Job Requirements
Remote
Public Trust Polygraph not specified
Senior Level Career (10+ yrs experience)
Salary not specified
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Job Description
GIS Integration Architect - Forest Service Asset Management Modernization
Location: Remote (US-based) with flexibility for hybrid arrangements
Clearance Required: Public Trust or ability to obtain
Experience Level: Senior (8+ years with Bachelor's; 12+ years without)
Employment Type: Full-time (~7 months with option to extend)
Travel: maybe 10% (field sites, stakeholder meetings, Forest Service locations)
About the Role
We are seeking a GIS Integration Architect to lead the geospatial data architecture for a transformative Forest Service asset management modernization program. This role bridges legacy Oracle Forms systems, modern cloud data platforms (Databricks), and Esri GIS infrastructure to create an offline-first mobile system supporting field operations across 193 million acres of national forests and grasslands.
You will design vendor-agnostic geospatial solutions that integrate Esri's ecosystem with Databricks' lakehouse architecture, evaluate alternative geospatial platforms, and architect data pipelines that support both static infrastructure (trails, roads, bridges) and dynamic ecological features (timber stands, invasive species, water bodies). Your architecture will enable field rangers, technicians, and analysts to collect and sync geospatial data in remote areas with limited connectivity, while powering enterprise analytics for forest management decision-making.
This is a rare opportunity to shape geospatial infrastructure for a federal agency with national impact, working at the intersection of traditional GIS (Esri ArcGIS Enterprise), modern cloud data platforms (Databricks), and emerging geospatial technologies. You'll balance proven enterprise GIS solutions with innovative approaches, ensuring the Forest Service has a flexible, performant, and future-ready geospatial platform.
Key Responsibilities
Geospatial Architecture & Integration
• Design vendor-agnostic geospatial data architecture integrating Esri ArcGIS Enterprise (current platform) with Databricks lakehouse for unified analytics and feature engineering
• Architect bi-directional sync between ArcGIS Feature Services, Databricks Delta Lake, and offline mobile applications
• Evaluate and prototype alternative geospatial platforms: distributed spatial analytics, open-source spatial databases and map servers, and cloud-native geospatial services
• Design data models supporting point, line, and polygon geometries for static assets (benches, roads, trails, bridges, campgrounds) and dynamic features (invasive species, timber stands, rivers, fire perimeters)
• Establish coordinate reference system (CRS) standards and transformation pipelines for heterogeneous data sources (GPS field collection, historic maps, aerial imagery)
• Create API strategy exposing geospatial services (geocoding, routing, spatial search, spatial joins) to custom applications and Databricks notebooks
Offline-First Mobile Geospatial Systems
• Design sync architecture for offline field data collection with conflict resolution for concurrent edits across distributed field teams
• Implement spatial indexing and tiling strategies (vector tiles, raster pyramids) for efficient mobile map rendering and asset discovery on tablets and rugged devices
• Build data validation pipelines ensuring location accuracy, attribute completeness, and geometry validity before sync to enterprise systems
• Architect CRDT (Conflict-free Replicated Data Types) or operational transformation patterns for multi-user offline editing workflows
• Optimize offline basemap generation and caching strategies for areas with zero connectivity (wilderness areas, remote forests)
• Design change detection workflows for monitoring dynamic assets over time (trail conditions, invasive species spread, timber stand changes)
Cloud Data Platform & ETL Architecture
• Develop geospatial ETL pipelines in Databricks using PySpark and geospatial extensions for large-scale spatial data processing
• Migrate spatial data from Oracle Forms monolithic database to Databricks Delta Lake, preserving spatial relationships, temporal attributes, and field collection metadata
• Implement spatial queries for proximity analysis, buffer zones, overlay analysis, and spatial joins across 100k+ asset features with sub-second response times
• Design spatial-temporal indexing for multi-year data retention supporting historical analysis and trend detection
