Documentation Work Flow Specialist, DNS/DHCP/ENUM

scrump — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 09:13:44 -0800

Nominum, a global provider of ENUM-based IP-Application Routing Directory, DNS, and DHCP solutions, is seeking a specialist in documentation work flow for a contract position in Redwood City, California. The contractor will work with Nominum's technical documentation team and engineering staff on a specific project to define and implement a methodology to create a work flow that takes advantage of a single documentation source from which multiple destination formats are programmatically generated. The position will be responsible for:

Defining a documentation input format, taking into account work already existing at Nominum, but not constrained to that format.
Defining the steps required to take text from input to desired destination formats.
Identifying suitable tools for assisting in the work flow so that manual intervention is limited.
If necessary, implementing tools to accomplish intervening format conversion steps.

The input format will be defined by the contractor. The output formats must include:

PDF
HTML
text

The output must include indices and tables of contents for longer documentation collections. Ability to combine files from different sources into one final output is desired (such as, a file shared by many destination documents combined with files unique to the destination, or files from different source trees combined into one destination document). Input format must not require a proprietary tool; something based on ASCII text is required. Input will be created on a variety of platforms and OSs. Tools for generating output can be either Unix- or Windows-based. This contract is expected to last from one to three months. Be prepared to provide access (online access preferred) to a portfolio of recent work. scrump's handy crib notes:

This is so not an entry-level thing. Be a ninja. We're really smart people, and we couldn't figure this out.
We don't need theory: have boots-on-the-ground experience implementing this sort of thing, preferably several times.
Expect to have your work scrutinized by our exceedingly picky and smart engineers.
The solution must accomodate our business processes. The converse ain't happening.
Please don't inflate your abilities. That way lies madness, and you really won't get the job.

Senior Technical Writer, DNS/DHCP/ENUM

scrump — Fri, 25 Aug 2006 13:18:22 -0800

Nominum, a global provider of ENUM-based IP-Application Routing Directory, DNS, and DHCP solutions, is seeking a technical writer for an immediate full-time staff position in Redwood City, California. The position is as a member of Nominum's technical documentation team and will share responsibility for documenting Nominum's software products. Successful candidates will relish working in an extremely dynamic environment with competing priorities, and one in which the writer operates with a high degree of autonomy. Applicants with knowledge of Internet architecture, especially DNS, DHCP, and ENUM, are strongly preferred. Minimum Qualifications:

Experience documenting Internet software.
Expertise with Adobe FrameMaker 7.
Comfort in producing both PDF and HTML products.
The ability to work comfortably with minimum guidance in both Windows and UNIX environments doing a variety of online tasks, some of which may be new.
Team worker who enjoys working collaboratively, is comfortable asking questions, and can interact cooperatively with a variety of people.

Desirable Qualifications:

Skill with graphics design programs (preferably Paint Shop Pro), and a proven ability to create high-quality diagrams and graphic representations of abstract concepts.
A working familiarity with the practical details of DNS and DHCP.
Experience documenting and using Java, perl and Python.
Real-world current knowledge of XML.
Experience generating online help using Quadralay WebWorks.
Experience with version control applications, particularly CVS or Subversion.

Be prepared to provide access (online access preferred) to a portfolio of recent work. scrump's crib notes:

This isn't an entry-level position. You should have a minimum of 3-5 years of TW experience: if you don't, you'll need to be a blow-the-doors-off candidate.
Did I mention this isn't entry-level? We need someone who's been doing this for a while.
We're interested in unorthodox candidates, because in our experience old-school Writers (a la IBM, HP, etc), with the Documentation Plans and the outlines and the being used to deadlines that don't change weekly...they don't do well here. Unusual people who can handle a very fast, results-driven environment tend to do well.
I will read your posting history on MeFi if you contact me, and it will, for better or worse, form part of my impression of you as a candidate. Keep that in mind when applying.

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Documentation Work Flow Specialist, DNS/DHCP/ENUM

Senior Technical Writer, DNS/DHCP/ENUM