Technical Writing and Knowledge Management Co-op
Our mission is to make biology easier to engineer. Ginkgo is constructing, editing, and redesigning the living world in order to answer the globe’s growing challenges in health, energy, food, materials, and more. Our bioengineers make use of an in-house automated foundry for designing and building new organisms.
The Digital Tech Knowledge Management (DTKM) team at Ginkgo Bioworks provides world-class technical communication for Digital Technology. Our team seeks to simplify the complex so Ginkgo’s Bioworkers can be more efficient in their daily work. Our ongoing goal is to promote knowledge management practices to help drive organizational excellence, supporting the company’s goal of making biology easier to engineer.
As a Digital Tech Knowledge Management Intern, you will work with other DTKM team members to drive the documentation and capture of knowledge from Digital Operations customers. You have good written and oral communication skills and approach problems from a data capture and transition perspective. You will be working closely with a variety of stakeholders across departments to understand their goals, current workflows, the information they manage, current security practices, identify gaps, develop requirements, and create a variety of documentation and training solutions that solve these needs. Possible projects include working with stakeholders and subject matter experts to develop and/or update product and process content on Confluence (Ginkgo’s intranet) content management platform.
The Ginkgo Bioworks Early Talent program is open to students who will return to their degree programs upon completion of their employment at Ginkgo. Candidates must be enrolled in a United States based institution and/or have work authorization in the United States to be eligible to participate.
Responsibilities
- Work with internal teams to obtain an in-depth understanding of technical information from subject matter experts
- Work with other DTKM team members to develop, organize, write, and maintain user-friendly content (e.g., procedures, technical specifications, and process documentation) to translate complex information into simple, polished, and engaging content for multiple audiences
- Evaluate current content and develop innovative approaches for improvement
- Collaboratively develop the best solutions that can be delivered in a time and cost-sensitive manner
- Proactively communicate possible risks and recommendations to mitigate
- Break down complex problems into actionable steps
- Participate in development of documentation and knowledge management organizational standards/practices
Minimum Requirements
- Current enrollment in a bachelor’s degree program with an interest in pursuing a career path that involves writing, strong interest in science preferred
- Current junior at time of application
- Excellent oral and written skills in English, and ability to deliver high quality written materials
- Knowledge of/experience with a variety of documentation tools, e.g., Microsoft Word, Google Docs, Confluence
- Willing and able to learn about technical documentation, knowledge management, and document management best practices
- Willingness to learn about the systems development life cycle (SDLC)
- Curiosity and willingness to learn Software tools
- Excited to work with the best scientists and engineers
- Ability to thrive and stay calm in a fast-paced, dynamic, ever-changing environment
- Good organizational and communication skills
- Ability to be proactive and work both independently and collaboratively
- Ability to learn independently and gain expertise
Preferred Capabilities and Experience
- Preferred major in English, communications, writing, or life sciences with an interest in writing
- Prior experience writing technical documentation, a plus
We also feel that it’s important to point out the obvious here – there’s a serious lack of diversity in our industry, and that needs to change. Our goal is to help drive that change. Ginkgo is deeply committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion in all of its practices, especially when it comes to growing our team. Our culture promotes inclusion and embraces how rewarding it is to work with people from all walks of life.
We’re developing a powerful biological engineering platform, so we must remain mindful of the many ways our technology can – and will – impact people around the world. We care about how our platform is used, and having a diverse team to build it gives us the best chance that it’s something we’ll be proud of as it continues to grow. Therefore, it’s critical that we incorporate the diverse voices and visions of all those who play a role in the future of biology.
It is the policy of Ginkgo Bioworks to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and employment applicants.