Sr. Technical Writer

Tarlochan S. Nahal

San Jose, California *****

********@*****.*** 408-***-**** www.linkedin.com/in/TarlochanNahal

Senior Technical Writer

"Providing Custom Technical Publications Solutions"

Highly skilled Senior Technical Writer/Editor based in the Silicon Valley who consistently solves technical publications problems. Expert in all phases of technical publications who is comfortable in talking to subject matter experts in getting the relevant information and applies experience, research capabilities, and communication skills in producing top-notch, user-friendly technical documents.

Solid technical writing and editing professional with management experience

Hardware and software manuals, datasheets, application notes, video scripts, and user guides, proposals

Wafer processing manufacturing systems, data center, switches, IoT, network security, ARTIK cloud

FrameMaker, Acrobat, RoboHelp, Networking, Wi-Fi, WLAN, Bluetooth, GPS, VLANs, servers

Computer motherboard, hardware and software, data storage, semiconductors, ATE

Medical equipment, and electro-mechanical systems

Android OS software installation

Professional Experience

Independent Technical Writer Sept. 2017 - Present

(Silicon Valley Technical Writing), San Francisco Bay Area

Providing professional technical writing/editing services to the computer industry in the Silicon Valley.

Lead Technical Writer, Samsung, San Jose May 2016 – Sept. 2017

(Through Eastridge)

My responsibilities included writing and editing of application notes (using the actual code examples and hardware setup), datasheets, and hardware and software guides for ARTIK IoT modules, ARTIK cloud, and networking. In addition, I managed projects and wrote scripts for presentations and product videos.

Independent Technical Writing Contractor May 2016 - May 2017

(Silicon Valley Technical Writing), San Francisco Bay Area

Worked for various companies documenting Wi-Fi and Iot products and module. Wrote user guides and product briefs for networking modules and security sensors in the IoT environment.

Senior Technical Writer, Hitachi Data Systems, Santa Clara Nov 2015- May 2016

(Through NetPolarity)

Wrote and edited data storage user guides for various platforms for Hitachi Data Systems. I created multiple outputs including PDF, XML and on-line help systems from a single source in the DITA environment that required the use of various tools such as XMetaL, SDL Publication Manager, oXygen, StarTeam (Content Management System), RoboHelp and Visio.

Senior Staff Technical Writer, Qualcomm Inc., San Jose May 2011- Jan 2016

Wrote and edited scores of manuals for mobile communication, Wi-Fi, GPS (Global Positioning System), IoT (Internet of Things), and GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) for home, automotive, and mobile devices. These manuals cover a wide variety of datasheets, training and marketing material, hardware and software documents, troubleshooting guides, design guides, and user guides. Worked on some very high revenue-generating and successful chip families and product lines. Saved the company over $800,000 in two years by recommending a new document delivery system that was more secure and efficient. Also participated in a company-wide document improvement program that significantly improved the quality of over 50 customer-facing documents and dramatically reduced the customer support phone calls thus saving the company almost $1 million.

Senior Staff Technical Writer, Atheros Communications, San Jose 2007-2011

(Atheros was acquired by Qualcomm in 2011)

Wrote and edited scores of manuals for mobile communication, Wi-Fi, GPS (Global Positioning System), IoT (Internet of Things), system-on-chips (SoCs) and System-in-Package (SIP) conforming to IEEE 802.11 a/b/c/g/n/ac, LTE, and BT 4.1 + HS by talking to subject matter experts. Also updated and maintained existing documents. This includes a wide variety of datasheets, training material, hardware & software documents, troubleshooting guides, design guides, and user guides. Wrote technical publications guidelines and procedures. Serving as a single point of contact, created project milestones and determined the overall number of documents needed for each project and allocated the necessary resources to complete those projects. Used Agile and SharePoint (Content Management Systems).

Senior Technical Writer, NextHop Technologies, Mountain View 2005 – 2006

Wrote and edited about a dozen User’s Guides and Use Case documents for networking software for switches, routing, and wireless LANs. Documented all product features and configuration procedures using command line interface and Graphical User Interface. Handled all phases of document production. Set up document part-numbering system. Attended product-development meetings, performed usability testing, and filed bugs using Bugzilla. Also wrote technical publications guidelines and procedures.

Senior Technical Writer, Fabric7 Systems, Inc., Mountain View 2004 – 2005

Wrote hardware and software manuals and online help for a data scalable and hardware-partitionable

x86 enterprise server with virtualized I/O and L2-L7 network services. Managed a 2-person technical publications department. Used MS Project to update project schedule. Tracked changes and activities using Perforce (Content Management System), a central file repository and configuration management tool.

Senior Staff Technical Writer, VERITAS Software - Mountain View 2002 – 2004

Wrote and edited over 15 software manuals for VERITAS ServPoint NAS and VERITAS Cluster Servers (VCS) that incorporated various VERITAS foundation products such as File System, VxOS, and Volume Manager for Solaris, Linux, HP-UX, AIX, and Windows. Deliverables included VCS installation, bundled agents (for Solaris, Linux, HP-UX, and AIX operating systems) quick reference guides, and release notes. Wrote system administration and installation guides for MS Windows, Linux, and Solaris. Participated in the planning, development, and delivery of these manuals. Contributed to Sarbanes Oxley (SOX) project (IT controls compliance) by documenting processes for change management, development, and implementation.

Senior Technical Writer, Sun Microsystems, Palo Alto 1999 - 2001

Wrote and produced technical reference and installation manuals for CP1500, CP2000, Netra AX1105 and other single board computers conforming to cPCI and AXi standards. Completed over 30 publications projects for state-of-the-art Sun servers. Wrote publications plans and recruited personnel.

Technical Skill and Tools

Adobe FrameMaker, Acrobat, Photoshop, and Illustrator

Windows, UNIX, Linux, Mac OS

Microsoft Office tools including Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint

Bug tracking systems including Bugzilla, DevTrack, and JIRA

Multiple publishing tools for creating online help and web pages

Google Docs, SnagIt, Visio, QuickBooks

Agile, SharePoint, and Perforce content management and revision tracking systems

Confluence, E-Commerce

DITA, XMetaL, XML, RoboHelp, StarTeam, oXygen, SDL Publication Manager, User Interface Design

Printing and publishing

Educational Background

Ph.D. in Political Science (Senior University International, WY)

M. A. in English (GNDU, Amritsar, India)

Certificate in Technical Writing (DeAnza College, Cupertino)

Certificate in Marketing Communications (San Jose State University)

Professional Affiliations

STC (Society for Technical Communication), Silicon Valley chapter, Sr. Member

Citizenship

US

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