GIS Developer I

ATTAINX INC•Herndon, VA

8h•Remote

About The Position

The GIS Developer 1 is a mid-level position responsible for the development, maintenance, and support of geospatial applications and spatial data services within the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) IT ecosystem. This role performs hands-on geospatial application development, ArcGIS Enterprise service publishing and administration, imagery services support, spatial data management, and Python automation under the guidance of senior GIS developers and technical leads. The GIS Developer 1 contributes to modernization efforts, supports AWS cloud migration of geospatial systems, and participates in Agile/SAFe delivery across the full software development lifecycle.

Requirements

Five (5) or more years of professional experience in geospatial application development, GIS services administration, or spatial data management.
Three (3) or more years of experience with ESRI ArcGIS Enterprise (ArcGIS Server, Portal) service publishing, maintenance, and troubleshooting.
Three (3) or more years of experience with Python scripting and automation for geospatial workflows.
Experience with spatial database management (SQL Server, Oracle, PostgreSQL/PostGIS).
Experience with CI/CD pipelines (Jenkins, GitLab, AWS CodePipeline, or equivalent) and Git-based source control.
Experience working in Agile/Scrum/SAFedelivery environments using Jira, GitLab, or equivalent project tracking tools.
Bachelor’s degree in Geography, GIS, Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
ESRI ArcGIS Enterprise (ArcGIS Server, Portal, ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Online)
ESRI ArcGIS API for JavaScript, ArcGIS API for Python,ArcPy
Python scripting and automation for geospatial workflows
Imagery services, mosaic datasets, and image analysis
SQL Server, Oracle, PostgreSQL/PostGIS; SQL querying and data validation
JavaScript, C# (working knowledge for geospatial tool development)
Utility Network configuration and management
Address verification and geocoding services
AWS services: EC2, RDS, S3 (working knowledge)
CI/CD tooling: Jenkins, GitLab, AWSCodeBuild,CodeDeploy, CodePipeline
Source control: Git, GitLab, GitHub Enterprise, Bitbucket
Security scanning: SonarQube, Fortify, OWASP dependency checks
Agile/Scrum/SAFemethodologies; Jira, GitLab
ArcGIS Pro for imagery analysis and spatial data editing
Must be able to obtain and maintain a USDA security background investigation (FBI fingerprint check and eQIP).
Must comply with all NIST, USDA, and HSPD–12 security training and reporting requirements.
Must complete mandatory training: Information Security Awareness (annually) and Section 508 (within 45 days of assignment).

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting federal IT programs or government agency environments.
Experience with USDA NRCS or FPAC geospatial systems and FPACGeoBrancharchitecture.
Experience with U.S. Census Bureau geospatial systems or similar federal geospatial programs.
ESRI technical certifications (ArcGIS Enterprise Administration, ArcGIS Developer, or equivalent).
AWS certifications (Cloud Practitioner or equivalent).
SAFeor DevOps certifications.
Experience with Utility Network implementation for water, sewer, or infrastructure systems.
Experience with geospatial metadata management and Geospatial Data Act of 2018 (GDA) compliance.
Experience with ESRI REST API and third-party API integration (Google, middleware).
Experience with Ansible or equivalent configuration management tools.
Experience with database versioning tools (Liquibase).
Experience with Section 508 accessibility testing and remediation for geospatial interfaces.
Experience with monitoring tools (CloudWatch, Splunk, ELK stack).
ITIL Foundation certification or familiarity with ITIL service management processes.
Experience with Kanban workflow management.

