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Alex Mansell

Tech Writing • DocOps • GIS

Hi there! I'm an experienced technical writer specialising in DocOps, meaning docs-as-code setup primarily with asciidoc, markdown, and OpenAPI specs. I love working with developers and stakeholders to produce true documentation experiences.

I'm not looking for work right now. ☘

Latest experience

Education

Ulster University

Postgraduate Diploma of Science, Geospatial Sciences ✓ • 2017 — 2018

  • Distinction

Satellite imagery and geospatial analysis; secondary focus in biodiversity management plans

University College Dublin

Postgraduate Certificate of Science, Environmental Science ✓ • 2015 — 2016

  • 3.8

Environmental genetics and freshwater ecology

Auburn University

Master of Arts, Technical Communication • 2009 — 2011

  • 3.3 - non-thesis

Rhetorical theory, writing for engineers

Auburn University

Bachelor of Arts, German ✓ • 2005 — 2009

  • 3.4

Philology and economics

Projects

Volunteer • 2013 — present

I assist on projects mainly on preserving riparian zones and planting native trees.

Technical Writing contributor • 2018

I helped write the SQL connector documentation while working on open source projects with Red Hat.

Skills

Technical Writing * DocOps

12 years

I have been a technical writer for over 10 years. I specialise in migrations, setting up documentation sites and pipelines, and increasing developer contributions.

Antora/Asciidoc

8 years

I am an advanced user of asciidoc/asciidoctor/antora. This includes setup and optimal usage for contributing writers and developers.

Modular documentation

8 years

I believe in single sourcing documentation and building it in a way where content is most reusable. I typically follow Red Hat's modular documentation approach.

Git

8 years

I am an advanced git user as part of our docs-as-code workflow.

Agile

8 years

I am well-versed in agile development including being a Confluence/Jira administrator. I also have experience migrating in and out of Confluence as well as managing users within Atlassian products.

Light frontend development

6 years

I am proficient in basic frontend skills needed for designing and modifying static sites as well as simple frontend projects. This includes HTML, CSS, JavaScript, JQuery, Handlebars, and yaml-based light development.

Adobe Suite

6 years

I have used Adobe Creative Suite for numerous technical writing projects including PhotoShop, Illustrator, and InDesign.

Other relevant skills with approximate years of usage/experience

  • 10 years Markdown/static site generators

  • 8 years Swagger/OpenAPI

  • 6 years CI/CD (e.g., Jenkins)

  • 5 years SQL/PostgreSQL

  • 5 years Geospatial (ESRI/QGIS)

  • 4 years Scripting (python/bash)

Associations

Institute of Scientific and Technical Communicators

Member • 2014 — 2020

Full and active member of the ISTC for a number of years.

Social Links

  • Github: https://github.com/mansella42
  • GitLab:
  • Website: https://tenacious-turtle.gitlab.io/alex/