Lee C. Steele                    lsteele@california.com

Senior Technical Writing and Communications Consulting

I am a fast learner who requires a minimum of supervision. I am science literate with broad technical and work experience. I enjoy the QA aspects of my job such as discovering possible both hardware and software problems and helping resolve user / engineering issues. I am a hands-on researcher and frequently serve as a user advocate. I have a good eye for the detail required for more routine jobs like updates and verifications.

TECHNICAL SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS

• Software documentation includes end-user manuals, programmer references, APIs for software and hardware, product specs, admin guides, troubleshooting guides, technical content for white papers, data books. CAD/CAE products for microcircuit and board placement and routing, simulation, and timing calculation; a design automation product for complex mechanical engineering; secure web browser and email admin and user docs.
  
  
• Internal documentation includes satellite data recovery and storage design (.pdf sample available online) troubleshooting guides, technical procedures, BIOS documentation, product specs, international product shipping, manufacturing and alignment "traveler" documents.
  
  
• Online help, includes HTML pages, Windows Help, and Robohelp; single-sourcing for documents and online help
  
  
• Hardware Products include wafer fabrication equipment using low-pressure, high energy RF plasma environments for metal-oxide vapor deposition, silicon-oxide etching and photo resist stripping. Airborne and ship-borne RF interception and surveillance equipment (Mil-Spec). HVAC heating/cooling and water circulation/purification systems, Memory disk surfacing equipment and bio-medical sample transfer equipment.
  
  
• Hardware / Software Products include Earth-orbiting satellite and gamma-ray telescope payload (.pdf sample available online); color graphics pre-press system from scanning input to four-color production; network servers; telecommunications protocol converter (T1: ISDN) for use with CBX switching equipment; optically scanned relational database storage and optical retrieval products using SQL and ESQL.
  
  
• Software tools include RoboHelp, PowerPoint, Visio, Adobe Acrobat, Excel, HTML, SGML, FrontPage, Illustrator, Photoshop
  
  
• Word Processing and Desktop Publishing: FrameMaker, HTML, SGML, PageMaker, Interleaf, MS Word, XEDIT, BookMaster, Doc, Scribe, and Tex. Online help, documentation and formatting with authoring tools and UNIX text file editing. Experienced with SunSPARC, Apollo, and HP work stations, IBM virtual work stations, PCs and Apple working environments in UNIX, DOS and Windows operating systems.

WORK EXPERIENCE

Principal Technical Writer;   EDC Biosystems,    San Jose, CA     2005 - present

Updating Maintenance and Operations manuals to create user and factory calibration alignments for memory disk surfacing and scientific liquid dispensing equipment.

Contract Technical Writer;      OmniTrust Security Systems,    Mountain View, CA    2005

Updated, tested and edited installation, administration and user manuals for a product line of secure web browser and email server tools. Installed and exercised the software to document new functionality.

Contract Technical Writer;      Stanford Linear Accelerator Center,   Menlo Park, CA     2004 - 2005

Documented test plans, test bench set-up and management plans for operational aspects of an Earth-orbiting satellite, and calibration plans and analysis guidelines for the gamma-ray telescope payload.

Contract Technical Writer;      Private Residence,    Woodside, CA     2002 - 2003

Documented HVAC and water systems to the component level for identification, operation, preventative maintenance and replacement information for the owner's use for a $200M private residence construction.

Contract Technical Writer;      Applied Materials,   Santa Clara, CA     2000 - 2001

Update process-specific reaction-chamber documentation for customers of wafer fabrication capital equipment. Worked closely with engineers to research and document electrical, mechanical and software design changes for poly-silicate deposition chambers and support equipment such as ozone generators.

Contract - Staff Technical Writer;      Synopsys,    Mountain View, CA      1998 - 2000

Updated, maintained and released multi-volume technical documentation for print and on-line users of Intellectual Property and Standard Cell design libraries. Created Release Notes and Read -me files for frequent Electronic Software Technical and software patch releases for EDA customers using DesignWare Foundation or Silicon Libraries design components. Updated HTML catalogs for standard cell libraries.

