A Technical Writer/Editor with 11 years of experience working in Silicon Valley and three years of experience as newspaper editor and reporter. I have a B.S. in Magazine Journalism from San Jose State. I am available for all types of writing, editing and proofreading projects, including user guides, textbooks, novels, indexing, business plans, trade journals, newsletters, brochures
Senior-Level Technical Writer and Editor with a solid background in Enterprise-level software documentation. My personal strengths include planning, prioritizing, and follow-through, as well as the ability to make sound decisions. I am equally comfortable writing for a wide range of audiences. Whether I'm working with engineers and developers, or project managers and marketing personnel, I am able to work efficiently in asking the right questions and extracting the necessary information to complete the project on time. I will give the best quality of service of which I am capable to every client, ensuring they are 100% satisfied with my work.
Technical Writing:
Object-oriented programming manuals and other system-level administration guides for engineering audiences; (Oracle) database administration guides for DBA audiences; context-sensitive Help systems using RoboHelp HTML; software end-user guides; technical white papers; application notes for software; network troubleshooting documentation; network diagrams; internal and external product training modules
Marketing Writing And Customer Support:
Web-based customer support sites including content, design and navigation system; department newsletters; software product pages and other marketing collateral such as sales brochures, product data sheets, and start-up guides.
Currently at MKS Instruments, I manage the software documentation function for the Yield Dynamics division, an industry leader in yield management and advanced process control (APC) software for semiconductor manufacturers.
At Excite@Home, I was chartered with developing and managing the Technical Support Knowledgebase for the commercial division of a rapidly growing Internet Service Provider. I defined technical procedures and produced online documentation to enable call-center support engineers to identify and resolve complex technical and operational issues for five major product lines including T-1, Fractional T-1, T-3, Cable/Modem, and Optical Circuits. I worked closely with the management team and technical staff to set and maintain high standards for delivering timely and complete solutions to increase productivity and improve service quality and customer satisfaction.
At Sun Microsystems, I managed a company-wide Java software product pages migration effort. I worked closely with product managers to produce online procedural documents, templates, and a style guide to facilitate and improve the development of Java OLC (Online Commerce) Web sites. I also handled numerous content maintenance tasks for Sun's main web site (sun.com) and its Java web site (sun.com/java).
At the Hollister Freelance, I was responsible for the daily "Sports" pages and weekly "People" section of this community newspaper, including story assignments, writing, editing, layout, production, and supervision of two full-time writers and 4-5 freelancers.
I have a B.S. Journalism degree from San Jose State and a Technical Communication Certificate from San Jose State Professional Development.
Organizations I'm involved with include the SF Chapter of the Society of Technical Communicators, The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team in Training program, and San Jose State Alumni Chapter of Sigma Chi Fraternity.
Education degree
BA
Major specialization
Journalism
Second specialization
Other, Technical Communications
First language
English
Areas of specialization
Not selected
Work experience
Principal Technical Writer, MKS Instruments
March 2002-Present
* Developed from scratch and maintain a complete documentation set for a Web-based advanced process control software system written in Java. Document set includes Java reference (JavaDoc) and programming guides for three Java APIs, a server and software installation guide, a software user guide, and a system administration guide.
* Maintain user guides, system administration, and online help documentation (RoboHelp) for a yield maximization platform, which includes statistical analysis software, an enterprise-level Oracle database, a middleware data extraction application, and a C-based workflow and scripting platform.
* Maintain and validate (XMLSpy) XML-based database loader files that are used by our customers to populate Yield Dynamics' proprietary database schema.
* Write and publish HTML-based software application notes on Yield Dynamics' customer support site.
* Train application engineers, QA personnel, and customers on product features, operations, and installation.
Technical Writer/Webmaster, Excite@Home
February 1999-October 2001
* Webmaster for an intranet knowledgebase supporting a call center that quickly grew from 7 engineers to a 3-tier team of 40 Technical Support personnel; quickly expanded the knowledgebase from 10 to 500+ documents.
* Developed a customer-facing online support site, including product overviews, white papers, and frequently asked questions, significantly increasing call center productivity by reducing customer calls by 30%.
* Created the online customer support section for AT&T's Small Business Web Hosting Services Division, which won PC Magazine's Editor's Choice Award for Web site content and usability.
* Collaborated with the Implementation Team, potential customers, and high-end accounts, including Cisco, AT&T, and Redcreek, to ensure that Visio network diagrams and technical summaries were current.
* Authored and delivered a three-hour Knowledgebase training presentation for new hires to ensure systematic call handling and customer responsiveness.
* Directed and mentored 5-6 technical writers responsible for producing online documentation.
Technical Writer/Webmaster, Sun Microsystems
October 1997-December 1998
* Organized and clarified the presentation of technical information and designed a consistent format to improve usability as well as increase the visual appeal and marketing effectiveness of Web sites.
* Decreased a 4-6 month Java product Web site development cycle to 30 days.
* Working with numerous Java developers, contributed an 80-page technical white paper on Java Architecture for XML Binding (JAXB) API, as well as numerous Java industry news stories for java.sun.com Web site.
* Wrote, edited, and produced the Department newsletter (2,500 circulation). Networked with executives to generate story ideas and gathered technical information to publish a 30-page document every month.
* Created and published the Java Enterprise Deployment Intern (JEDI) training manual.
* Produced an online training module for JavaStation software and helped design and develop the "Journey to Java" home page to promote online interactive training.
Sports/People Editor, Hollister Freelance
January 1997-October 1997
* Ensured accurate reporting of national and international sports events, results, and stories and interacted extensively with community leaders to improve coverage of local sports.
* Significantly increased readership with an innovative "Beat the Editor" contest during NFL football season.
* Initiated a successful 12-page, quarterly recreation magazine to promote community events and good will.
Computer experience
Microsoft Word, Adobe FrameMaker, Adobe RoboHelp, Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Distiller, Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Access, Microsoft PowerPoint, Visio, HTML, XML, SQL, Java, C++, JavaScript, JavaDoc
RussellRussell is not available at this time.