• Create geospatial feature stores in Databricks for ML/analytics consumption (fire risk modeling, visitor pattern analysis, habitat suitability)
• Build monitoring and observability for data quality, spatial accuracy, sync performance, and API availability
Stakeholder Collaboration & Technical Leadership
• Collaborate with Forest Service field teams (rangers, technicians, ecologists) to define location accuracy requirements and attribute collection workflows
• Partner with data engineers and data scientists to expose geospatial features for analytics, modeling, and reporting in Databricks
• Work with ArcGIS administrators to design integration patterns that leverage existing Esri investments while enabling modern data architectures
• Provide technical leadership to development team on geospatial best practices, spatial data quality, and GIS performance optimization
• Conduct vendor evaluations and proof-of-concepts for geospatial platforms, documenting trade-offs and recommendations
• Create architecture documentation and technical design artifacts for Forest Service stakeholders and compliance requirements
Forest Service Domain Support
• Design data models supporting forest management operations: timber cruising workflows, trail maintenance scheduling, invasive species tracking, fire perimeter mapping
• Implement compliance-ready spatial data workflows for environmental impact assessments, land use planning, and safety documentation
• Support legacy system migration with parallel operation patterns ensuring business continuity during transition from Oracle Forms
• Enable citizen science and public engagement use cases with public-facing geospatial APIs and web mapping applications
Required Qualifications
Education & Experience
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, GIS, Geography, Data Engineering, or related field AND 8+ years of relevant experience
OR 12+ years of relevant experience in lieu of degree
• 5+ years hands-on experience with Esri ArcGIS Enterprise (Server, Portal, ArcGIS Pro) in production environments
• 3+ years architecting geospatial data pipelines on cloud data platforms (Databricks, Snowflake, or similar)
• Proven track record designing and delivering enterprise geospatial systems supporting field operations or mobile data collection
• Experience with federal government clients or regulated environments (preferred)
Geospatial & GIS Expertise - Must Have
Esri Platform
• ArcGIS Enterprise architecture (Server, Portal, Data Store, Web Adaptor)
• ArcGIS REST API and Feature Services (querying, editing, spatial operations)
• ArcGIS JavaScript API or other Esri SDKs for application integration
• ArcGIS Online and hybrid portal configurations
• Geodatabase design (file GDB, enterprise GDB on SQL Server or PostgreSQL)
• Understanding of Esri licensing models and deployment patterns
Geospatial Fundamentals
• Coordinate systems and projections (WGS84, Web Mercator, State Plane, UTM)
• Spatial data formats: Shapefile, GeoJSON, GeoPackage, KML, WKT/WKB
• Spatial operations: buffer, intersection, union, spatial join, proximity analysis
• Spatial indexing (R-tree, quadtree, geohash)
• Vector tiles (modern tile standards and formats)
• Raster data and imagery processing fundamentals
Alternative Geospatial Technologies
• Spatial databases beyond Esri (open-source and commercial options)
• Familiarity with open-source GIS ecosystem and geospatial libraries
• Understanding of cloud-native geospatial formats and modern storage patterns
• Awareness of emerging geospatial platforms: distributed spatial analytics, managed geospatial services
Cloud Data Platform & Engineering - Must Have
Databricks & Spark
• Databricks platform experience (notebooks, jobs, Delta Lake, Unity Catalog)
• PySpark or Scala Spark for distributed data processing
• Delta Lake architecture (ACID transactions, time travel, schema evolution)
• Understanding of lakehouse architecture and medallion design patterns
• Experience with geospatial libraries for distributed spatial processing on Spark
Data Engineering & ETL
• Python for geospatial scripting and spatial data processing
• SQL with spatial extensions and geospatial functions
• RESTful API design and integration (consuming and exposing geospatial services)
• ETL pipeline design with data quality validation and error handling
• Data modeling for analytical and operational workloads
Cloud & Infrastructure
• Azure or AWS cloud platforms (compute, storage, networking)
