Cruise
Staff Learning Content Writer
When the road ahead is new,
Someone has to draw the map.
Where innovation needed clarity—I wrote the words that moved it forward.
At Cruise, that meant learning fast, asking sharp questions across teams, and translating complexity into content that actually landed—with engineers, operations, legal, and new hires alike.
From metaverse onboarding scripts voiced by the CEO to wikis, simulation guides, and high-pressure training scenarios, I built learning experiences that made systems click–supported teams through everything from daily workflows to crisis response.
Bottom line? I made autonomy understandable—across disciplines, across moments, across Cruise.
Welcome to Cruise: Our Story
Onboarding Screenplay for the Metaverse
Entrusted with helping Cruise reimagine onboarding for the metaverse, I did the research, learned the tech, and wrote a suite of scripts that transformed our history, mission, and self-driving tech into something every employee could understand—whether or not they were an engineer.
Originally slated for AI narration, the scripts resonated so strongly that CEO Kyle Vogt chose to voice them himself—a rare move that underscored their clarity and impact.
Want to dive deeper? Click any title to view the full script.
• Full-Length Interactive Onboarding Script
Cruise’s first fully metaverse-based onboarding experience — blending mission, history, and technology into an immersive, choose-your-own-path journey.
(Note: Multiple color highlights throughout the script mark branch points to support easy navigation and future metaverse expansion.)
• History Museum Segment
A narrative gateway designed to make Cruise's milestones feel real, relatable, and inspiring–no technical background required.
• "Thinking Like a Car" Setup
An immersive entry point that helped new hires grasp how AVs think–making the tech feel approachable, not intimidating.
• CEO and Co-Founder Voiceover Paragraphs
Specially crafted beats written for CEO Kyle Vogt and Co-Founder Dan Kan–adding leadership authenticity and emotional resonance to the onboarding journey.
Metaverse Onboarding Showcase: Take a look into the immersive training I wrote–voiced by CEO Kyle Vogt–below.
No sound? Click the music notes in the bottom-right corner to unmute.
Top: CEO Kyle Vogt recording lines I wrote for Cruise's onboarding program.
Bottom: A still from the metaverse-based journey built around the scripts.
Webviz Dashboard (Click image to see it in action)
One of the many advanced internal tools I translated into clear, actionable workflows—turning complexity into calm under pressure.
Understanding the Tech Inside the AV
Remote Assistance and Customer Success teams needed to understand systems like routing logic, collision indicators, and vehicle responsiveness. I turned that complexity into step-by-step, scenario-based training.
Zenarate Interface (Representative View)
Some of my Cruise training scripts were built in Zenarate—using branching scenarios, AI feedback, and high-pressure decision logic. This public-facing version reflects the kind of interface where that content was ultimately deployed.
AI-Driven Training & Crisis Communication
Clear Writing. Complex Tech. Real Risk.
Before the crisis hit, I was already leading the charge—writing AI-powered simulation scripts for Cruise’s internal training using the Zenarate platform. These scenario-based lessons covered everything from day-to-day operations to tricky edge cases, giving Customer Success, Remote Assistance, and management teams the tools to act with clarity under pressure.
When California’s pay transparency law passed, for instance, I quickly built new simulations to help managers navigate tough conversations that were entirely new to them—ensuring compliance without sacrificing trust. I collaborated closely with Legal and the compensation team to make sure the guidance was accurate, actionable, and aligned with both policy and practice.
But when California regulators suspended our permit, everything changed.
Cruise needed brand-new systems. Regulators needed proof we could handle them. And I had to learn unfamiliar tech in real time—collaborating with an outside vendor, engineers, Legal, and Compliance to turn a moving target into usable training fast.
Some simulations were written before the tools even fully existed. Some are still confidential due to their regulatory sensitivity. But across every project—crisis or not—my job stayed the same:
Turn complexity into confidence.
And make sure Cruise could keep moving forward.
Clarity. Compliance. Crisis response.
If it needed explaining, I wrote it.
A few highlights below—more available on request.
(Visual layouts reflect Zenarate's internal templates.
I created the messaging, clarified protocols, and
simplified complex tech for real-world use).
🔹 Crisis Response Simulation Samples
Click each title to view the full version:
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High-Severity Positive with Emergency Response
Built workflows using HALO, Webviz, Tilemaps, and RINO to coordinate with LEO and EMS after validating true-positive crash events.
