Technical Writer (Section 508 Accessible Documentation) - Federal Health IT Contract

I am a small US software company bidding a CDC contract to modernize a public health reporting application. I need a technical writer named on the proposal as part of the delivery team. This is contingent on winning the award. Being named commits you to nothing unless we win. I would rather say that plainly now than have you find out in September. WHAT THE WORK ACTUALLY IS Three user guides for three different audiences: members of the public, healthcare providers, and system administrators. Plus operations and maintenance documentation, architecture descriptions, process workflows, a design and metrics report, and nine monthly status reports to the government. Every document is a contract deliverable with a date. The government reviews them, returns comments, and we revise. Documentation is separately graded, so this is not an afterthought role. THE PART THAT MATTERS MOST, AND THE REASON FOR THE RATE Every deliverable, including the documentation, must conform to Section 508 and HHS ICT accessibility standards. Not just the application. The documents themselves. That means properly tagged and structured output: real heading hierarchy, alt text on every screenshot, table header associations, correct reading order, declared document language, and nothing conveyed by color alone. If that sentence is familiar to you, you are who I am looking for. If it is not, this is not the right job and I would rather not waste your time. HOW WE WILL ACTUALLY WORK I produce first drafts with AI assistance and you own structure, accuracy, accessibility conformance, and the government comment cycles. You will frequently be editing and restructuring drafts I generated rather than writing from a blank page. Some excellent writers hate working that way. If that is you, say so and we part as friends. Everything you touch is reviewed and owned by a human before delivery. No government data, no personal health information, and no personally identifiable information goes into any AI tool at any point, ever. That is a hard rule and it is written into the subcontract. HARD REQUIREMENTS. PLEASE CONFIRM EACH ONE EXPLICITLY. 1. You are located in the United States and will perform all work from within the United States. The contract requires it. There is no flexibility here. 2. You are able and willing to complete a federal background investigation under 5 CFR 731 if required. 3. You are willing to complete in-person identity verification and credentialing, including travel, if required. I pay for the travel and I pay for the time it takes. 4. You can commit roughly 350 hours across nine months beginning late September, with heavier periods around the beta release in December and the final release in the spring. On 2 and 3: I have asked the contracting officer whether credentialing applies to personnel who never access government systems, which may describe this role. I do not have the answer yet. I would rather over-state the requirement now than surprise you later. WHAT TO PUT IN YOUR PROPOSAL. FOUR THINGS. PLEASE NUMBER THEM. 1. One short note on directly relevant experience. Federal or regulated-industry documentation specifically. Skip the generic pitch, I will not read it. 2. A writing sample. A user guide, administrator guide, or technical document you personally wrote, ideally for a public or regulated audience. If you have produced Section 508 conformant documents, send one of those and say what tools you used to verify conformance. This is the single thing I will weigh most heavily. 3. Explicit confirmation of all four hard requirements above. 4. Your hourly rate. TIMELINE I need a two-page resume in federal format by Thursday 28 August, because the proposal is submitted the following week. If you are interested, respond today or tomorrow so we can talk before then. If you have questions about the contract, the scope, or how this works, ask them in your proposal. A proposal with a real question in it goes to the top of my list.