FULL-TIME/PERMANENT GEOSPATIAL APPLICATION DEVELOPERIT APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT - JOURNEY 
Wildlife Program - GIS Section  Olympia, Washington - Thurston County 

This recruitment will be posted until December 12, 2023 – first review of applications will take place on November 14, 2023, submit your application materials as soon as possible. This recruitment may be closed at any time.

As a leader in your field, you will be responsible for the design, development, and implementation of modern web and mobile applications for managing spatial datasets owned by the Wildlife Program! 

 Bring your knowledge and innovation to this role, develop applications that can be implemented using various technologies such as JavaScript/TypeScript, Python, SQL, and other GIS solutions.

Moonset over Mt. Gardner - Photo Credit: Scott Fitkin  

Picture yourself, 

This is an opportunity to employ professional experience, up-to-date knowledge, creativity, and problem-solving skills in programming, data management, quality assurance/control, and process automation to prepare robust and error free software solutions.

With your experience, you will draft effective application user interfaces and user experiences - take these drafts to users to gather feedback and decide on which changes are feasible to implement.

You thrive on building collaboration and teamwork, design, develop, test, and maintain applications for the management and presentation of spatial data for internal and external decision makers and stakeholders!

We are seeking a candidate with demonstrated values matching those of WDFW: Accountability, Service, Professionalism, Integrity, Respect, and Empathy (ASPIRE).

Duties

Good Morning, Rainier – Photo Credit: Rachel Heaton

Some of what you will do as our Geospatial Application Developer, 

Design, develop, and implement modern web and mobile applications for managing and displaying spatial data: 

• Build modern, responsive web applications using HTML, CSS, JS/TS and front-end frameworks.
• Build mobile applications using COTS solutions enabling staff to view and collect spatial data.
• Maintain source code for the applications in an organized repository alongside continuous deployment pipelines for efficient deployments. 

Develop software libraries and APIs for interacting with existing and new spatial datasets: 

• Develop suites of tools that allow users and applications to interact with authoritative datasets using repeatable, efficient workflows.
• Build APIs that enable the interoperability of datasets both within and outside the GIS section.
• Maintain source code for the software in an organized repository and perform automated tests and build utilities. 

Support legacy spatial data management systems and applications: 

• Maintain and modify existing codebases for applications such as the Private Lands Hunting System, Lands Information System, and legacy data management scripts.
• Communicate changes to legacy systems to the appropriate users and stakeholders.

Participate in technical analysis and system architecture design process: 

• Coordinates with cross-program/division staff to address system and process dependencies.
• Makes recommendations on technologies used in the development of web and mobile application solutions.

WORKING CONDITIONS:

• Work Setting, including hazards: 
  • Office setting - requires extensive computer use for extended periods of time.
• Schedule: 
  • Typically, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. - Monday through Friday.   
  • Requires flexibility in work schedule in order to perform IT system maintenance/testing activities or to respond to unforeseen system problems or outages.
• Travel Requirements: 
  • Some travel is required to attend/participate in trainings, meetings, and conferences.
• Tools and Equipment: 
  • Laptop or desktop, software, virtual server environments, mobile device (tablet or phone).
• Customer Relations: 
  • Customer interaction and service delivery is integral to this position’s success.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

Please note: Professional equivalent experience may substitute, year for year, for education requirement as long as that experience is in information technology and geographic information systems experience such as consulting, analyzing, designing, programming and/or maintaining complex spatial and tabular data systems, developing complex computer applications, managing and directing projects, providing customer or technical support in spatial data.

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university with major course work in Information Technology, Computer Science, Geographic Information Systems, Remote Sensing, Wildlife Management, Wildlife Ecology, Geography or a closely related field.

AND 

• Five (5) years of information technology and geographic information systems experience such as consulting, analyzing, designing, programming and/or maintaining complex spatial and tabular data systems, developing complex computer applications, managing, and directing projects, providing customer or technical support in spatial data.

Experience: 

• Programming and scripting (Python, JavaScript, TypeScript), relational database design, Structured Query Language (SQL), ArcGIS Pro, designing and managing services in ArcGIS Enterprise and ArcGIS Online, and application development using modern web frameworks.
• ArcGIS Enterprise, map, and feature (web) services, web-based data entry and editing, Python scripting, and ArcGIS REST API, JavaScript API and Python API.
• Developing custom web solutions (JavaScript, Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) and Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) and customizing data collection platforms. 

Certifications/Licenses:

• A valid Driver’s License. 

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

In addition to those required qualifications, our ideal applicant will also have some or all of the following:

• Master’s Degree (MS) in Computer Science, Geography, Natural Resources or Wildlife Biology with emphasis in GIS and Remote Sensing or in a closely related field.

Experience with: 

• Using mobile devices (smartphones, tablets, Global Positioning Systems (GPS) units, and other data logging devices) for designing and deploying custom field survey data collection solutions.
• Preparing and presenting highly technical information, concepts, or IT applications to both technical and non-technical audiences. 

Knowledge of: 

• Principles of computer programming logic, math, and computer science concepts as they relate to Information technology (IT) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) desktop and server environments.
• Current IT/GIS technology and industry trends with respect to enterprise data management solutions (e.g., field data collection, RDBMS, interoperability, web services).
• Principles of data modeling, relational database design and application development within enterprise data management system framework.
• Best practices for software design, testing, implementation, and life cycle management practices.
• Principles of version control and its most common implementations (locally instantiated Git, GitHub, DevOps).
• Project management principles/practices.
• Wildlife research methods and techniques that relate to collection and analysis of tabular and spatial data.
• Best practices for superior IT customer service delivery to a wide audience of stakeholders (with variable IT/GIS subject matter expertise, skills, and level of interest).