• Infrastructure as Code concepts (Terraform, CloudFormation, or ARM templates)
• CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps, or Jenkins)
• Docker and containerization for application deployment
• Git and version control workflows
Offline & Mobile Geospatial - Must Have
• Offline data sync architecture and conflict resolution patterns
• Mobile geospatial frameworks: Enterprise and open-source SDKs for cross-platform development
• Vector tile generation and serving for offline maps
• Geospatial data optimization for mobile devices (generalization, tiling, compression)
• Understanding of CRDT or operational transformation for distributed editing
Architecture & Leadership - Must Have
• Solution architecture experience designing multi-tier geospatial systems
• Vendor evaluation and technology selection methodology
• Technical documentation (architecture diagrams, data flow diagrams, API specs)
• Stakeholder communication with technical and non-technical audiences
• Agile/Scrum experience on multi-team projects
• Mentoring and technical leadership for developers and GIS analysts
Clearance & Eligibility
• Public Trust clearance or ability to obtain
• U.S. Citizen or eligible for Public Trust clearance
• Willingness to undergo background investigation for federal access
Soft Skills
• Problem-solving mindset - evaluating trade-offs between proven and innovative technologies
• Pragmatic approach - balancing ideal architecture with real-world constraints (budget, timeline, legacy systems)
• Curiosity and learning agility - staying current with rapidly evolving geospatial technologies
• Collaboration - working across GIS specialists, data engineers, developers, and federal stakeholders
• Field operations empathy - designing for users in remote, challenging environments
• Travel flexibility (10-25% to Forest Service sites, field locations, stakeholder meetings)
Preferred Qualifications
Nice to Have
• Experience with cloud-native geospatial formats and modern storage patterns
• Hands-on experience with distributed spatial analytics at scale
• GraphQL spatial APIs or OGC API standards implementation
• Hexagonal spatial indexing for analytics and aggregation
• Machine learning with geospatial features and spatial modeling
• Temporal GIS and spatiotemporal indexing for time-series geospatial data
• Geoprocessing automation and scripting
• Citizen engagement platforms and public-facing geospatial applications
• Multi-cloud geospatial architecture experience
• Federal geospatial standards and metadata frameworks
• Certifications: GISP (GIS Professional), enterprise GIS certifications, cloud data platform certifications
• Master's degree in GIS, Computer Science, or related field
• Natural resource management or forestry domain experience
• Federal contracting experience (FAR/DFAR knowledge)
Location: Remote (US-based) with flexibility for hybrid arrangements
Clearance Required: Public Trust or ability to obtain
Experience Level: Senior (8+ years with Bachelor's; 12+ years without)
Employment Type: Full-time (~7 months with option to extend)
Travel: maybe 10% (field sites, stakeholder meetings, Forest Service locations)
About the Role
We are seeking a GIS Integration Architect to lead the geospatial data architecture for a transformative Forest Service asset management modernization program. This role bridges legacy Oracle Forms systems, modern cloud data platforms (Databricks), and Esri GIS infrastructure to create an offline-first mobile system supporting field operations across 193 million acres of national forests and grasslands.
You will design vendor-agnostic geospatial solutions that integrate Esri's ecosystem with Databricks' lakehouse architecture, evaluate alternative geospatial platforms, and architect data pipelines that support both static infrastructure (trails, roads, bridges) and dynamic ecological features (timber stands, invasive species, water bodies). Your architecture will enable field rangers, technicians, and analysts to collect and sync geospatial data in remote areas with limited connectivity, while powering enterprise analytics for forest management decision-making.
This is a rare opportunity to shape geospatial infrastructure for a federal agency with national impact, working at the intersection of traditional GIS (Esri ArcGIS Enterprise), modern cloud data platforms (Databricks), and emerging geospatial technologies. You'll balance proven enterprise GIS solutions with innovative approaches, ensuring the Forest Service has a flexible, performant, and future-ready geospatial platform.
