft systems, unmanned aircraft systems, avionics, propulsion systems, electrical systems, mechanical assemblies, or complex hardware/software products
- Practical working knowledge of aircraft or UAS systems, including ability to understand and document mechanical, electrical, avionics, propulsion, payload, ground-support, and/or mission-system interfaces
- Ability to interpret engineering drawings, BOMs, CAD outputs, schematics, system architectures, requirements, interface control documents, test data, and engineering changes
- Proven ability to work directly with engineers, quality personnel, maintainers, flight-test teams, and other subject matter experts to obtain, validate, and document technical information
- Demonstrated ability to produce clear, sequential, user-focused procedures for inspection, removal, installation, modification, troubleshooting, functional testing, and return-to-service activities
- Exceptional writing, editing, and organizational skills with consistent focus on technical accuracy, clarity, completeness, and usability
- Ability to identify ambiguous, incomplete, conflicting, or potentially unsafe technical information and drive resolution
- Experience working in a configuration-managed product environment with controlled document revisions, technical reviews, and formal approvals
- Self-sufficient and proactive work style with ability to manage multiple high-priority publication efforts under compressed timelines
- Ability to manage multiple priorities and deliver accurate work in a fast-paced development environment
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- FAA Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) certificate, military aviation maintenance specialty, or equivalent civilian or military aircraft maintenance experience
- Experience maintaining, troubleshooting, inspecting, or supporting fixed-wing aircraft, rotorcraft, UAS, or other autonomous or robotic platforms
- Experience supporting corrective-action, reliability, quality, safety, or fleet-support programs
- Familiarity with ATA iSpec 2200, S1000D, MIL-STD-40051, MIL-STD-38784, MIL-STD-1808, service technical-order/manual formats, or comparable technical-publication frameworks
- Background supporting developmental test, operational test, flight test, field sustainment, deployed operations, depot maintenance, or field-service operations
- Experience using PLM, document-control, change-control, configuration-management, requirements-management, or engineering-release systems
- Experience with Adobe FrameMaker, Arbortext, XML/DITA, Microsoft Office, Adobe Creative Suite, Visio, or comparable technical-authoring and illustration tools
- Experience developing or managing technical illustrations, wiring diagrams, and other maintenance graphics
