For this reason, the Board has voted to reopen the Recovery Package application process. Members who are still affected by the economic recession and wish to maintain their STC membership can apply now through March 31, 2010.

The Marion Norby Fund is enabling STC to offer help to another 150 members affected by the economic recession. STC will award up to 100 Full Recovery Packages and up to 50 Subsidy Recovery Packages.

* Full Recovery Package: Basic dues—a $215 value ($160 value for those in the developing countries listed in the STC membership application)
* Subsidy Recovery Package: The difference between the Basic dues rate of $150 (2009 dues) and $215 (2010)—a $65* value for all members regardless of location.

For full details, eligibility requirements, and information on how to apply, see the Recovery Package page on the STC website. For any questions about the recovery packages, contact Julia O’Connor .

Duration: Full-Time

Description:

Marvell Semiconductor currently has a few openings for Tech Writers at our office in Santa Clara, CA.

Qualifications:

* A Bachelor’s degree in a technical field or technical communication.
* 3 to 5 years experience as a technical writer.
* Experience using Style Guides such as Chicago Manual of Style and the Microsoft Manual of Style.
* Preferable experience: Engineering or software work experience.

Description:

* Produce high quality end-user documentation and procedures for a technical audience. Work on all phases of information development from information gathering, research, and interviewing, to writing and editing.
* Produce paper and electronic versions of documentation using Adobe FrameMaker, and Adobe Acrobat. Deliverables includes both Hardware and Software documents.

To apply, or for more information please visit www.marvell.com.

Duration: Full-Time

Description:

Information Design
• Assist in the development of the information architecture of the site to make sure it facilitates effective delivery of the content.
• Define the structure of the content to meet the overall site strategy, working closely with the Web Architect and content contributors.
• Participate in the selection and implementation of a Web content management system and other tools used to create and/or manage content (e.g., discussion boards and related tools).
• Maintain integrity of information architecture within the site.
• Collaborate on the site’s visual design, esp. as informed by content requirements.
• Develop requirements for content-related features and interactions.
• Help determine ways to integrate Web content with Advent products (e.g., via online Help).
• Create any required internal documentation.

Content Development and Maintenance
• Coordinate content requirements based on input from the internal stakeholders who “own” their content. Internal stakeholders include technical writers, Support (incl. KB Team and Training), and Marketing.
• Help determine content requirements based on input from clients and by analyzing client usage statistics.
• Help solicit content from appropriate internal and external sources.
• Organize and integrate the content across the site.
• Create and maintain editorial policy based on internal requirements.
• Create and maintain editorial standards for all content on the site, including a Style Guide.
• Approve and publish content according to editorial policy, ensuring the content is current and consistent across the various media and areas (including the Advent Download Center).
• Produce content as appropriate and required. Content might include client-facing documentation, training materials, Knowledgebase articles, and/or technical white papers.
• Develop an understanding of Advent’s products and product life cycle process, esp. as it relates to content delivery.
• Understand and adhere to corporate and legal requirements.
• Share appropriate content with advent.com (Advent’s commercial Web site).
• Understand localization and international requirements, as appropriate.

Project Management
• Create/update content based on Advent’s product release schedules and editorial policy.
• Schedule creation/acquisition of content to meet needs of users and the business.
• Analyze client usage statistics to evaluate the effectiveness of content strategy, and push towards continuous content improvement.

Critical Job Skills:
• Excellent writing, editorial, and information design skills.
• Ability to write and produce effective content for the Web, including use of multimedia.
• Passion for using Web as a way to deploy content.
• Excellent project management skills, and ability to juggle many projects at once in a fast, changing environment.
• Ability to collaborate effectively as part of a cross-functional team.
• Solid understanding of financial services industry.
• Ability to analyze data and make appropriate decisions based on the data.
Experience:
• 5-10 years technical writing or equivalent experience, preferably in the financial services industry.
• 5 years experience producing and/or maintaining content for the Web.
Technical Skills:
• Experience in implementing and maintaining a Web content management system, including workflow definition and content design/templating.
• Knowledge of HTML, XML, CSS, and current Web content management technologies.
• Understanding of single-sourcing content.
• Understanding of search engine optimization.
• Understanding of content-related Web technologies (e.g., Web 2.0 tools).
• Working knowledge of Dreamweaver, Flash, and Photoshop.
• Experience using Adobe Flex, Captivate, RoboHelp, and/or FrameMaker a plus.
Education
• BA in English, Journalism, Technical Communications, Library Science, or a related field.

