Thank you for visiting my professional page. Explore this page to see how I may be able to help you and your organization develop accurate, clear, concise, user-friendly user guides and instructions for use (IFUs).
Summary of Qualifications
| EXPERIENCE | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|
| Technical Documentation | Sixteen years creating, maintaining, and improving technical documentation |
| Project Leadership | Six years leading successful writing projects |
| CMS Implementation | Three years implementing content-management system (CMS) requirements with ArborText, FrameMaker, and Author-it |
Content Development | Write clear, concise, and user-friendly materials for diverse audiences, designing diagrams, screenshots, and photos to add clarity |
| Project Management | Manage multiple writing projects, including technical writing guidelines, internal web, Confluence, and SharePoint pages, coordinating across all levels of an organization |
| Quality Assurance | Ensure documentation meets organizational standards, supports knowledge sharing, and enhances adoption of technology solutions |
| Education | B.A. in English and postgraduate technical writing courses |
Tools Mastery
| EXPERT | PROFICIENT | WORKING KNOWLWDGE |
| Adobe FrameMaker, structured and unstructured | Microsoft PowerPoint, Visio, and SharePoint | Author-it, ArborText, Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator |
| Microsoft Word and Excel | Jira, Confluence, and Glyphy | Databases, APIs, CMS, and DITA |
| Adobe Acrobat Pro | SDLC, Agile PLM, and Windchill PLM | UNIX, vi, SQL, HTML, and XML |
Work Experience
Philips Image Guided Therapy Devices (IGTD), Plymouth, MN, Remote
July 2024 to Dec 2025 – Contract Technical Writer
- Managed own project, updating templates for, and editing, quality SOPs and work instructions in Microsoft Word and Excel. Reported in for daily or weekly check-ins with project manager and team.
- Processed object creation, update, and obsolescence for 1000+ objects in Windchill PLM, including Windchill change requests and tasks.
- Tools used: Microsoft Word, Excel, Windchill PLM, Microsoft Teams.
Abbott, St. Paul, MN, Remote
January 2022 to March 2023 – Contract Technical Writer
- Wrote and revised IFUs and patient manuals to comply with and enable sales in EU MDR markets for structural heart catheters, valves, and plugs. Complied with European Council Regulation 2017/745 (NB2797) and CAPAs.
- Implemented CMS format and content requirements.
- Tools Used: Adobe FrameMaker (v.16.0.4.1062) and Acrobat Pro; Author-it; Windchill PLM; Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and SharePoint.
Element, Longmont, CO, Hybrid Onsite/Remote
March 2021 to July 2021 – Contract Technical Writer
- Met aggressive deadlines writing test reports for environmental, vibration, and mechanical tests performed on customer products.
- Tools Used: Microsoft Word and Excell
Sierra Space (formerly Sierra Nevada Corp.), Louisville, CO, Onsite/Remote April 2019 to November 2020 – Contract Technical Writer
- Developed and maintained business group wiki pages for program management staff. Developed test plans and UAT scripts for customized in-house digital asset management (DAM) and Windchill-integrated database tool.
- Obtained secret security clearance.
- Tools Used: Microsoft Word, Excel; Acrobat Pro; Windchill; Confluence, Gliffy, Jira.
Self Employed, Longmont/Boulder, CO
September 2016 to April 2019 – Writer/Caregiver
- Freelance writing and editing.
- Caring for an elderly family member.
- Driver for Uber.
- Tools Used: Microsoft Word, Google Docs
HID Global, Westminster, CO
May 2015 to September 2016 – Senior Technical Writer
- Worked with local and international product teams within Agile development processes to document hardware, firmware, and software updates for access-control systems, including RFID readers.
- Coordinated with QA and engineering staff, using defect-tracking systems to research necessary updates and log software defects found while testing step-by-step hardware and software procedures.
- Tools Used: FrameMaker, InDesign, Acrobat, Agile PLM, Jira, Confluence, and RoboHelp.
Medtronic, Louisville, CO
December 2014 to May 2015 – Contract Senior Technical Writer
- Researched and developed service manual for an MRI-guided surgical instrument. Developed technical bulletins to support clinical, sales, technical, and field staff.
- Tools Used: Adobe FrameMaker, Acrobat, Photoshop, Illustrator, Agile PLM, and Salesforce.
Vail Resorts/Various Clients, Broomfield/Longmont, CO
November 2010 to February 2014 – Instructional Designer/Editor/Freelance Writer
- Edited for compliance with journal style guides as well as standard usage and punctuation. Validated references against extensive lists of references. Recommended substantive revisions.
- Developed, wrote, and produced 150-page cashier’s manual for customized version of the Epicor® Point of Sale (POS) system used in Vail Resorts Specialty Sports Venture (SSV) shops.
- Tools Used: Microsoft Word and Adobe Acrobat Pro.
Medtronic (formerly Covidien), Boulder, CO
August 2009 to October 2010 – Contract Technical Writer
- Wrote clinician user guides and IFUs for new and redesigned surgical instruments and electrosurgical generators, coordinating translation into 23 languages.
- Implemented CMS format and content requirements for new and revised documents using structured FrameMaker.
- Managed initial meeting with the cross-functional product team to determine required labeling and document content through to submitting final translated files for ECO.
- Complied with legal and regulatory requirements for FDA labeling.
- Tools Used: FrameMaker, structured; ArborText; Adobe Acrobat Pro, Photoshop, and Illustrator.
Ericsson Boulder Design Center, Boulder, CO
May 2007 to April 2008 – Contract Technical Writer
- Improved and published system administration, maintenance, installation, and upgrade manuals using a customized ArborText CMS for a $45M project to create a hardware and software interface between two cell-phone networks.
- Led a cell phone test-tool documentation project for QA. Produced major update and revision of administration and user guide.
- Tested and documented command line procedures, using various UNIX shells, in vi and SQL for administration, upgrade, and install manuals.
- Tested and documented procedures in Web- and Java-based interfaces for administration manuals.
- Tools Used: Structured and unstructured FrameMaker, ArborText, and DITA DTDs.
Additional Work Experience
- Confertech International/Voyant (now Polycom), Westminster, CO – 3 years
- Derby Associates International, Fort Collins, CO – 2 years
- Hewlett Packard Company, CSIT/TSO Division, Loveland, CO – 1 year
- QUALCOMM Incorporated, San Diego, CA – 3 years
- American Film Technologies, San Diego, CA – 3 years
Education
Luther College, Decorah, IA, BA in English
San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, post-graduate courses:
- Technical writing I and II, Rhetoric department
- Instructional design, Education Technology department
- Electricity and electronics, Industrial Technology department
- Pascal programming under UNIX, Computer Science department
Wordbecca.org -- Rebecca Naffziger Meier 