We've got great jobs for those who can write both code and prose

We're a specialized recruiting service for San Francisco Bay Area staff and contract technical communicators. We work with a lot of successful software companies, and we have a problem — too many lucrative listings.

Our clients are offering contract rates over $75/hr and salaries well in excess of $100K — plus juicy benefits such as stock options, telecommuting, generous bonuses, and even relocation assistance — for articulate techies who can document their products' application programming interfaces (APIs) and SDKs as well as create developer-oriented tutorials for their products' implementors.

The key to landing these jobs isn't an English degree or knowledge of the latest publishing tools. It's the proven ability to understand what developers really need and how they think, to read and write C, C++, C#, and/or Java code, to work peer-to-peer with these companies' software engineers, and to write detailed, clear prose explaining how to make these products work.

If you're a software industry engineer or have ever implemented an enterprise application, you already know that most documentation is written by people who don't understand enough about the product to know (much less focus on) what's relevant. Few developer-oriented manuals supply helpful code examples. And the majority of today's reference documentation hasn't been tested against the actual product.

What you may not know is that technically savvy Software Technical Writers:

• get tremendous respect
• enjoy a lot of autonomy
• are usually very well paid (often out-earning their Engineering department counterparts) and
• frequently make a big difference to a product's functionality and usability (because they alone can see it through the eyes of users as well as engineers)

Synergistech is looking for:

1. Experienced, technical Software Tech Writers who have written API/SDK guides or similar reference manuals for software developers for at least five (5) years and want staff employment

— OR —

2. Software Engineers who like to write (in English) and want to document products like the ones they've been developing

Specifically, Synergistech needs Bay Area software professionals with the following:

• A BA or BS degree in Computer Science, Electrical/Mechanical Engineering, or similar
• Recent experience reading and writing code in C, C++, C#, Java, or similar contemporary programming languages
• Hands-on experience with current relational database, networking, telecommunications, and/or software development technology
• Solid English language skills (grammar, punctuation, and spelling)
• A willingness to learn the tools of the Tech Writing trade (FrameMaker, WebWorks, Visio, etc)
• Energy, intelligence, and tenacity (in roughly equal measure) to make the transition to writing software documentation

Note: You don't need to be Shakespeare to do this work, nor do you need to be an A-team coder. But you do need a deep understanding of the product, strong empathy for your audience, and the ability to wrap words around complexity in a clear, concise, and consistent way so that your SMEs tell you, "Hey, you really understand this stuff, and you explained it better than I could." Our hiring managers are usually very grateful — and generous — when they find geeks who actually like to write.

If you fit the above profile, we'd like to help you capitalize on your potential. We are committed to creating rewarding professional relationships using our experience not only as recruiters, but as former Software Technical Writers. You'll find us candid, responsive, well-informed, focused, and fair.

Take the next step now. You won't regret it.

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