Portfolio

Abstract

Senior Technical Writer and Content Designer with 15+ years of experience delivering developer documentation (Apache Kafka, Confluent, Docker, Palantir, and more). Proven ability to leverage and document generative AI/LLM tools to support content development and source code validation. Seeking to drive content strategy, information architecture, and user-centered design for a high-growth AI/ML product.

AI/ML Expertise & Tools

Use Gemini, Cursor AI, Perplexity, Glean, and Confluent home-grown tools for various tasks, including:

• Reverse engineer response JSON to verify API structure and parameters in YAML specification files. API yaml files validation. Also, generate API documentation.
• Reconfigure property files for ZooKeeper to KRaft migration across multiple tutorials for Multi-Datacenter products and Data Governance.
• Generate Cluster Linking metrics documentation from source code.
• Generate Javascript/CSS/HTML wizards to show supported cluster combinations.

Coursework with Stanford Continuing Studies:

• Demystifying AI: Insights from the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, instructor: Nestor Maslej.
• A crash course in Artificial Intelligence (AI), professor: Ronjon Nag.

Professional Experience

Technical Writer - Confluent, Mountain View

February 2019 - present

Writing Experience

• Write content for several product lines and features, including Data Governance, Cluster Linking, Confluent CLI, and the corresponding topics for the on-prem solution, Confluent Platform. (Some cross-repo, shared content is used across Cloud and Platform.)
• Highlights include: Schema Linking, Stream Lineage, Stream Catalog REST API Usage Guide, Schema Registry REST API Usage Guide, Cluster Linking use cases and tutorials, and Monitor Cluster Metrics (sourced from code via AI).
• Review and advise on UI copy for my product areas.
• Contribute to Apache Kafka open source documentation, and provide illustrations on some Confluent documentation.
• Contribute illustrations to support Confluent documentation topics.
• Write key topics for our internal wiki on Docs team tools and processes.
• Mentor new writers on Git / GitHub, Confluent product setup, and developer toolchain.
• Contribute to QA, bug bashes, and UX labeling and workflows on various product teams.
• Work with Product, Engineering, Developer Experience, and Design teams.

Technical Writer - ThoughtSpot, Palo Alto

November 2017 - February 2019

• Managed the documentation build infrastructure (Git, GitHub, Jekyll, Markdown), ensuring 99.9% uptime and enabling the writing team to execute a winning content strategy docs.thoughtspot.com. Onboard/trained new writers on tools and workflows.
• Wrote new and updated documentation topics, including Using Custom R Scripts in ThoughtSpot, how to run ThoughtSpot on VM and cloud platforms, downloads and setup of supported drivers for database connectivity, search bar keyword reference (including publishing keyword translations in several languages with include files), formulas and formulas reference, experimented with new dataset samples for topics such as SpotIQ, and much more.
• Developed ideas for docs initiatives and improvements, and defined documentation architecture
• Plannned, coordinated, and hosted corporate wide knowledge transfers for releases
• Plannned, coordinated, and hosted SpotOn Learning webinars for the ThoughtSpot Community
• Updated messages/strings and JSON files for an in-product Help app called Formula Assistant (worked in developer codebase via Git / Jenkins toolchain)
• Scripted, produced, and published short tutorial videos
• Participated in product manager (PM) initiated customer visits to identify usability issues, feature requests, and ways of optimizing training. Wrote reports based on these customer visits.

Technical Writer - Docker, San Francisco

October 2015 - November 2017

• Wrote user/developer guides for Docker for Mac (from scratch), Docker for Windows (from scratch), Compose, Machine, Kitematic, Docker Toolbox, Store (d4mac), Store (d4win) and Cloud (AWS, Digital Ocean, Azure)
• Helped with text and labels for UIs, and modified content in localization files
• Built Docker for Mac product on local system from Go codebase using XCode IDE
• Wrote documentation in Markdown, and built with GitHub/Docker/Hugo toolchain, later Jekyll
• Coordinated documentation topics with training and samples developers
• Docker for Mac and Windows have more than 1M active users to date, and have become the 2nd monetized product at Docker with Docker Desktop Enterprise. I designed and wrote the documentation from scratch as products were in initial development, working closely with design and development teams and helping usability test prototypes.

Technical Writer, Docs Manager, UX Researcher - Palantir, Palo Alto

July 2010 – September 2015

• (UX Researcher) (UX Researcher) Conducted 20+ in-depth user interviews and usability tests in a broad range of domains, directly informing UI text, flow, Help content, and documentation. This work supported product discovery, user experience improvement, and feature adoption. Video/audio recorded and extracted film clips for reports. Wrote usability
• (Docs Team Manager) Managed the Gotham documentation team of 6-10 writers and interns approximately two years
• Wrote Help guides for data analysis platform, including analytical graphs for discovering relationships among objects, charts and histograms for large data sets, community tools for team-based research, mobile and video apps.
• Contributed to administration guides for topics on both GUIs and CLIs
• Installed, configured, and maintained my own platform instance, including multiple servers running locally and remotely, along with desktop and mobile clients.
• Contributed to brainstorming design of new application UIs
• Worked with Android SDK (Eclipse+Android plugin), first to build my own .apk from the developer codebase, and then experimented with adding mobile Help to the project
• Managed documentation build system, templates, integration points with internal tools and product builds, documentation web site publishing at release time, and related procedures and tracking on Wiki.
• Managed Gotham Docs team for year of 2012.

Earlier Experience

• Senior Technical Writer - ArcSight, Cupertino
• Technical Writer (consultant) - Teleplace (OpenQwaq), Palo Alto
• Docs Manager, Lead Writer - Devicescape (Instant802), Brisbane
• Lead Technical Writer, UX Research - BEA Systems, Inc., San Jose
• Technical Writer – Tandem Computers, Austin, Texas
• Technical Writer – Tivoli Systems, Austin, Texas

Additional Writing Samples

• Snapshots: Aisha’s Path to Rio

Education

• B.A. in English, The University of Texas at Austin, (with coursework in journalism, sociology, anthropology, computer science, art)
• UCSC Extension and Foothill College (user centered design and research, C, Java, and education)
• Udemy and other online courses on website development, data science, data visualization, and Apache Kafka