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Burlingame, California, United States
Onsite
Not Available
Xona is the navigational intelligence company bringing real-time, centimeter-level certainty to any device, anywhere on Earth.
With Pulsar – the world’s most advanced PNT satellite infrastructure in Low Earth Orbit – Xona will offer a future-proof, backwards-compatible global positioning system optimized for absolute precision, superior power, and robust protection.
Overview:
As our first Technical Writer, you'll be embedded with the program team and support engineering, launch, and manufacturing across the company - from satellite development documentation to launch campaign packages to documentation standards for the production floor. This is a cross-functional role that touches every part of how we build, test, launch, and operate spacecraft.
Success in this role looks like:
Engineering review packages are delivered on schedule with minimal revision cycles
Launch documentation is complete, tracked, and delivered on schedule
New team members can readily find relevant documentation
Documentation standards you help establish scale as the team grows
Engineering Documentation Support engineering teams across bus, payload, Guidance Navigation & Control (GNC), Flight Software (FSW), and subsystems in producing and maintaining technical documents including Interface Control Documents (ICDs), test procedures, design specs, and review packages. You'll attend design reviews and work directly with engineers to extract technical details and translate them into clear, accurate, and actionable documentation.
Launch Documentation Management Own the organization, tracking, and on-time delivery of launch campaign documentation - including launch readiness review packages, mission assurance documentation, range safety submissions, and pre/post-launch reports. Coordinate with program, safety, and range/launch provider teams to make sure every required document is complete, routed for approval, and submitted against the campaign timeline.
Contract Documentation Generate, edit, and maintain contract deliverable documentation - including reports, data packages, and compliance documents - ensuring accuracy and timely delivery against contractual requirements.
Mission Operations Develop and maintain team Service Level Agreement (SLA) definitions with other teams like Service Operations and satellite subsystems, document escalation paths, and system configurations to support reliable on-orbit operations and ground system management. Maintain documentation supporting regulatory compliance (e.g., FCC/NOAA licensing, Orbital Debris Mitigation plans).
Document Control Help establish and maintain the organization, versioning, and accessibility of technical documentation - making sure the right people can find the right document at the right time. As our first writer, you'll play a key role in selecting and setting up systems that work for our team.
Cross-Site Coordination Work across geographically distributed engineering and manufacturing teams to ensure documentation stays consistent, synchronized, and accessible across sites. Some travel between sites may be required.
Work Instructions & SOPs Build and maintain templates for manufacturing work instructions and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), and review content drafted by engineers and technicians against those templates for clarity and consistency. Subject matter experts own the technical content - your role is giving it a clear, standardized structure.
Process Building Develop lightweight documentation standards and templates that scale as the company and program grow.
4–7 years of technical writing experience in aerospace, defense, hardware manufacturing, or a similarly technical field
Comfortable working directly with engineers to extract technical content and translate it into clean, usable documentation - ICDs, test procedures, design specs, and review packages
Proven ability to build clear documentation templates and review technical content for accuracy, clarity, and consistency
Self-directed and able to manage multiple documentation workstreams simultaneously in a fast-moving environment
Comfortable asking questions when requirements are unclear - we value clarity over assumptions
Experience documenting spacecraft, satellite, or precision hardware development programs
Experience managing documentation through a launch campaign or similarly high-stakes, deadline-driven review cycle
Experience supporting program reviews such as Preliminary Design Review (PDR), Critical Design Review (CDR), or Manufacturing Readiness Review (MRR) with documentation packages
Proficiency with documentation tools such as Confluence, Google Workspace, or similar
Familiarity with manufacturing work instructions, SOPs, or quality management systems
Interest in growing into a documentation lead or program management role as the team scales
For U.S. Roles: To comply with U.S. Government space technology export regulations, applicant must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the United States (i.e. Green Card holder), or other protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3).
For U.K. Roles: To comply with U.K. regulations, this role requires Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) checks, and successful candidates must be eligible to obtain UK Security Clearance (SC).
For Canada Roles: Successful candidates must obtain and hold a security clearance at the reliability status level, and pass security assessment for the Canadian Controlled Goods Program (CGP) and ITAR.
We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status.
