I am an electrical engineer designing, doing app design for mobile devices. I often find myself writing things that most people would find inexplicable: tutorial procedures, software program bug reports, descriptions of software functions I am trying to develop and legal documents I often have had to craft to define boundaries around myself and the llc I have setup.
In order to technically edit or write, you are best off being clinical in your efforts; still to telling a dispassionate story telling of what the topic is. First, research the topic of conversation whether it be some sort of engineering design or science. You should embed yourself as a field journalist with those on the front lines of the activity, learning their jargon, tasting the kool-aid. Then you will have frames of reference to move forward in editing copy you get from an author. I don’t know what you might get involved in, but I like to stick to describing a procedure as a type of recipe to get something working. Think of the steps you do in any activity: do they aptly describe what someone else with some assumed skill level would need to quickly pick it up and replicate it.