Contract Technical Writer;      Hewlett-Packard,    Sunnyvale, CA     1998

Completed work on three separate products, producing road maps and user guides for all three, plus online documentation for two. Products consisted of two lines of mechanical equipment mounting racks with installation and accessory information, and two different NetServer networking and controller products.

Contract Technical Writer;      Parametric Technologies,    San Jose, CA    1997

Researched and wrote new and updated mechanical engineering material documenting surface contact modeling software. Took a leading role in devising, implementing, and testing HTML conversion.

Contract - Sr. Technical Writer;      Cadence Design Systems,    San Jose, CA      1995 - 1996

Researched and wrote material detailing product algorithms for internal timing calculations and the accompanying timing information input file format and syntax manual used by cell library developers.

Contract Technical Writer;      Applied Materials,    Santa Clara, CA   1994

Researched and wrote start-up instructions for wafer fabrication system using IR energy. Researched a spare parts identifier and schematics manual for RF energy wafer fabrication capital equipment.

Contract Technical Writer;      Compass Design Automation,    San Jose, CA   1994

Researched and wrote CAD/CEA documentation for added capabilities upgrade of existing product. Produced original Beta documentation for a new product for microcircuit placement and n-layer router.

Contract Technical Writer;      Recognition International,    Sunnyvale, CA   1992 - 1994

Maintained release note publications for an extensive list of operating platforms running a family of products for relational database enhancements, using optical data storage and retrieval technology.

Contract Technical Writer;      Teradyne,    Santa Clara, CA   1991 - 1992

Researched and wrote material for a CAD/CAE design simulation product software update.

Contract Technical Writer;      Du Pont Imaging Systems,    Santa Clara, CA   1991

Researched and wrote material for a UNIX-based pre-press graphics software and hardware package. Documented full functionality from scanned input to film-recorder output and image editing.

Contract Technical Writer;      ROLM Systems,     Santa Clara, CA  1990

Researched and wrote an installation and maintenance manual for a prototype telecommunications protocol converter (T1:ISDN) built with Siemens telephony and equipment. Extensive lab work.

Sr. Technical Writer;      GENUS,    Mountain View, CA   1989 - 1990

Researched and wrote retro-fit and calibration procedures for CVD wafer fabrication equipment used for tungsten metallization in a high-energy, RF plasma reactionary-chemical environment.

Contract Technical Writer;      Mentor Graphics,    San Jose, CA   1988 - 1989

Updated CAD/CAE software user documentation for printed circuit board layout and routing product. Documentation set consisted of a user guide, reference guide, and menu dictionary.

Sr. Technical Writer;      Silvar-Lisco,    Menlo Park, CA    1987 - 1988

Maintained and updated five-volume documentation set for CAD/CAE product used for semi-custom, gated array microcircuit placement and routing. Replaced all paste-up art with captured illustrations.

Contract Technical Writer;      ARGOSystems,    Sunnyvale, CA   1986

Researched and wrote Mil-Spec acceptance and test plans and procedures for a naval radar detection and surveillance system. Created and implemented ECOs for fabrication drawings, blueprints and schematics.

Technical Writer II;      Dalmo-Victor Textron ,    Belmont, CA   1985 - 1986

Researched and wrote Mil-Spec acceptance and test plans and procedures for a airborne radar detection and surveillance system. Worked closely with engineering to produce state charts and timing diagrams.

Intern/ Jr. Technical Writer;      TEGAL,    Novato, CA   1984 - 1985

Updated user documentation for wafer fabrication equipment used for photo-resist stripping. This was a continuation of the intern position required for my minor in Science and Technical Writing at SSU.

PROFESSIONAL QUALITIES

• Navy-trained electronics technician
• Focused, practical, and flexible
• ability to help spot inconsistencies in product information with little personal product knowledge
• Innovative in extracting and presenting information
• Able to work with or without structure and supervision
• Able to read specifications, schematics, blueprints, timing diagrams, block diagrams, state charts, and wiring diagrams
• Excellent mechanical abilities
• Excellent analytical skills

EDUCATION

      Sonoma State University        1981 - 1985
      B.A. Physics (specific emphasis in Chemistry)
      Rohnert Park, CA
      Minor: Science and Technical Writing

MILITARY

      United States Navy       1974 - 1980
      Sonar Technician Submarine, First Class