To apply, or for more information, please visit Advent.

Topic: Covering information from Sun Microsystem’s newly published best practices guide of the same name, Jeff will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using a wiki for product documentation; suggestions about document structure, organization, and navigation; how to encourage collaboration and participation by community members; and other topics. Join us for this exciting, cutting edge topic.

Speaker Bio: Jeffrey Gardiner is the former Editorial and Production Manager at Sun Microsystems. He managed the development and publication of the recently released third edition of Read Me First! A Style Guide for the Computer Industry. He has taught editing classes for UC Berkeley Extension.

Please RSVP to president@stc-siliconvalley.org if you plan to attend.

Description: Software companies that grow to moderate size or beyond find that they must localize their products to sell to multinational or foreign customers. Our speakers will explain the issues that surround localization and discuss its impact on companies and technical writers.

Speaker Bios: Bing Hong built the OSIsoft department that does software internationalization, localization, and documentation. Before that, she ran the Asian Localization Center at Sun Microsystems. She has more than ten years experience in internationalization and localization in the software industry.

Tonie Flores is a Senior Technical Writer at OSIsoft. She draws on her experience of learning English as her third language and delivering software training in Asia and Latin America to inform her writing for a global audience.

Future Meetings

May – Spring Schmooze
June – Social Networking

Duration: 6+ months
A client in San Jose needs an on-site Technical Writer/Editor for a 6 to 12+ month contract.

They recently converted a large help system from RoboHelp to Flare 5.01 and need to make the Help more user-friendly and match the current version of the software.

Requirements:

o. 2+ years experience as a technical writer
o. EXCELLENT editing skills
o. Solid Madcap Flare experience

o. Experience doing Instructional Design a plus
o. Experience doing usability testing of Web content a plus
o. Experience documenting financial applications a plus

prospringstaffing.com

Research, plan, develop, and publish CLI-related documentation. This includes task, reference, and conceptual information for user guides, reference information, and help system and well as release notes. Ensure all documents adhere to Pillar style standards, information model, and quality checklists. Work with minimal supervision and meet established deadlines.

- Research, develop, write, and edit CLI-related content for Pillar Data Systems publications.
- Author content in XML and ensure that it conforms to topic-based (DITA) writing standards.
- Use batch files and Perl scripts to convert output to POD format.
- Conduct interviews with various users and technical staff to gather data for authoring content.
- Research and translate technical information into final deliverables for technical audiences.
- Prepare content that is ready for internationalization.
- 1 – 3 years in technical writing in computer systems domain.
- Must have some experience in a single-source environment using structured authoring tools (such as Arbortext or FrameMaker +SGML).
- Must demonstrate strong analytical and interpersonal skills.
- Must work well as a team member in a high-paced and structured environment.
- Able to quickly extract information from subject matter experts and engineering documents.
- Proficiency with SAN and NAS storage environments, and with Windows, Linux, Solaris, and other Unix-like operating systems are highly desired.
- Experience working with a content management system a plus.

pillardata.com

Research, plan, develop, and publish hardware product documentation. This may include hardware installation guides, service guides, cabling diagrams, implementation guides, architecture guides, best practices, and release notes.
Ensure all documents adhere to Pillar style standards, information model, and quality checklists. Work independently and meet established deadlines.

- Research, develop, write, and edit hardware installation and service content for Pillar Data Systems publications.
- Author content in XML and ensure that it conforms to topic-based (DITA) writing standards.
- Become an expert in the domain of storage hardware-related information.
- Conduct interviews with various users and technical staff to gather data for authoring hardware content.
- Research and translate technical information into final deliverables for technical audiences.
- Prepare content that is ready for internationalization.

Education:
BA/BS in Computer Science or a Technical Communications discipline or equivalent combination of education and experience.

Minimum Experience:
5 years in network storage or related technology; 8 years in technical writing in computer systems domain. Must have some experience in a single-source environment using structured authoring tools (such as Arbortext or FrameMaker +SGML).

Knowledge:
Proficiency with SAN and NAS storage environments, and with Windows, Linux, Solaris, and other Unix-like operating systems are highly desired. Knowledge of networking hardware and protocols (such as TCP/IP, LDAP, HTTP, SNMP) a plus. Experience working with a content management system a plus.

Analytical/Interpersonal Skills:
Must demonstrate strong analytical and interpersonal skills. Must work well as a team member in a high-paced and structured environment. Able to quickly extract information from subject matter experts and engineering documents.

pillardata.com