ron.grant@parrotthoughts.org
+1 425 444 5836
http://linkedin.com/in/ron-grant-799b5a20b
API Technical Writer
Software Documentation Writer
Educator
Technical Project Manager
1) 20 Years’ Experience as a Microsoft Employee in Software Engineering and Technical Documentation.
2) 5 Years Technical and Software Business Consulting.
3) Proven day-to-day experience composing, writing, and editing technical documentation and training materials across software and technology domains.
At Microsoft Corporation, from 2002 to 2016, I worked as an employee in Developer Education and API Documentation (after advancing up the Test-Developer track).
Since 2016 I have used my expertise to help small and developing software businesses in Mexico break into the US market, including refactoring and migrating content from ad-hoc depositories to best-practices USA standards (GitHub, Structured DITA XML CCM systems, Panda, Confluence, Postman).
I have a range of business experience outside of API/Technical Documentation, so I understand its cross-functional context when consumed by Product, Marketing, Engineering and Leadership team audiences.
I am a US citizen with legal and tax residence in Washington State for 1099 or W-2 work.
I have an unrestricted Permanent Residence Work Visa while in Mexico.
I do remote work in the USA and Mexico.
I do public service volunteering in Oaxaca, Mexico.
Relocation negotiable for on-site work.
Self-employed
April 2016 - Present
Business development consulting and incubation in the USA and Mexico.
Public service volunteering in Oaxaca, Mexico.
Client businesses in Software Development, Technical Documentation, Educational Programs, International Trade, Tourism, and Non-Profits/NGOs include Logical Bricks Software, Oaxaca Lending Library, Fundación En Via, LaSalle Universidad, Fundo Guadalupe Musalem, Archeologist Robert Markens and Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), El Instituto de Órganos Históricos de Oaxaca A.C., and many others.
Oaxaca Lending Library, Oaxaca, Mexico
August 2016 - Present
For over 300 programs, recruit SMEs and present speakers on various topics related to life in Oaxaca.
Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, Washington
March 2006 - February 2016 (10 years)
When Microsoft acquired GitHub, I managed the transition of docs from a Visual Team Studio environment to GitHub single sourcing content and version control (CCMS). https://github.com/BingAds
See, for example, documents I originally wrote and later put into maintence mode:
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/windows/apps/hh286399(v=vs.105) and linked docs (deprecated now) https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/windows/apps/dn792120(v=win.10) and all docs under the “Adding ads to your apps” node
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/uwp/api/microsoft.advertising?view=winrt-advertising and all Microsoft.Advertising and Microsoft.Advertising.WinRT.UI NamespaceWinRT.UI docs in these nodes
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/uwp/monetize/display-ads-in-your-app and all docs under the “Display ads in your app with the Microsoft Advertising SDK” node
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/advertising/
Additional shipped products include:
Microsoft
March 2002 - February 2006
Wrote courseware for Microsoft Learning.
Courses written and presented include Core Development with the Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 (Course 2956) and Introduction to Developing with Windows Presentation Foundation and Visual Studio 2005 (Course 5135).
Bellevue College (now Bellevue University), Bellevue, Washington
September 2000 - August 2002
Taught BA 210, Introduction to Computer Science.
Microsoft
March 1996 - February 2002 (6 years)
SDET for Microsoft Software Developer Network (MSDN) product and team.
Additional products shipped include:
Bachelor of Science - BS, Computer Science & Software Engineering
Bothell, Washington
The CSSE degree program offers a multidisciplinary approach that enables students to develop a wide range of competencies needed for success in the dynamic and varied field of software engineering.
https://www.uwb.edu/bscss
Doctor of Law - JD
Spokane, WA
Courses in Law, Business, Contracts, Corporation, Intellectual Property, Writing, and Counseling.
https://www.gonzaga.edu/school-of-law
Social Science Statistics - Terminal MA
Williamsburg, Virginia
Interdisciplinary program in American Studies with an emphasis on statistical analysis in collaboration with the Mathematics department.
Defunct.
https://catalog.wm.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=23&poid=4533
Patent Agent - US Patent & Trademark Office
Registration #52,960
Trained as part of a Microsoft program to improve invention patentability. These assignments involved translating the technical jargon and concepts of expert SMEs and engineering teams into the legal jargon and legal-thinking framework of attorneys, and vice-versa. The interaction taught me how to talk to people from different technical and professional backgrounds and to produce work that allowed different departments across multiple domains to achieve a shared goal.
Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
Level 5 Cambridge Assessment English Certificate #ccpf619654
Teach English as a Second Language to adult learners.
Microsoft Project Management Training and Experience
Training and experience in multiple Project Management modes (PMP, Agile/Scrum, Waterfall, MSDLC). The goal of Microsoft’s internal project management training is to teach the knowledge, skills, and planning abilities common to all project management frameworks. In the end, the goals of the product and skills of the team should determine the project management system. In the end, a good project manager can use multiple skills from multiple toolsets. Tool use includes MS Project, Jira, and others.
API Software Documentation • MS Office Suite • Customer Service • User Experience • Analytical Skills • Software as a Service (SaaS) • Process Improvements • Technical Training • Documentation Lifecycle Management