Key Responsibilities
Geospatial Architecture & Integration
• Design vendor-agnostic geospatial data architecture integrating Esri ArcGIS Enterprise (current platform) with Databricks lakehouse for unified analytics and feature engineering
• Architect bi-directional sync between ArcGIS Feature Services, Databricks Delta Lake, and offline mobile applications
• Evaluate and prototype alternative geospatial platforms: distributed spatial analytics, open-source spatial databases and map servers, and cloud-native geospatial services
• Design data models supporting point, line, and polygon geometries for static assets (benches, roads, trails, bridges, campgrounds) and dynamic features (invasive species, timber stands, rivers, fire perimeters)
• Establish coordinate reference system (CRS) standards and transformation pipelines for heterogeneous data sources (GPS field collection, historic maps, aerial imagery)
• Create API strategy exposing geospatial services (geocoding, routing, spatial search, spatial joins) to custom applications and Databricks notebooks
Offline-First Mobile Geospatial Systems
• Design sync architecture for offline field data collection with conflict resolution for concurrent edits across distributed field teams
• Implement spatial indexing and tiling strategies (vector tiles, raster pyramids) for efficient mobile map rendering and asset discovery on tablets and rugged devices
• Build data validation pipelines ensuring location accuracy, attribute completeness, and geometry validity before sync to enterprise systems
• Architect CRDT (Conflict-free Replicated Data Types) or operational transformation patterns for multi-user offline editing workflows
• Optimize offline basemap generation and caching strategies for areas with zero connectivity (wilderness areas, remote forests)
• Design change detection workflows for monitoring dynamic assets over time (trail conditions, invasive species spread, timber stand changes)
Cloud Data Platform & ETL Architecture
• Develop geospatial ETL pipelines in Databricks using PySpark and geospatial extensions for large-scale spatial data processing
• Migrate spatial data from Oracle Forms monolithic database to Databricks Delta Lake, preserving spatial relationships, temporal attributes, and field collection metadata
• Implement spatial queries for proximity analysis, buffer zones, overlay analysis, and spatial joins across 100k+ asset features with sub-second response times
• Design spatial-temporal indexing for multi-year data retention supporting historical analysis and trend detection
• Create geospatial feature stores in Databricks for ML/analytics consumption (fire risk modeling, visitor pattern analysis, habitat suitability)
• Build monitoring and observability for data quality, spatial accuracy, sync performance, and API availability
Stakeholder Collaboration & Technical Leadership
• Collaborate with Forest Service field teams (rangers, technicians, ecologists) to define location accuracy requirements and attribute collection workflows
• Partner with data engineers and data scientists to expose geospatial features for analytics, modeling, and reporting in Databricks
• Work with ArcGIS administrators to design integration patterns that leverage existing Esri investments while enabling modern data architectures
• Provide technical leadership to development team on geospatial best practices, spatial data quality, and GIS performance optimization
• Conduct vendor evaluations and proof-of-concepts for geospatial platforms, documenting trade-offs and recommendations
• Create architecture documentation and technical design artifacts for Forest Service stakeholders and compliance requirements
Forest Service Domain Support
• Design data models supporting forest management operations: timber cruising workflows, trail maintenance scheduling, invasive species tracking, fire perimeter mapping
• Implement compliance-ready spatial data workflows for environmental impact assessments, land use planning, and safety documentation
• Support legacy system migration with parallel operation patterns ensuring business continuity during transition from Oracle Forms
• Enable citizen science and public engagement use cases with public-facing geospatial APIs and web mapping applications
Required Qualifications
Education & Experience
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, GIS, Geography, Data Engineering, or related field AND 8+ years of relevant experience
OR 12+ years of relevant experience in lieu of degree
• 5+ years hands-on experience with Esri ArcGIS Enterprise (Server, Portal, ArcGIS Pro) in production environments
• 3+ years architecting geospatial data pipelines on cloud data platforms (Databricks, Snowflake, or similar)
• Proven track record designing and delivering enterprise geospatial systems supporting field operations or mobile data collection
• Experience with federal government clients or regulated environments (preferred)
