Geospatial Application Engineer

Position Summary:

 

Responsible for the configuration, administration, and ongoing technical support of NW Natural's enterprise geospatial platform and its integrations. This role keeps NW Natural's geospatial systems stable, available, and performing well following the modernization from the legacy ArcFM/Geometric Network environment to the modern Esri-native platform. Supported systems include the Esri Utility Network toolset (ArcGIS Enterprise, ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Experience Builder, and ArcGIS Workflow Manager), Safe Software FME (FME Form and FME Flow) used to move and transform data between systems, and IQGeo, a mapping application with both back-office (desktop/web) and mobile app capabilities. Together, these systems help NW Natural's back-office teams and field crews view, manage, and update the utility asset, network, and work information they rely on every day.

 

This position sits within NW Natural's IT&S Enterprise Applications Back Office Operations team. The engineer serves as the primary point of contact for the GIS team and the business, resolving incidents and service requests, implementing enhancements and configurations, and coordinating technical support work with NW Natural's managed services provider (MSP) and software vendors. This role is a key contributor to requirements analysis, configuration, triaging incidents, testing, and documentation, and partners closely with other IT team support and service providers to keep this Tier 1 platform healthy and reliable.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities:

 

Geospatial Platform Engineering & Support[VS1.1]

 

• Act as the primary point of contact supporting the GIS team and business users, resolving incidents and service requests through the NWN ITSM process and Microsoft Azure DevOps (ADO), and escalating advanced issues to the appropriate senior engineering, DBA, infrastructure, GIS Managed Services Provider (MSP), or Esri Technical Support resources.
• Configure, administer, and troubleshoot ArcGIS Enterprise (Portal, Server, Data Store, Web Adaptor), ArcGIS Pro, Experience Builder, and Workflow Manager).
• Publish and maintain GIS services (map, feature, geoprocessing, and related services) from ArcGIS Pro to ArcGIS Enterprise, keeping them available and performing well for back-office and field users.
• Perform root cause analysis on recurring incidents and engineer or coordinate permanent fixes.
• Administer security roles, privileges, and user access, including role and group management within the platform.
• Administer geospatial software licensing across Esri, Safe FME, and IQGeo — assigning and reclaiming user licenses, tracking usage and renewals, and coordinating with vendors and procurement to maintain compliance.
• Participate in the daily production support stand-up facilitated by the NWN Release Manager, keeping work items, status, and effort current in ADO.

 

Integration & ETL Engineering[VS1.1]

 

• Support, monitor, and troubleshoot Safe FME (FME Form / FME Flow) ETL process and integrations. 
• Support administration, configuration, and troubleshooting of IQGeo Connect and IQGeo Anywhere applications.
• Support Utility Network operations such as topology validation, subnetwork updates, and named trace configurations in coordination with the GIS team.
• Support and monitor the DNV Synergi Pipeline (TIMP) integration, keeping the Esri UN feature services it consumes available and correctly aligned, and coordinating with the GIS team and vendor- DNV on issues.

 

Platform Health, Patching & Performance

 

• Monitor and optimize the performance and health of GIS systems using ArcGIS Monitor and Azure monitoring, identifying and acting on issues before they become incidents.
• Install software patches and support patch, hotfix, and upgrade activities in coordination with IT&S Infrastructure and the change management process.

 

Vendor & MSP Coordination

 

• Serve as the operational liaison to the GIS Managed Services Provider (MSP), coordinating all work within the Esri Utility Network, Safe FME, and IQGeo scope and ensuring the MSP follows NWN processes and policies (Microsoft ADO, daily stand-ups, change control).
• Coordinate with software vendors — including Esri, Safe Software, and IQGeo — on cases, escalations, and case documentation, working through NWN’s designated vendor contacts.

 

Documentation, Quality & Continuous Improvement

 

• Develop and maintain application runbooks, knowledge base articles, and functional/technical documentation in compliance with the NWN Software Development and Change Control policies.
• Support System Integration Testing (SIT), User Acceptance Testing (UAT), and production release validation activities.
• Contribute to regular service health reviews, incident recaps, and operational readiness activities that keep the platform stable and continuously improving in steady-state production support.

Qualifications:

 

• These are the core skills someone genuinely needs to do the job on day one:
  
  • Proficiency administering Esri ArcGIS Enterprise (Portal, Server, Data Store, Web Adaptor) and ArcGIS Pro in a production environment.
  • Experience publishing and managing ArcGIS services (map, feature, and geoprocessing services) in a production ArcGIS Enterprise environment.
  • Hands-on experience with Safe Software FME (FME Form and FME Flow) for ETL, data loads, and system integrations.
  • Working knowledge of SQL Server enterprise geodatabases and Windows Server, including basic troubleshooting.
  • Familiarity with ITSM incident, problem, and change management processes, and experience using Microsoft Azure DevOps (ADO) or a similar ticketing/work-tracking system.
  • Ability to debug service-based integrations and translate monitoring signals into proactive action.
  • