Main Responsibilities of a Technical Writer at Global Software Company

My main responsibilities in my current role can be listed as follows. Primarily, I write UI text for applications developed in-house for five different subject areas within computer-aided design.

With this, I closely follow the software development lifecycle. Documentation and software are like its shadow; developers make the app, and documentation follows everything they do. We ensure the language used is coherent, consistent, clear, and simple. This is crucial because working with software engineers from various scientific fields and nationalities can quickly lead to complexity and confusion if focus isn't maintained.

I also create instructional videos that appear within the application and in what's called web help. This is similar to when you press F1 in an application and an online window pops up. I'm the one who writes that content, and it's filled with valuable information, so it's worth reading your web help guides periodically.

A significant part of my job involves navigating language barriers and interpreting what people mean versus what they say. Many conflicts can arise from miscommunication. I need to listen very carefully and understand each person's background, including their country of origin and field of study.

It's also important to understand a bit about who they are personally, such as if they have a family and how they are feeling. This helps me truly grasp what people are trying to convey, as everyone desires to be understood. Therefore, listening and navigating language barriers are fundamental aspects of this role.

I also edit reference content drafted by engineers. If an engineer isn't keen on writing the content themselves, I take on that task. I'll contact them, initiate the drafting process, do my best, and then we begin the iterative back-and-forth to refine and perfect the material, which can sometimes take months.

I manage web help publications for these five distinct subjects. Some of these subjects include computational fluid analysis and the analysis of moving parts, among other complex topics. Despite being difficult, they are also quite engaging.

I collaborate closely with the project managers for those applications and subjects. A project manager is essentially the lead engineer for that part of the application. I serve as their dedicated writer.

I work with a team of about five writers. We have three main publications each year. This means that for four months, roughly two of those months are dedicated to developing the app content for one publishing cycle.

The remaining two months focus entirely on the web help, which serves as the accompanying guide. We then implement two additional upgrades to the application each year. This gives us three opportunities annually to enhance it.

Lastly, I am assigned side projects that facilitate learning and growth within the evolving tech landscape. Companies must adapt and advance because technology is changing so rapidly. I also conduct research for the Documentation Center, presenting my findings.

If we encounter outdated methods, which is common in modern times, we discard them and adopt new approaches. It's essential to be flexible and adapt to these changes. This constitutes a significant portion of my daily work, though there are many other smaller but important tasks.