Technical Editor

Technical Editor qualifications to look for

A technical editor reviews material submitted by technical writers to ensure the finished product meets the strict guidelines set forth by the company. 

This review process includes checking for clarity, punctuation, grammar, and content specifications. They may work closely with researchers and may need security clearance depending on the level of confidential information they handle. 

If your technical editor functions as a project manager, they should be comfortable with delegating tasks and monitoring the progress of their team. If this role also takes charge of a team, be sure to ask questions about how they hire and train technical writers.

Keep an eye out for candidates who have:

• Strong leadership skills
• A solid background in project management 
• Critical thinking skills
• Editorial mastery
• The ability to ask probing questions
  

Top tip: Hire candidates willing to grow by making sure their personal career goals align with your company's mission.

Technical Editor interview questions

• How did you become a technical editor in our industry?
• How do you consistently improve your technical editing expertise?
• Walk me through a recent technical editing project you worked on from start to finish. Who was involved? How did you plan and execute it?
• What software tools do you typically use? What are their best features? 
• How quickly can you learn to use a new tool? What is one you learned recently? 
• What’s your role in developing project timelines? How do you stay on track? 
• How much experience do you have with interviewing subject matter experts? Do you have systems in place to do this? 
• What guidelines or materials do you require to begin a project like [this work sample]?
• Walk me through the process you used to develop [this work sample].
• How did you collaborate to develop [this work sample]? What was your role?
• What was your timeline for [this work sample]?
• How do you check your work before completing a project?
• Show me one of your more successful pieces. What elements make this successful?
• How do you find talented technical writers for your team? What key skills and qualifications do you look for? 
• What’s your approach to providing constructive criticism? How do your team members typically respond to criticism? 
• How do you motivate your team to meet tight deadlines? How do you help a team member who’s fallen behind? 
• Describe a time your client/project stakeholders gave you negative feedback. How did you handle it? How did you improve going forward?