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Potential Collision with No Passenger Onboard
Guided Remote Assistance teams through activating emergency services using Webviz, HALO, and the Collision Confidence Meter.
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AV Stuck with Passenger Onboard
Helped employees manage traffic-blocking events and coordinate with Incident Experts using multi-tool internal protocols.
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Unresponsive Passenger with Escalation Required
Built escalation protocol for unresponsive passengers using HALO, vehicle signals, and OnStar integration to ensure rider safety.
🔹 Routine Operations Simulation Samples
Click each title to view the full version:
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Longer Route than Anticipated (Customer Success)
Taught CS agents to reassure passengers by explaining Cruise’s safety-based routing logic and confirming trip details through HALO.
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Unsecured Cabin State – Escalation (Customer Success)
Prepared agents to de-escalate noncompliance and enforce cabin rules with support from camera systems and team collaboration.
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Unresponsive Passenger – No Escalation Required (Customer Success)
Gave agents soft-touch steps using lights, horn, and RTT to check on rider well-being without alarming the passenger.
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Collision Notification – False Positive (Remote Assistance)
Showed Remote Assistance agents how to investigate and clear non-events using Webviz, Tilemaps, and the Collision Confidence Meter.
🔹 Management Simulation Samples
Click each title to view the full version:
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Employee Concerned Over Peer’s Higher Salary
Equipped managers to handle peer pay discussions while maintaining privacy and focusing on growth.
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Employee Comparison to MAANG Pay
Helped managers respond to big-tech salary comparisons by breaking down Cruise’s full comp strategy.
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Employee Unhappy with Base Pay Placement
Gave leaders the language to link pay to performance and build advancement roadmaps.
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Employee Pay Expectations After Promotion
Supported managers in coaching newly promoted employees on realistic trajectories and next steps.
Confidential Wikis & Technical Docs
Complex. Crucial. Clarified.
Not all of my writing at Cruise was public—but it powered how teams worked, built, and made decisions.
I created confidential technical docs and internal wikis that helped engineering, ops, and leadership teams navigate change, onboard faster, and collaborate across silos.
One example: To streamline design reviews, I built two wikis—one for engineers mapping workflows across teams, and one for stakeholders who needed clarity without a technical background.
Different audiences.
Different language.
Same goal: make the complex clear, so innovation could move.
Where complex systems met real users.
This interface reflects the structure and clarity my confidential docs aimed to deliver—whether for engineers deep in design or stakeholders reviewing across departments.
Click the image to read the strategy doc I helped shape—clear goals, sharper messaging, stronger alignment.
Cross-Team Docs & Strategic Comms
Clarity in Collaboration. Purpose in Motion.
Some projects are written solo. Others are shaped in collaboration.
This internal strategy doc is one of many where I brought my writing skills into a cross-functional partnership. I wasn’t the primary author—but I played a key role in refining structure, sharpening messaging, and ensuring the language resonated across L&D, Program Leadership, and Operations.
It’s one example of how I helped turn complex planning into clear, actionable communication—and kept teams moving in the same direction.
Voice of the Brand–Values and All
Cruise Needed a Voice for How We Work–I Wrote It.
Culture doesn’t write itself.
I was asked by leadership to define the values that guided Cruise. These weren’t just buzzwords—they shaped how we made decisions, set expectations, and worked as a team. I interviewed stakeholders from L&D and People, then wrote the behavior framework that translated values into action.
That framework became our blueprint.
And that blueprint?
It built everything that followed.
Click on the image to view full document (PDF):
Click on the image to enlarge.
Conversation Simulation Platform
Invented. Iterated. Simulated.
At Cruise, training wasn’t just delivered—it was reimagined. Like the AI conversation simulator I built from the ground up with a machine learning engineer.
We set out to give employees a smarter way to practice complex conversations—combining AI-generated voice, character animation, and branching logic to simulate real-time dialogue across leadership and customer-facing scenarios.
I wrote every branch of the simulation and partnered with engineering to refine the tool’s logic—guiding coding improvements that made it more responsive to how writers actually write.
To strengthen the experience, I also completed an external certification in branching scenario design—deepening my skills in adaptive learning and real-world simulation.
Off-the-shelf wasn’t good enough—so we built something better.
Great stories don't write themselves. Let's talk.
Tara McCann