Rick Alan Rice - Writer for Hire
I am a writer with 45 years of experience in journalism, marketing communications, and technical writing.
I have worked as a consultant or contractor in the tech sector with KPMG, Cisco Systems, NTT Data/Dell IT Services, TerraData (ThinkBig Analytics), OSIsoft (AVEVA), Meta, and others.
I have extensive experience in the architecture and engineering sector, having developed large contract RFP responses for Bechtel Corporation, Granite Construction, and other engineering and architecture groups.
I have served as editor for numerous academic studies and submittals to such as the Journal of the American Society of Civil Engineers. I have been the editor of commercial news and feature publications.
As a content producer, I publish and manage several websites. I am the author of numerous novels, screenplays, and musical compositions. See RARWRITER.com.
11847 Sunrise Ln.
Grass Valley, CA 95945
P: (707) 290-0428
Rick@rickarice.com Find me on LinkedIn
Education
San Francisco State University - Extension courses in JavaScript and Java programming - Jan-Dec 1999
Webster Institute of Technology - Certificate in Technical Writing - Fall 1998
M.A., Magazine Journalism, Ball State University - Courses completed, no degree - 1976
B.A., English-Journalism, Fort Hays State University - 1975
Skill Set
Recent Work Experience
Orange People
August 2021 - March 2023
Technical Writer
Under contract with the consulting firm Orange People, worked within the Meta Connectivity Knowledge Management and Network Information Services groups. The focus ranged from documentation of developing technologies for broader hi-speed wifi connectivty, to supporting the establishment of lab facilities for Metaverse developments. My work involved project management and internal customer communications, development of open-source sites for OEM developers and wiki sites for various operations groups, and the development of white papers proposing technological initiatives. Engagements involved software and hardware developers, as well as higher-level program managers.
OSIsoft
May 2018 - June 2021
Software Technical Writer
Developed user guides for a range of data collection software products, including OSIsoft’s PI connector and interfaces. Worked within an agile environment, participating in daily standups with three of OSIsoft's development teams. Developed DITA-based documentation, as well as documentation developed in markdown format for GitHub delivery (DocFX).
- Authored original content, and edited existing content, in XMetaL and Visual Studio Code
- Managed agile work items and tasks through Azure DevOps.
- Worked remotely with developers in Europe and on the east coast of the United States, communicating through Skype and Microsoft Teams
NTT Data / Dell IT Services
Dec 2016 to March 2018
Software Technical Writer
Provided technical writing and project management services to NTT DATA in their absorption of Dell IT Services. Developed software developer guides for their straight-through-processing (STP) services and the modernization of their LifeSys application, as it was migrated from a mainframe to an open systems (Linux) environment.
- Documented organizational development initiatives, including a patch management program for NTT DATA’s high availability core application servers.
- Developed ITIL-based process and procedure documentation for data center help desk operators.
- Developed an INFOBLOX training guide for network administrators.
- Developed standards, methodologies, process, and procedure documents for their Information Security Management System (ISMS).
Portfolio
Provided here are brief summaries and examples of but a few of the projects for which I have played a role. I have a huge library of completed works, many for projects that are proprietary in nature. Special arrangements would be required to view these documents, which are not shareable. There is a "portfolio" PDF available for download that provides an overview of technical writing and proposal project experience.
Demo Github-Hosted Website
See How to Develop a Novel. This site is hosted in Github using Github Pages. Visual Studio-code was used as the text editor. Markdown was used to indicate formatting within a template developed for the Jekkyll static site generator. ChatGPT was used to research topics and, in instances noted in site, to generate content directly.
Proposals
This page provides a wide-variety of examples of the proposals I have developed in the Architecture-Engineering-Construction (AEC) and Information Technology (IT) sectors. Sample proposals are available, with caveats. See the Proposals page.
Special Technical Writing Projects
This page provides detail on a few of the "special" technical writing projects completed by Rick A Rice Consulting. See Special Projects.
Meta: Terragraph
Meta had completed its development of the Terragraph system - a network of MmWave Radio-based wireless transmisters that provide high-speed internet to the urban areas in which it is typically deployed - and they were presenting the system for further development by the open source community. I assisted with the development of several developer docs, as well as the establishment of the Terragraph site hosted on GitHub. See the Terragraph website.
ThinkBig Analytics: Kylo
I assisted developers with the creation of an open source, GitHub-hosted website for the Kylo product, an open source enterprise-ready data lake management software platform for self-service data ingest and data preparation with integrated metadata management, governance, and security. See the Kylo website.
KPMG: Greenhouse Gas Cap & Trade Program Feasibility Study
Working as a member of a KPMG team, and with subject matter experts of the California Air Resources Board, I was the initial author of the feasibility study exploring the options for of implementing a legislatively-mandated trading system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the state of California. That historic system has now been in place since 2013, and it is the fourth largest such trading platform in the world.
Granite: CD5 Nigliq Channel and L9323 Bridge Installation
Working with Granite Construction, developed a proposal, program management, and safety plan for ConocoPhillip's bridge project on the North Slope of Alaska. I completed numerous proposal projects for Granite over a five year period, including a detailed report on how to manage complex Construction Manager-at-Risk, Construction Manager/General Contractor, Design-Build-Operate-Maintain, and P3 contracting opportunities
Pacific Gas & Electric: New Build Data Center Design Guidelines
Working with PG&E's manager of data center facilities, developed extensive design guidelines for a secure critical infrastructure facility. The work was based on training in tier-3 data center design, provided by the International Center for Organizational Resilience (ICOR). The design document included development of runbooks and other tools for facility operation.
Cisco Systems: Open Stack API
Working with Cisco Intercloud Services, developed OpenStack API documentation (user guides, reference guides, quick start) for Cisco’s Telstra account. Tasks included testing API against Telstra test projects.
Documentation Library
Years of experience in the software, IT network, and architecture-engineering-construction sectors have produced a huge library of documentation, only part of which is shown in the following screenshots. (This batch is largely related to AEC sector projects.) Much of the documentation contained in these folders is proprietary, viewable under special arrangements, not shareable. Each folder contains a range of documents, from RFx to program managemnent and safety plans, to procedural guides to white papers. The folder overview is provided to show the range of projects that I have worked, and can provide some level of expertise.
