Contractor, Physical Science Technical Writer

Your Impact at Lila Science only creates impact when the right people understand it. At Lila Science, our Government sector team sits at the interface between world-class researchers and the government clients and internal stakeholders who need to act on their work. We're looking for a Physical Science Technical Writer who thrives in that space. Reporting to the Head of Government Partnerships, you'll serve as the essential bridge between our scientists and the people who fund, oversee, and act on their research -- taking highly technical findings, methods, and data and reshaping them into language that is clear, credible, and decision-ready. You'll work closely with our Grants Manager, who leads the full proposal process, to develop the technical and scientific components that sit at the heart of every competitive submission. You'll also serve as a quality gatekeeper -- someone with enough domain expertise to catch scientific inaccuracies, challenge imprecise claims, and ensure that every deliverable meets the highest standards of technical rigor before it leaves the building. This is not a documentation-maintenance role. It's a strategic communication role for someone with enough scientific fluency to understand what researchers are saying -- and enough communication skill to make it land with audiences who aren't in the lab. Critically, we're looking for someone who uses AI tools as a force multiplier: a writer who can leverage LLMs, build lightweight automation, or design workflow tools that let one exceptional person do the work of many. What You'll Be Building Translate Science for Government Audiences Work directly with Lila scientists and engineers to understand their research, then produce briefings, white papers, and executive-level reports that accurately convey the science for government clients, program officers, and agency stakeholders -- adapting tone, depth, and format to the audience. Proposal Grant Support Partner with the Grants Manager to develop the technical and scientific components of proposal applications (technical narratives, method descriptions, scientific appendices) for DOE and UK-funded research initiatives, ensuring consistency in tone, format, and compliance throughout. Content Library Knowledge Management Build and maintain a repository of reusable, version-controlled technical content -- vetted scientific descriptions, method summaries, capability statements, and regulatory narratives -- that can be efficiently adapted across proposals and programs. AI-Augmented Workflows Actively use LLMs and similar AI tools to accelerate drafting, editing, and summarization workflows, and design lightweight automations that systematize and scale the technical writing function across programs. Technical Regulatory Documentation Develop and maintain program documentation (SOPs, risk assessments, VV plans, test reports, protocol summaries) and regulatory-ready packages aligned to US and UK frameworks, with proper version control and traceability. Visual Communication Create figures, diagrams, flowcharts, and presentation materials that make research milestones, processes, and outcomes immediately legible to non-specialist audiences. What You’ll Need to Succeed Master's degree or higher in a physical science discipline -- chemistry, chemical engineering, materials science, physics, or closely related field. Demonstrated experience translating complex scientific or technical content for non-technical audiences, ideally in a government, policy, or regulated environment. Enough scientific literacy to hold substantive conversations with researchers, accurately represent their work -- including its nuances and limitations -- and push back when claims are imprecise or unsupported. Exceptional written communication skills; proven ability to write clearly and concisely for executives, clients, and non-specialist stakeholders. Hands-on experience using AI tools (LLMs, AI writing assistants, or ... (truncated, view full listing at source)