Geospatial & GIS Expertise - Must Have
Esri Platform
• ArcGIS Enterprise architecture (Server, Portal, Data Store, Web Adaptor)
• ArcGIS REST API and Feature Services (querying, editing, spatial operations)
• ArcGIS JavaScript API or other Esri SDKs for application integration
• ArcGIS Online and hybrid portal configurations
• Geodatabase design (file GDB, enterprise GDB on SQL Server or PostgreSQL)
• Understanding of Esri licensing models and deployment patterns
Geospatial Fundamentals
• Coordinate systems and projections (WGS84, Web Mercator, State Plane, UTM)
• Spatial data formats: Shapefile, GeoJSON, GeoPackage, KML, WKT/WKB
• Spatial operations: buffer, intersection, union, spatial join, proximity analysis
• Spatial indexing (R-tree, quadtree, geohash)
• Vector tiles (modern tile standards and formats)
• Raster data and imagery processing fundamentals
Alternative Geospatial Technologies
• Spatial databases beyond Esri (open-source and commercial options)
• Familiarity with open-source GIS ecosystem and geospatial libraries
• Understanding of cloud-native geospatial formats and modern storage patterns
• Awareness of emerging geospatial platforms: distributed spatial analytics, managed geospatial services
Cloud Data Platform & Engineering - Must Have
Databricks & Spark
• Databricks platform experience (notebooks, jobs, Delta Lake, Unity Catalog)
• PySpark or Scala Spark for distributed data processing
• Delta Lake architecture (ACID transactions, time travel, schema evolution)
• Understanding of lakehouse architecture and medallion design patterns
• Experience with geospatial libraries for distributed spatial processing on Spark
Data Engineering & ETL
• Python for geospatial scripting and spatial data processing
• SQL with spatial extensions and geospatial functions
• RESTful API design and integration (consuming and exposing geospatial services)
• ETL pipeline design with data quality validation and error handling
• Data modeling for analytical and operational workloads
Cloud & Infrastructure
• Azure or AWS cloud platforms (compute, storage, networking)
• Infrastructure as Code concepts (Terraform, CloudFormation, or ARM templates)
• CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps, or Jenkins)
• Docker and containerization for application deployment
• Git and version control workflows
Offline & Mobile Geospatial - Must Have
• Offline data sync architecture and conflict resolution patterns
• Mobile geospatial frameworks: Enterprise and open-source SDKs for cross-platform development
• Vector tile generation and serving for offline maps
• Geospatial data optimization for mobile devices (generalization, tiling, compression)
• Understanding of CRDT or operational transformation for distributed editing
Architecture & Leadership - Must Have
• Solution architecture experience designing multi-tier geospatial systems
• Vendor evaluation and technology selection methodology
• Technical documentation (architecture diagrams, data flow diagrams, API specs)
• Stakeholder communication with technical and non-technical audiences
• Agile/Scrum experience on multi-team projects
• Mentoring and technical leadership for developers and GIS analysts
Clearance & Eligibility
• Public Trust clearance or ability to obtain
• U.S. Citizen or eligible for Public Trust clearance
• Willingness to undergo background investigation for federal access
Soft Skills
• Problem-solving mindset - evaluating trade-offs between proven and innovative technologies
• Pragmatic approach - balancing ideal architecture with real-world constraints (budget, timeline, legacy systems)
• Curiosity and learning agility - staying current with rapidly evolving geospatial technologies
• Collaboration - working across GIS specialists, data engineers, developers, and federal stakeholders
• Field operations empathy - designing for users in remote, challenging environments
• Travel flexibility (10-25% to Forest Service sites, field locations, stakeholder meetings)
Preferred Qualifications
Nice to Have
• Experience with cloud-native geospatial formats and modern storage patterns
• Hands-on experience with distributed spatial analytics at scale
• GraphQL spatial APIs or OGC API standards implementation
• Hexagonal spatial indexing for analytics and aggregation
• Machine learning with geospatial features and spatial modeling
• Temporal GIS and spatiotemporal indexing for time-series geospatial data
• Geoprocessing automation and scripting
• Citizen engagement platforms and public-facing geospatial applications
• Multi-cloud geospatial architecture experience
• Federal geospatial standards and metadata frameworks
• Certifications: GISP (GIS Professional), enterprise GIS certifications, cloud data platform certifications
• Master's degree in GIS, Computer Science, or related field
• Natural resource management or forestry domain experience
• Federal contracting experience (FAR/DFAR knowledge)
group id: 91074849