David L. Floro

Objective

●To pursue my lifelong career goal of helping enhance the experience for users of technological products and services by analyzing their performance needs, and then delivering to them timely, targeted, and usable solutions and support.

Experience

April-June 2021 Lincoln Electric, Cleveland, OH

Contract Technical Writer

●Created all-new content and also updated existing content for 100+ page, web-based operators manual for Microsoft Azure cloud-based data collection and reporting application. Minimized redundancy and duplication to reduce page count by a desired 25 percent in a 10-week compressed schedule.

●Incorporated ~100 recaptured and re-captioned screenshots, with appropriate annotations, callouts, and generated data.

March 2019-March 2021 Xcel Energy Incorporated, Business Systems Division, Denver, CO

Contract Technical Writer

●Writing, editing, and maintaining multiple libraries of documentation and technical communication materials for the Enterprise Network Design and Architecture group, Network Engineering group, and Network Operations group, within the Business Systems organization. This includes, but is not limited to, informational and procedural documents supporting Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) standards.

●Collaborating with Engineering Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to produce detailed process documentation and flowcharts, along with lower-level Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for numerous supporting applications.

●Worked remotely from 3/2020 to 3/2021, making use of Microsoft collaboration tools such as SharePoint and Teams.

●Experienced user of software tools such as Trello and Jira.

May-Sept. 2018 Charter Communications, Advanced Engineering Division/CTEC, Englewood, CO

Contract Technical Writer

●Writing, editing, and maintaining all documentation for the Advanced Engineering organization, including certifications and specifications of both hardware and software, as well as design, configuration, and implementation guides and standards for engineering working groups and other teams within Charter.

●Collaborating with software engineers in an Agile development environment to produce detailed process documents and step-by-step procedures.

●Experienced user of Atlassian software tools, including both Confluence and Jira.

May 2017-Jan. 2018 Raytheon IIS Engineering and Technology/ ITEC, Aurora, CO

Contract Technical Writer

●Creation of new topics as well as maintenance of existing technical materials, user manuals, and related documentation. Analyzed user audience requirements; authored and enhanced both the content of technical communications, and also contributed to the standards and style of the presentation of that content.

●Collaborating with system analysts and engineers to produce detailed process and step-by-step procedure documents for both workstation/server hardware and software (Microsoft Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, RedHat Enterprise Linux AS/ES/WS versions 5.x/6.2/7.x).

●Expert-level use of a variety of word-processing and desktop-publishing tools, such as Adobe FrameMaker, Acrobat Professional, and Adobe Illustrator, as well as Microsoft Word and Visio Professional. Made refinements and implementation tweaks to FrameMaker templates.

March 2008-Sept. 2016 EchoStar Technologies, Englewood, CO

Senior Technical Writer and Publications Manager

●Planning, designing, creating, and managing technical publications, user manuals, and related documentation for all ETC products, both hardware and software. Analysis, initial authoring and ongoing enhancements to both the content of user communications and also the standards and style of its presentation. Technical information liaison for the new corporate Sales and Marketing division.

●Managing technical information solutions projects and creation of deliverables for many EchoStar products and service offers. The creation and production of sophisticated printed/PDF and online manuals including expert-level use of a variety of word-processing and desktop-publishing tools such as, but not limited to, Adobe FrameMaker, Acrobat, Illustrator, and InDesign, as well as Microsoft Word and Visio. Making customized installation and audience-specific job aids and quick references, HTML/web-optimized output and online-help systems of various data types and file formats, including highly skilled use of tools such as MadCap Flare, RoboHELP, and WebWorks. Supporting products which involve server-platform hardware and equipment, Linux software, and JAVA-based applications, and the next generation of mobile or desktop devices with associated firmware.

Jan. 2000–Jan. 2008 Avaya Inc., Westminster, CO

Senior Technical Writer, Member of Technical Staff I, and System Analyst

●Collaborates with teams of product architects, system design engineers, and software developers to derive, prototype, refine, usability-test, and deploy user-focused interfaces and fully embedded and/or context-sensitive assistive systems. Researches content management tools, platforms, and systems, including JustSystems’ XMetaL DITA Edition, PTC’s Arbortext (Epic) Editor, Chrystal’s Canterbury and Astoria Software’s Content Management System (CMS).

