Senior Technical Writer - Scientific

The Senior Technical/Science Writer supports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and leads the development of manuscripts for future publication in peer-reviewed journals, public reports, leadership briefs and other communication documents.   

ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS  

Must have significant scientific writing experience. 

Prior CDC work experience desired. 

Scientific research and/or training experience is highly preferred. 

KEY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES 
Essential Duties and responsibilities include the following.  Other duties may be assigned. 

Supports the program team in data analysis and/or writing for scientific publications and manuscripts. 

Researches and gathers information on a specific topic, analyzes data from studies or experiments, and then communicates this information through articles, reports, or other forms of written content.  

Follows style guides to ensure that the content follows CDC general publication standards. 

Liaises with other HHS and CDC teams to support the program’s scientific progress and is proactive and forward-thinking about potential literature and publication needs. 

Conducts literature reviews to understand the state of existing research. 

Helps develop documents for internal training and knowledge documentation. 

Strictly adheres to CDC quality standards and generates innovative ideas for content and workflow solutions. 

Collaborates with subject-matter experts to ensure specialized topics are appropriately addressed. 

Reviews content developed by other members of the team. 

Distills complex information into clear and concise language that can be understood by both experts in the field and general readers including the ability to translate technical information into plain language. 

Plans daily activities within the guidelines of company policy, job description and supervisor’s instruction in such a way as to maximize personal output.   

Responsible for aiding in own self-development by being available and receptive to all training made available by the company.  

OTHER DUTIES 

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job.  Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice. 

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE 

Bachelor or master’s degree in public health or communications and a minimum of sixteen (16+) years relevant experience in scientific or business technical writing or equivalent combination of education/experience. 

JOB SPECIFIC KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS/ABILITIES 

Proficiency in MS Suite and prior CDC working experience is highly desired. 

Proficiency in writing and editing documents to be posted as 508 compliant PDF files. 

LANGUAGE SKILLS 

Ability to read, analyze and interpret common scientific and technical journals, financial reports and legal documents. Ability to respond to common inquiries or complaints from customers, regulatory agencies or members of the business community. Ability to write speeches and articles for publication that conform to prescribed style and format. Ability to effectively present information to top management, public groups and/or boards of directors.  

MATHEMATICAL SKILLS 

Ability to work with mathematical concepts such as probability and statistical inference, and fundamentals of plane and solid geometry and trigonometry. Ability to apply concepts such as fractions, percentages, ratios and proportions to practical situations.  

REASONING ABILITY 

Ability to apply principles of logical or scientific thinking to a wide range of intellectual and practical problems. Ability to deal with nonverbal symbolism (formulas, scientific equations, graphs, musical notes, etc.,) in its most difficult phases. Ability to deal with a variety of abstract and concrete variables. 

PHYSICAL DEMANDS 

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.  Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this job. 

 Work is primarily performed in an office environment. Regularly required to sit. Regularly required use hands to finger, handle, or feel, reach with hands and arms to handle objects and operate tools, computer, and/or controls. Required to speak and hear. Occasionally required to stand, walk and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. Must frequently lift and/or move up to 10 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.  Exposed to general office noise with computers printers and light traffic.  

CNI CORE COMPETENCIES 

Responsible for the integration of CNI Core Competencies into daily functions, including commitment to integrity, knowledge/quality of work, supporting financial goals of the company, initiative/motivation, cooperation/relationships, problem analysis/discretion, accomplishing goals through organization, positive oral/written communication skills, leadership abilities, commitment to Affirmative Action, reliability/dependability, flexibility and ownership/accountability of actions taken. 

COMPLIANCE  

Promotes and encourages a culture of compliance with all applicable rules (federal, state, local, Federal Acquisition Regulations, Code of Federal Regulations, Prime Contract requirements, etc.) for themselves and the company as a whole. Fosters an environment in which they will report any violations or reasonably suspected violation of CNI policy, FAR, and/or CFR and are comfortable discussing the myriad compliance, conflict, FAR, CFR, etc. issues that arise during the performance of a government contract.   

EOE including Disability/Vet