Responsibilities

Develop, modify, and maintain geospatial web applications and tools using ESRI ArcGIS API for JavaScript, Python, C#, and related technologies.
Publish, maintain, and troubleshoot ArcGIS Enterprise imagery and map services across Development, Test, and Production environments.
Develop Python automation scripts to streamline service publishing, updates, metadata management, and spatial data processing tasks.
Perform image analysis, mosaicking, and customization using ArcGIS Pro.
Configure and manage spatial databases to store geospatial data for efficient retrieval and analysis.
Support configuration and management of Utility Network domains for water, sewer, and infrastructure systems.
Develop custom GIS tools and scripts to automate data processing tasks.
Configure address verification, geocoding services, and GIS database components.
Support integration of geospatial components with business applications (e.g., Pega, .NET) under senior developer guidance.
Maintain all source code, application files, and associated documentation in the Government-designated version control system and repositories.
Use existing geospatial services provided by FPAC GeoBranch when available; integrate supported applications with those services in alignment with Conservation Section priorities.
Ensure geospatial integrations meet performance, accuracy, and interoperability requirements, including appropriate coordinate reference systems and caching strategies.
Document geospatial dependencies and data sources and maintain them in Government-designated repositories.
Support the Geospatial Data Asset Catalog (GDAC) by maintaining asset inventories and assessing Geospatial Data Act of 2018 (GDA) compliance.
Perform data validation testing for geospatial data integrity and accuracy.
Ensure accessibility (Section 508) and usability considerations are incorporated for geospatial user interfaces and outputs.
Perform corrective maintenance by developing, testing, and deploying fixes for geospatial application-level defects and service issues reported through the Sustainment Engineering Team (SET) or Single Point of Entry (SPOE).
Execute preventive maintenance tasks including applying updates and patches to ArcGIS Enterprise components, supported geospatial applications, and dependent libraries.
Perform adaptive maintenance by implementing application-level changes in response to environmental changes, audit findings, or compliance mandates.
Implement minor enhancements that improve usability, efficiency, or maintainability following approved change control processes.
Verify implemented fixes through regression testing and confirm resolution before closing issues in the tracking system.
Support production release activities, including pre-deployment validation in lower environments, deployment execution, and post-deployment verification.
Assist senior GIS developers with Tier 3 technical support, including troubleshooting, log analysis, and root cause investigation.
Validate deployment packages in lower environments (Development, Test, QA, UAT) and capture results in Government-approved tools.
Execute releases through FPAC-approved CI/CD pipelines (Jenkins, AWS CodeBuild/CodeDeploy/CodePipeline, GitLab) following documented procedures.
Implement and maintain automated deployment scripts for geospatial applications and services.
Prepare required release artifacts including release readiness checklists, release notes, and change documentation.
Support integration testing and UAT by providing technical assistance, test data preparation, and defect analysis.
Support the migration of geospatial applications and services from on-premises environments to AWS by performing application testing, configuration updates, and post-migration validation.
Implement application-level configuration changes needed for AWS-hosted services (EC2, RDS, S3).
Support CI/CD workflows in AWS environments to ensure reliable geospatial service delivery.
Assist with cutover activities and post-migration issue triage and resolution under senior GIS developer direction.
Follow secure coding practices in alignment with NIST SP 800–53, USDA secure coding standards, FPAC SDLC, FISMA, and Zero Trust principles across all development and maintenance activities.
Address static and dynamic code analysis findings from SonarQube, Fortify SCA/WebInspect, and OWASP dependency checks.
Resolve security vulnerabilities identified through GitLab and Government-approved scanning tools within defined SLAs.
Ensure all work products, services, fixes, and deliverables meet or exceed the Acceptable Quality Levels (AQLs) defined in the applicable contract attachments.
Ensure application changes meet Section 508 accessibility requirements and FedRAMP compliance standards.
Support security assessments and compliance audits by providing technical artifacts as requested.
Manage schema changes using Government-approved versioning tools; coordinate synchronization across environments.
Implement data quality controls (validation, reconciliation, monitoring) for supported geospatial applications.
Support data migration and transformation activities, including test data management and privacy-preserving techniques for non-production environments.
Perform SQL and Oracle queries for reporting, data validation, and change requests.
Maintain data lineage and stewardship information for assigned geospatial applications; report changes that affect downstream systems.
Participate in Agile/SAFe ceremonies including daily stand-ups, sprint planning, PI planning, backlog grooming, and retrospectives.
Execute work through appropriate delivery lanes: Kanban O&M Fast Lane for SET and urgent SPOE tasks; Scrum Feature/Adaptive Lane for planned SPOE work and DM&E refinements.
Support ITIL-aligned incident, problem, and change management processes consistent with FPAC standards.
Brief government stakeholders on system updates and deliverables during Agile iterations.
Contribute to risk identification by reporting technical risks, blockers, and dependencies in the Government-designated risk and issue log.
Maintain and update troubleshooting playbooks, runbooks, and knowledge articles following incidents, releases, and major changes.
Participate in code reviews and incorporate feedback from senior GIS developers and technical leads.
Support knowledge transfer activities during transition-in and transition-out periods.
Track all work activities, tasks, and deliverables individually in the Government-approved project management system (currently Jira/GitLab); each work item must have a unique identifier, clear title, description, acceptance criteria, and defined status.
Support disaster recovery readiness by assisting with DR/COOP exercises, failover testing, and recovery procedure validation for assigned geospatial applications.
Author technical documentation including functional and technical specifications, SOPs, and stakeholder documentation.
Contribute to system inventory activities by documenting technology stacks, dependencies, and operational status for assigned geospatial applications.
Assist in evaluating modernization options for assigned applications under senior GIS developer guidance.
Support legacy application modernization and security remediation activities.
Support AI-enabled analysis and remediation activities (e.g., Rhino.ai or equivalent) as authorized by the Government.