Technical Writer
Nominal
Full-time
On-site
Los Angeles, New York, United States
About Nominal
Nominal is a venture-backed software company with offices in LA, Austin, and NYC, building next-generation tools for testing and validating complex physical systems—like drones, rockets, satellites, and nuclear reactors. Backed by leading investors (Founders Fund, Lux, General Catalyst), we are trusted by both the U.S. Department of Defense and the broader federal aerospace and defense ecosystem.
We’re a team of former Palantir, SpaceX, Applied Intuition, and Anduril engineers on a mission to empower hardware teams with the software infrastructure they need to validate and deploy faster, safer, and at scale.
Documentation at Nominal is a working surface of the product. It is how engineers engage with system capabilities, how test teams verify understanding, and how programs scale knowledge across teams and time. As the platform grows in complexity and breadth, our documentation must evolve with it. It must rigorously explain core primitives and complex applications, maintain grounding in first principles, and adapt to the wide and growing variety of missions, environments, and customers that Nominal serves.
As a Technical Writer, you'll build and maintain the system of documentation that supports every Nominal user, from test engineers and operators to analysts and enterprise teams. This is a cross-functional role responsible for defining how we communicate the structure, function, and application of a technically deep and rapidly evolving platform. The right person will bring clarity, rigor, and empathy to a broad set of artifacts and help shape how people learn, adapt, and succeed with Nominal.
🚀 About the role
- Build and maintain a clear, organized, and durable body of documentation that supports users from initial setup through operational deployment.
- Create technical artifacts such as integration guides, user manuals, field references, video walkthroughs, and online support materials.
- All documentation must reflect a high level of technical depth and operational detail, tailored to real-world use.
- Work closely with engineering, mission operations, data integration, and growth teams to understand features at the source.
- Capturing the core value of new product features and surfacing the questions users actually ask.
- Help bring structure and consistency to a rapidly evolving and complex product(s).
- Write with a deep respect for users who operate under high stakes and time pressure, where ambiguity is not an option.
🎯 What we’re looking for
- Proven skill in writing and editing user-facing technical documentation to a high standard of clarity, correctness, and completeness.
- Sound editorial judgment, with the ability to identify imprecise language, correct technical inaccuracies, and improve structure without introducing error.
- Ability to write technically accurate product updates for a knowledgeable user base, delivered on a regular cadence.
- Ability to read and write Python code, TypeScript code, and YAML configuration at a level sufficient to understand, verify, and document feature behavior.
- Experience with git-based workflows and Markdown or structured documentation systems.
- Familiarity with common patterns of API usage, client libraries, CLI interfaces, and configuration workflows.
- Comfort working closely with engineers, designers, mission teams, and sales staff without direct reporting authority.
- Capacity to work independently, maintain momentum through ambiguity, and scale repeated efforts into resilient systems and processes.
⚡ Skills that supercharge us
- Experience introducing editorial standards and enforcing them through review, revision, and example.
- Previous ownership of documentation for a production system, including versioning, release notes, and long-term maintainability.
- Experience supporting or building tools used in autonomy, flight tests, or systems integration.
- Familiarity with front-end architectures (especially React) and the ability to trace data and control flow through a modern web interface.
- Working knowledge of Java and Rust code at a level sufficient to understand, verify, and document feature behavior.
- Familiarity with the requirements and constraints of users working in simulation, test, or operational environments.
✨ Benefits/Perks
- 🏥 100% coverage of medical, dental, and vision insurance
- 🏖️ Unlimited PTO and sick leave
- 🍽️ Free lunch, snacks, and coffee
- 🚀 Professional Development Stipend
- ✈️ Annual company retreat
$90,000 - $150,000 a year
This job description is written to capture a range of experience levels from 2 years to 15+ years, which is why you’ll see a wide band listed. Your actual base salary will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on a range of considerations, including job-related knowledge and skills, education, prior experience, and other business needs. The listed salary range represents an estimate for base compensation only. Base salary is just one part of the total rewards package. Eligible employees may also receive highly competitive equity grants in the form of stock options, allowing you to share in the company’s long-term success.
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin.