IT - Technical Writer Intern

Position Title: Technical Writer Intern

Department: Information Technology

Who we are: The Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) is one of the Nation’s preeminent Housing Finance Agencies and one of the State’s ten largest financial institutions. Our mission is to finance the creation and preservation of affordable housing across the state. IHDA oversees more than 20 federal and state programs on behalf of the state of Illinois and serves as one of the state’s primary resources for housing policy and program administration. For over 50 years, IHDA has led the state in financing and supporting affordable housing.

At IHDA we strive to create and maintain a work environment that promotes diversity, recognition and inclusion. IHDA is committed to hiring and investing in individuals of diverse talents and backgrounds to ensure a range of perspectives and experiences inform and guide our work of financing affordable housing in the state of Illinois.

Summary: We’re searching for a technical writer intern to join our team and help take IHDA services to new heights. As an ideal candidate, you have proven experience or related education in a highly technical field, such as software development, computer science, or engineering. Your ability to evaluate and analyze complex information is second to none, and you have a natural desire to help people understand things that are hard to understand.

Responsibilities:

• Develop comprehensive documentation that meets organizational standards
• Obtain a deep understanding of products and services to translate complex product information into simple, polished, and engaging content
• Write user-friendly content that meets the needs of the target audience, turning insights language that sets our users up for success
• Evaluate current content and develop innovative approaches for improvement
• Research, outline, write, and edit new and existing content, working closely with various departments to understand project requirements
• Independently gather information from subject matter experts to develop, organize, and write procedure manuals, technical specifications, and process documentation
• Work with IT teams to identify all documentation repositories, revise and edit, and determine the best solution for data compilation and centralized storage
  
  
  

Research, create, and maintain information architecture templates that uphold organizational and legal standards, and allow for easy data migration

• Performs other duties assigned.
  
  
  

Experience:

• Junior or Senior in a Bachelor’s degree, or currently enrolled in a Graduate program in relevant technical field
• Proven ability to quickly learn and understand complex topics
• Previous experience writing documentation and procedural materials for multiple audiences
• Superior written and verbal communication skills, with a keen eye for detail
  
  
  

Preferred Qualifications

• Firm understanding of the systems development life cycle (SDLC)
• Previous software development experience
• Experience using XML tools to create documentation
• Perform other duties as assigned
  
  
  

Physical Requirements:

Alternating between sitting, standing, and walking. Ascending and descending stairs. Crouching and stooping. Pushing and pulling. Reaching overhead or below. Repetitive tasks movements (filing, keyboarding, copying). Lifting, carrying, and moving objects of up to 10 -15 pounds.

IHDA’s Summer Internship Program Highlights:

• Paid Internship
• Open to college students (must be an actively enrolled undergraduate or graduate student at the time of applying)
• Full-time hybrid internship program that runs from June – August (typically 10 weeks)
• You will receive on-the-job training from industry experts
• Participate in workshops to gain insight on key departments at the Authority
• Participate in IHDA’s Mentorship Program
• Attend outings to connect with fellow interns
  
  
  

EOE