Director, Documentation - New York, NY

Databases are the beating heart of every business in the world

Cockroach Labs is the team behind CockroachDB, the most highly evolved cloud-native, distributed SQL database on the planet. We created CockroachDB and CockroachDB Cloud to deliver the ability to build and scale apps with fewer obstacles, more freedom, and greater efficiency. Today, Cockroach Labs helps companies of all sizes—and the apps they develop—scale fast, survive disaster, and thrive everywhere. Join us on our mission to make data easy.

About the Role

We're seeking an experienced leader and outstanding people manager to join our world-class Documentation team as the Director of Documentation.

As the Director of Documentation, you will oversee the technical documentation strategy for Cockroach Labs, encompassing all product areas of CockroachDB. You will lead a talented team of technical writers, building on a long-standing track record of documentation that is comprehensive, up-to-date, and user-centric. You will identify new and important areas of focus for improvement, mentor team members, and foster collaboration with engineering teams and product management.

Your extensive experience and strategic vision will enable you to guide the team in delivering high-quality reference documentation, instructive tutorials, and best practices guidance. You will play a key role in shaping the documentation practices and processes at Cockroach Labs, ensuring continuous improvement and alignment with our overall product strategy.

You Will

• Lead and manage the Documentation team, providing strategic direction and ensuring alignment with company goals. Inspire your team with your vision and passion for exceptional documentation.
• Develop a deep understanding of CockroachDB and related technologies and guide the team in producing high-quality documentation.
• Oversee the creation of documentation for all CockroachDB product areas, ensuring coverage of features, best practices, and user guidance.
• Mentor team members and help enable professional development opportunities for technical writers to foster a collaborative and growth-oriented team culture.
• Collaborate closely with Engineering, Product, Training, Support, and Professional Services teams to ensure documentation is accurate, effective, and user-focused.
• Lead the evolution of team processes and style conventions to enhance documentation quality and team efficiency.
• Represent the Documentation team in cross-functional meetings, contributing to strategic planning and decision-making.

The Expectations

First 30 days:

• Follow a comprehensive onboarding plan designed by your manager. This will help you ramp on CockroachDB as a technology and Cockroach Labs as an organization.
• Gain a thorough understanding of CockroachDB, the company culture, and the existing documentation processes.
• Begin building relationships with key stakeholders across Engineering, Product, Training, Support, and Professional Services teams.

First 3 months:

• Fully integrate into the Documentation team and start taking the lead on strategic planning for documentation projects.
• Assess the docs, our workflows, and in-progress improvements. In collaboration with the team, identify further areas for improvement, and begin to refine the roadmap of enhancements.
• Start leading and mentoring the team, fostering a collaborative and growth-oriented team culture.
• Establish your own cadence of regular collaboration with cross-functional teams to ensure documentation accuracy, relevance, and user-focus.

Ongoing:

• Provide continuous leadership and mentoring to the Documentation team, driving high standards and ensuring alignment with company goals.
• Foster a culture of respect, open communication, and high achievement within the team.
• Continuously evaluate and refine documentation strategies to ensure they meet the evolving needs of CockroachDB users.
• Represent the Documentation team in high-level strategic meetings, contributing to company-wide decision-making and planning.
• Champion the value of high-quality documentation across the organization and advocate for necessary resources and support.
• Monitor industry trends and best practices in documentation to keep Cockroach Labs at the forefront of technical communication.

You Have

• 10+ years of experience in technical writing or documentation, with at least 5 years in a leadership role.
• Proven experience managing and developing high-performing documentation teams.
• Deep knowledge of Unix/Linux systems, public cloud services, containers and orchestration, database-specific technologies, SaaS tools for developers, Git, and docs-as-code workflows.
• Strong understanding of networking, security, DevOps, and infrastructure as code.
• Exceptional communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively with cross-functional teams.
• A strategic mindset with the ability to drive long-term goals and improvements.
• Demonstrated ability to be a kind and considerate manager, genuinely caring about the professional development and well-being of your team members.
• The ability to inspire and motivate your team.

The Team

• This role reports to Shannon Bradshaw, VP of Education. Shannon is an experienced leader of technical documentation and customer training teams.
• Cockroach Labs has a centralized Docs Team in the Education Department, part of the Product Division.
• Docs team members are embedded with product engineering teams and work closely with product managers and engineering leads to plan and execute docs for their product areas. The Docs Team meets weekly to discuss ongoing work, questions, concerns, and other matters of shared interest. Engineers and product managers provide subject-matter expertise and technical reviews, while writers provide peer review for each other.
• Team management maintains an internal competencies table to provide a shared basis for team member leveling and to enable managers to focus on growth opportunities with each writer.
• Cockroach Labs continually works to foster an environment of respect among team members, with open communication, high achievement, and work-life balance. Within the company, the Docs team is valued for the support our content and expertise provides to the business.

Our Benefits

• Competitive Health Insurance Coverage (for you & your dependents!)
• Paid parental leave (with baby bucks)
• Flexible time off & flexible hours
• Education reimbursement
• Relocation support

Cockroach Labs is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer building a diverse and inclusive workforce. If you need additional accommodations to feel comfortable during your interview process, please email us at [email protected].

The annual anticipated base salary range for U.S. candidates for this role is USD $211,000 to $280,000, plus commission if a sales role. We set standard ranges for all U.S.-based roles based on function, level, and geographic location, benchmarked against similar stage growth companies. In order to be compliant with local legislation, as well as to provide greater transparency to candidates, we share salary ranges on all job postings regardless of desired hiring location.  Actual salaries may vary and fall outside of this range depending on factors such as a candidate’s qualifications, geographic location, skills, experience, and competencies. In addition, we are often open to a wide variety of profiles, and recognize that the person we hire may be less experienced (or more senior) than this job description as posted. Salary is one component of the Cockroach Labs’ total rewards package, which includes stock options, health insurance, life and disability insurance, funds towards professional development resources, flexible PTO, paid holidays, and parental leave, to name a few! Salaries for candidates outside the U.S. will vary based on local compensation structures.