David Young
Technical writer and information architect
I write and organize documentation for internal teams who run the business, end users learning a product, and developers building with one.
My work includes onboarding and product guides, release notes, getting started guides, developer and API documentation, governance knowledge bases, and the tools that help people find what they need. The case studies come from my contract and staff roles. Each product documentation project is a complete docs suite for a running API.
Who I write for
The users I write for most often
Each audience needs different documentation. Here's what I've written for each, and where to see it.
Internal teams
Knowledge bases, runbooks, and internal release notes
Reference and training material for data stewards, governance teams, and the people who build and support a product.
End users
Self-service guides and onboarding
Task guides, product documentation, and onboarding paths for people learning a product on their own.
Developers
Getting started guides, developer guides, and API references
Setup guides, developer resources, quickstarts, and reference documentation that matches the running product.
Case studies · newest first
Contract and staff work
Each case study covers the project, the users, what I did, and what I delivered, with a public sample where one exists.
Technical WriterSep 2025 to present
Stride
Data mapping between PowerSchool, Salesforce, SailPoint, and other systems; React tools that let data modelers search and trace the mappings; and a knowledge base for data stewards and Atlan users.
Read the case study →Technical Writer, contractJan to Oct 2024
Prevail
Release notes, product documentation, and developer guides for customers, developers, and the internal team, plus the review workflow and site structure, published with Jekyll from Git.
Read the case study →Technical Writer, contractJun to Dec 2023
Linux Foundation
DPDK's separate Linux, FreeBSD, and Windows getting started guides, consolidated into one Sphinx resource for developers and contributors.
Read the case study →Technical Writer, contractJun 2021 to Feb 2022
Yawave
Self-service documentation and onboarding guides in Document360, shaped with the CTO and product stakeholders for a global audience.
Read the case study →Product documentation
Complete documentation suites
Each is a complete documentation suite for a running API, with guides, reference pages, and notes on the decisions behind the docs.
Product documentation · October 2026
Planet Search
A complete documentation suite for an exoplanet API covering 6,445 confirmed planets from the NASA Exoplanet Archive. I wrote 33 pages for developers and teachers, documented a habitable-zone rating with its limits stated, and built interactive pages that call the API.
Read the case study →
Product documentation · November 2026
Earmark
The complete documentation for a tagging API for cloud resources: 20 endpoints, nine task guides, tag policies with suggested fixes, a live console, and a narrated video tutorial.
Read the case study →What the product docs show
The table below pairs the skills hiring teams usually ask about with the place in each one where you can check my work.
| Skill | Planet Search | Earmark |
|---|---|---|
| API reference | 10 endpoints, 5 object pages, an OpenAPI 3.1 file | 20 endpoints, 8 object pages, an OpenAPI 3.1 file |
| Getting started | A quickstart from API key to a filtered request in about five minutes | A quickstart that finds and fixes one noncompliant database |
| Task guides | 4 guides, including planet cards for a classroom | 9 guides, including bulk tagging and tagging in CI |
| Explaining a method | The habitable-zone model, with equations, limits, and caveats | Tag policies, enforcement modes, and compliance |
| Docs as code | Every example response captured from the running API | Captured examples, plus tests that check every example and id the docs cite |
Skills and tools
What I work with
Grouped by kind of work, with the case studies and product docs that show each group.
Writing
Shown in Yawave, Prevail, Linux Foundation, Stride, Planet Search, Earmark
Information architecture
Shown in Prevail, Linux Foundation, Stride, Planet Search, Earmark
Documentation platforms
Shown in Linux Foundation, Prevail, Yawave, Planet Search, Earmark
Building and publishing
Shown in Stride, Prevail, Planet Search, Earmark
Data and governance
Shown in Stride