Position Overview
A fully remote, full-time, salaried position offering meaningful work in a collaborative team environment. Help develop high-quality employment and promotional examinations used by police, fire, EMS, public safety, and government agencies across North America. This role combines research, writing, and assessment development to create examinations that help organizations identify qualified candidates and future leaders. Unlike many content development positions, this role focuses on creating professional employment and assessment products used in real-world hiring and promotion decisions.
The Test Content Developer (Technical Writer) role handles assigned exam development tasks from initial drafting through final delivery, including revisions after review, final assembly (exam forms and answer keys), and post-administration support (e.g., item appeals). Success requires accurate writing, careful attention to detail, effective deadline management, and strong collaboration with project managers, subject-matter experts (SMEs), internal reviewers, and team members. Join a collaborative and supportive team dedicated to creating high-quality content that makes a difference! We foster an environment where team members share ideas, learn from one another, and celebrate successes together. If you’re looking for a remote opportunity with a strong, positive workplace culture, we’d love to hear from you!
Key Responsibilities
· Write, edit, and proofread exam items based on client-specified source material that measure the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) required for successful performance on the job. A majority of this work involves reading and comprehending criminal law books, standard operating procedures (SOPs), department policies, leadership books, firefighting handbooks, penal codes, and other technical documents from law enforcement and fire services agencies, and then producing job-appropriate exam questions from that material. Exam items must be aligned to project specifications, role/rank expectations, and applicable style guidance.
· Own assigned exams end-to-end, including drafting, revision, finalization, and appeal response.
· Revise and rewrite items in response to structured item review feedback; make requested revisions and deletions while maintaining exam integrity.
· Finalize deliverables, including assembling final exam forms, conducting full exam-level quality checks (balance, redundancy, coverage), and producing accurate answer keys.
· Support post-administration needs by responding to item appeals and providing clear documentation/rationale as needed.
· Communicate proactively with project managers and leadership at each step to identify risks, confirm requirements, and keep projects on schedule.
· Maintain regular communication with leadership regarding project status, workload, risks, and timelines.
Work Hours & Meetings
· Work hours: Full-time employees are expected to work a 38-hour work week; additional hours may be required at times to meet project needs.
· Meetings: Weekly or biweekly 1:1 check-ins with your manager may be scheduled initially. One-to-one (1:1) meetings may be scheduled as needed by either party. A one-hour Team Meeting is held monthly (remote via Teams and/or in person, if local). Attendance is expected. Work Review Meetings will be scheduled annually with your manager.
Qualifications
· Required: 2+ years of demonstrated professional experience in technical writing, assessment development, educational publishing, test preparation, instructional design, curriculum development, or a closely related content development field.
· Required: Demonstrated excellent editing/proofreading skills and meticulous attention to detail.
· Required: Ability to manage multiple deadlines, track progress, and deliver high-volume work with consistent accuracy.
· Required: Strong collaboration and written communication skills; comfortable working with project managers, SMEs, and/or reviewers and incorporating feedback.
· Highly Preferred: Bachelor's and/or Master’s degree in English, Creative Writing, Communications, Journalism, Education, Psychology, or a related discipline.
· Preferred: Experience developing assessment content (e.g., exam items, test forms, technical or instructional content) and working in structured review workflows.
· Preferred: Familiarity with style guides and applying consistent formatting and style across deliverables.
· Interest in public safety, local governments, or employment testing environments is a plus.
· Ideal candidates enjoy research-intensive work, learning unfamiliar subject matter, analyzing technical documents, and transforming complex information into fair, defensible assessment content.
· Successful candidates are also self-directed, intellectually curious, and comfortable taking ownership of long-term projects.
· We provide extensive training in our exam-development methodology. Candidates with strong writing, research, and analytical skills from a variety of content development backgrounds are encouraged to apply.
Performance Expectations
· Writers will go through a thorough training process to align their work with our expectations, though core skills in technical writing and communication will be essential in conveying complex information effectively.
· Annual production goals: Developers are expected to consistently meet established productivity and quality standards.
· Deadline reliability: Meet assigned deadlines consistently. Exam development involves multiple stakeholders and downstream dependencies; timely delivery is essential.
· Work planning: Use the expected timeline and productivity tracking tools to manage workload; when possible, work ahead to accommodate PTO, complex tasks, and unexpected changes.
· Quality and accuracy: Deliver consistently high-quality, professional work products with minimal errors. Because these are high-stakes exams, errors may lead to appeals and can have other significant consequences.
· Communication and responsiveness: Maintain professional, friendly, solutions-oriented communication and incorporate feedback effectively while preserving exam standards.
· Must have and maintain reliable internet connection; Must be able to send and receive electronic materials.
· Must have a physical address to safely receive shipped items; Must be able to occasionally send textbooks through a reliable shipping service (company paid).
Compensation & Benefits
· Fully remote! (with an option to work in our vibrant Oak Brook, IL office, if local and desired).
· Salary: $55,000+ annually, commensurate with experience and qualifications.
· Comprehensive benefits package, including medical, dental, vision, disability and term life insurance.
· 401(k) retirement plan with employer contribution after one year.
· Generous paid time off plus paid company-observed holidays.
· Work laptop provided.
Long-Term Growth Opportunities
Potential growth opportunities include, but are not limited to, mentoring new developers, participation in special content development initiatives, promotion to senior technical writer.
To Apply
Please submit the following to hr@iosolutions.com:
1. Resume.
2. Cover Letter with a description of relevant experience (if applicable).
3. Four original multiple-choice assessment items following the instructions below.*
*We will not use these sample questions in any way other than to evaluate your writing ability and potential for this position.
Applications that are missing any of the three components above may not be considered.
Instructions to Applicants
Using only the "Incident Reporting Policy" at the link below, write four original multiple-choice assessment items that each:
· Measure knowledge of the policy.
· Include four distinct response options (a, b, c, d).
· Have one clearly correct answer (do not use "all/none of the above" as an option).
· Identify the section of the policy supporting the correct answer.
· Include a brief explanation of why the correct answer is correct.
Note: The use of AI to write these assessment items is prohibited.
Incident Reporting Policy link: https://iosolutions.sharefile.com/d-s77798fc6cf174a64a8b18aaf7a1329ed
(If link doesn't work, copy and paste into your browser.)
You'll need to enter your name and email to access the policy.
