Technical Writer (Contract) Job at Sift Stack, Inc. in San Francisco

Sift : overview At Sift, we're redefining how modern machines are built, tested, and operated. Our platform gives engineers real-time observability over high-frequency telemetry, eliminating bottlenecks and enabling faster, more reliable development.

Sift was born from our work at SpaceX on Dragon, Falcon, Starlink, and Starship—where scaling telemetry, debugging flight systems, and ensuring mission reliability demanded new infrastructure. Founded by a team from SpaceX, Google, and Palantir, Sift is built for mission‑critical systems where precision and scalability are non‑negotiable.

Description Sift is hiring a Technical Writer (contractor) to help communicate clearly and credibly with some of the world's most advanced engineering teams in aerospace, defense, and manufacturing. In this role, you'll collaborate closely with engineers, product managers, and marketers to translate complex systems and workflows into content that's accurate, clear, and genuinely useful. You'll create and maintain documentation from API references and tutorials to onboarding guides and release notes that helps users understand not just how Sift works, but why it matters.

This position is ideal for someone early in their career who loves both technology and storytelling, and who wants to learn how to craft world‑class documentation for a deeply technical product. You'll work directly with Sift’s lead technical marketer and work alongside Product and Engineering to support internal and external content needs, gaining hands‑on exposure to advanced telemetry systems, real‑world engineering challenges, and the infrastructure that powers next‑generation hardware development.

Key responsibilities Write and maintain user‑facing documentation, including tutorials, API references, and how‑to guides.

Collaborate with engineers and product managers to ensure accuracy and clarity in all technical content.

Apply and uphold standards from the Google Documentation Style Guide and Diátaxis framework.

Use GitHub flow and version control best practices to manage documentation updates.

Continuously improve structure, navigation, and discoverability across the documentation site.

Translate technical details into clear explanations that help engineers onboard quickly and use Sift effectively.

The skillset you bring Bachelor's degree in Technical Communication, English, Computer Science, or Engineering. A blend of writing expertise and computer science knowledge is needed for this role, as it enables you to communicate complex technical systems with both accuracy and clarity.

2+ years of experience in technical writing, preferably in software, developer tools, or technology‑driven industries.

Experience working with gRPC APIs, including documenting service definitions, message structures, and best practices for client / server integration.

Proficiency in Python and familiarity with software development workflows, APIs, and modern engineering tools.

Demonstrated experience creating and maintaining documentation such as API references, user manuals, tutorials, and technical specifications.

Strong command of documentation and markup tools such as Markdown, Material for MkDocs, FumaDocs, Docusaurus, or Mintlify.

Hands‑on experience with documentation tools such as Git / GitHub.

Deep understanding of documentation frameworks such as the Google Developer Documentation Style Guide and the Diátaxis framework.

Excellent collaboration skills, with the ability to work cross‑functionally with engineering, product, and marketing teams.

Strong execution mindset : organized, detail‑oriented, and able to manage multiple documentation projects under changing requirements and deadlines.

Location : This is a contract position with Sift. As a contractor you will have access to the office as needed or work remotely.

Sift’s headquarters is in El Segundo, CA . We’re open to considering candidates in the Los Angeles, CA or San Francisco, CA areas.

Hourly range : $40 - $50 per hour.

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