Day one at Pantheon: good docs, good company

Today is my first day as a Technical Writer at Pantheon.

On August 17, I published a list of the roles I wanted next. Technical writing and documentation were right there. I wanted work that helps people understand software, solve problems, and get back to building.

Four weeks later, here we are. Apparently, sometimes the next chapter comes with a README.

Good docs, good company

Pantheon helps teams build and run WordPress, Drupal, and Next.js sites. I’m joining its developer relations team, where documentation and developer advocacy work together.

That last sentence is doing a lot of happy work for me.

Chris Reynolds shared a lovely story on DevRelShow episode 31. Before joining Pantheon, they discovered developer relations as a job through the team’s work.

I love that. Good developer relations can help someone figure out their next step with a tool—or, apparently, their career. Now I get to join that team too. A pleasing plot twist, with excellent documentation potential.

Pantheon values documentation, developer education, and relationships with the people using its platform. That’s a big part of why this role appeals to me. Here, I get to give that work my attention alongside people who care about it, too.

My new colleagues bring different expertise, notice different things, and help improve the work. For example, an advocate might hear a question at an event. A teammate can reproduce the problem. Together, we can turn that experience into a clearer path for the next developer.

One question is particularly close to my heart: “What happens if someone follows these instructions exactly?” Finding the answer is a fine team activity. Occasionally, it needs snacks.

The work I love

My path here runs through classrooms, curriculum, WordPress, open source, and developer relations. Across all those roles, I’ve helped people turn an idea into something they can do. That “Oh! I did it!” moment never gets old.

Sometimes that takes a workshop. Other times, a better example or a screenshot makes the difference. Even one sentence, placed where someone gets stuck, can give that person their afternoon back. That’s a pretty good use of words.

In 2021, I joined GoDaddy Pro as a Web Designer and Developer Advocate. I’m grateful for the colleagues and community members who helped me grow along the way. Those years sharpened my interest in how education, product feedback, and developer relationships support each other.

At Pantheon, I’m looking forward to putting that experience to work with the team. By sharing what we’re hearing and testing ideas together, we can improve things for developers. Shared curiosity, thoughtful feedback, and time to do useful work well: sign me up.

The documentation lives at docs.pantheon.io, with its source on GitHub. My approach starts with trying the thing and checking the result. From there, I write down what helps the next person. Then comes listening when they tell us what we missed.

A fresh notebook and plenty to learn

WordPress, PHP, and React are familiar territory. Next.js offers plenty to learn. So does Pantheon’s platform, from its development workflows to Terminus, its command-line tool.

Being new gives me a useful window into what a new user notices. While those unfamiliar bits are still fresh, I’ll ask questions, try things, and take notes. After all, “Wait, how did you know to do that?” is research. I intend to get some mileage out of it.

This week, I’m headed to Chicago for in-person onboarding and time with my new teammates. I met one of my coworkers just 2 weeks ago at the EvolveDigital meetup. My notebook is ready. Its future organizational system remains an ambitious proposal.

And my WordPress people?

You may be wondering what this means for WordPress contributions and in-person events. Will there be more of either?

The honest answer is that I don’t know yet. As I settle in, I’m looking forward to exploring what’s possible with the team. Contribution time and event travel are still taking shape. Once there are concrete plans, I’ll be happy to share them.

WordPress is still my community, and you are still my people. I’d love more opportunities to build useful things together and catch up in person. For now, thank you for caring enough to ask—and for cheering me into this next chapter.

If you use Pantheon, tell me about a doc that helped something click. Questions you’d like the docs to answer are welcome, too. My new notebook is full of curiosity, and now I have a team to share it with.

I work at Pantheon. Opinions on this site are mine.