Sample Job Description: DITA-OT Developer

To successfully design and implement an information architecture and its supporting technology, your team needs resources to perform some key roles. Role is not a synonym of person - it is a function assumed by a person in a particular situation. One person may perform more than one role and any given role may be performed by one or more people - it really depends upon the skills of the individual(s), scope of the project, and availability of the resources.

These are the key roles you need to have for a successful DITA implementation:

The following role descriptions are general descriptions. Your team may have more specific descriptions that can be used or adapted for your project.

Delivery Information Architect

The DITA-OT Developer is responsible for developing and maintaining DITA Open Toolkit (DITA-OT)-based output plugins using XSLT and Java. This includes XSL-FO-based PDF deliverables, online HTML deliverables, and XML conversion utilities.

This role designs and develops DITA-OT solutions for integration into authoring and additional rendition environments. They develop code, analyze, and review solutions from other developers. They also create deliverable builds for clients.

As a member of a cross-functional development team, DITA-OT Developers collaborate with business operations groups, IT groups, and structured authoring groups.

Responsibilities

The responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Maintaining and developing the XSLT stylesheets

  • Developing HTML, PDF, and XML output, requiring XSLT, XSL-FO, HTML, JavaScript, and CSS

  • Maintaining and developing DITA DTDs or schemas

  • Maintaining, developing, customizing, and integrating plug-ins into DITA-OT

  • Testing, coding, and reviewing solutions created by other developers

  • Documenting the system and application for all the above

Qualifications and Skills

The skills necessary to successfully perform this role include, but are not limited to the following:

  • Bachelor's degree in a relevant field (e.g., technical writing, engineering, computer science) or equivalent work experience

  • Technical aptitude to customize and maintain a variety of content-related tools

  • Organization skills to develop and execute test cases

  • Understanding of content sources and how they structurally relate to DITA

  • Strong communication skills to work with all stakeholders

  • Project management skills to define requirements for tools and transforms

  • Technical aptitude to write automation scripts

  • Technical skill to develop and/or maintain transforms in XSLT, XSL-FO, or transform-specific tools


Familiarize yourself with other roles in our DITA Implementation Team series.


If you want to learn more about hiring or training for your DITA implementation, consider booking a coaching package with Amber Swope.

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Sample Job Description: Delivery Information Architect