●Management of technical information projects and creation of deliverables for many of Avaya and its business partners’ enterprise call handling and telephony products and services, especially Avaya’s leading Linux-based SIP/VoIP solutions. Includes printed manuals using advanced word-processing (Microsoft Word/Publisher), graphics (CorelDraw, PaintShop Pro), and desktop-publishing tools (Adobe FrameMaker and Acrobat Professional), customized and audience-specific job aids and quick references, XHTML and HTML web-optimized output (FrontPage, HomePage, Dreamweaver), and help systems (RoboHELP, ForeHelp, Help Workshop) in both static and interactive file formats.

●Supports product portfolios comprising hardware and equipment, thick- and thin-client Linux software and web-based applications, as well as next-generation (e.g., SIP) mobile devices and their firmware. Set standards for corporate style, automated workflow, and editorial practices.

●Special skills and experience with effective single-sourcing of highly modular, technical documentation, training, and user-assistance information to facilitate content reuse. Evaluator, trainer, and user of a variety of SGML/ XML and SCORM/DITA-aware content authoring, rendering, publishing, and management tools, platforms, and systems, including JustSystems’ XMetaL DITA Edition, PTC’s Arbortext (Epic) Editor, Chrystal’s Canterbury and Astoria Software’s Content Management System (CMS).

Jan. 1996–Dec. 1999 Lucent Technologies, Westminster, CO

Technical Communications Specialist and Online Help Developer

●Lead information solutions development projects and authored content supporting Call Management Systems (CMS) and IP Contact Center products and services. Included various print/PDF documents (using tools such as Adobe FrameMaker, Acrobat, PaintShop Pro, Microsoft Word and Visio), customized audience- and task-specific job aids and quick references, WebWorks Professional HTML output, and on-line help systems (ForeHelp), to support hardware and equipment, UNIX SVR4/SunOS/RedHat software (both GUI and CLI), Informix and PostgreSQL database/reporting applications, as well as unified messaging and other CRM products. Helped identify and set standards for corporate information-development styles, processes, and practices.

Feb. 1986–Dec. 1995 AT&T Network Systems Division, Winston-Salem, NC

Associate Technical Writer and Employee Communications Specialist

●Updated and rewrote Bell Systems Practices using nroff/troff toolsets on UNIX System V computers. Incorporated both editorial and the Legal Department’s feedback.

●Edited and revised technical and marketing content of RFP/RFQ responses for major AT&T customers, such as GM and Fidelity, or prospective customers.

●Helped define organizational quality standards, tools, and procedures to assure ongoing ISO9001 certification for the AT&T Network Systems division.

●Established, designed, wrote, edited, and published monthly, two-color newsletters plus occasional special publications and notices to employees, managers, and staff. Developed text content in Microsoft Word for Windows 1.1 and 2.0, and in Adobe PageMaker for Windows, and also coordinated with the graphic arts group using Apple Macintosh.

Jan. 1989–Jan. 1991 Winston-Salem Journal, Winston-Salem, NC

Copy Editor

●Edited news, business, and feature-type articles on strict, twice-nightly deadlines for daily broadsheet newspapers, and also for a regional business weekly publication.

●Wrote new-car reviews and feature articles on the automotive industry for the Journal’s business section.

Education

Sept. 1979–Dec. 1985 Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA

●B.A., Major Field of Study: Communications (Journalism, Media and Film); Cognate in Aerospace and Ocean Engineering; Minor Field of Study: Mathematics

●Editor for Virginia Tech’s "Collegiate Times" student newspaper, an independently and professionally operated, twice-weekly broadsheet publication with campus-wide, community, and regional distribution of 13,000 copies.

Interests

●New technologies in computing, consumer electronics, and home theater; automobilia and motorsports.

Groups/

Associations

Society for Technical Communications (STC) Rocky Mountain Chapter.

References Available upon request.

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