About

Making complex products clear and usable

Technical depth, editorial judgment, and product thinking brought together in one practice.

Portrait of Sara Smith
Sara E. Smith · Technical content leader

I’m a senior technical writer and content leader who makes complicated products easier to understand and use.

My work has spanned enterprise platforms, artificial intelligence, AI agents, automation, APIs, security, governance, and developer-facing technologies. I work closely with Product, Engineering, and UX throughout the development lifecycle—often while the product, terminology, and user experience are still taking shape.

I particularly enjoy the messy problems: emerging technology, unclear concepts, complicated workflows, and products that need someone to connect the technical details to what users actually need to accomplish.

Recommendations

She is an outstanding writer who displayed enormous growth while on my team. I threw her into the deep end when she started, having her work with me on AI feature documentation. In a short time, Sara was leading content strategy and development for those same features, in addition to solely owning the RPA content set.
Knowledge Management & Content Strategy Lead / Manager of Information DevelopmentManaged Sara directly
She spearheaded the documentation efforts for one of the most demanding parts of the platform—our rapidly evolving AI capabilities. The work came with constant change, shifting priorities, and plenty of ambiguity, but Sara handled it all with grace.
Senior Technical Writer & UX WriterWorked with Sara on the same team
While I led the training side of our work and Sara supported the documentation side, we collaborated closely, and I was consistently impressed by how proactive, knowledgeable, and reliable she was.
Instructional Systems DesignerWorked with Sara on the same team
Sara adds customer insights and little extra touches like how-to's, conversion checklists, and wordsmithing UI text to deliver a more easily understood product to our customers.
Senior Software Development ManagerWas senior to Sara but didn’t manage her directly
Sara does a great job of quickly understanding product functionality and writing documentation that is understandable and useful for end users. Many times she came up with creative ways to convey complex information.
Cross-functional Project Manager / Business AnalystWorked with Sara on the same team

Areas I’ve worked in

Broad range, consistent rigor

01Enterprise Software
02Artificial Intelligence
03AI Agents
04Automation / RPA
05APIs & Integrations
06Security & Governance
07Developer Experience
08Information Architecture
09Content Strategy
10Technical Publications Leadership

A little about me

I live in Minnesota, where I grew up and still call home. When I'm not writing about technology, I like to get outside, spend time with family and friends, and hang out with my dogs, Daisy and Blossom—my longtime coworkers and enthusiastic participants in nearly every workday.

I'm happiest when I can balance interesting work with fresh air, good company, and a couple of dogs who are always ready to remind me when it's time to step away from the computer.

Sara Smith playing outside with her dogs, Daisy and Blossom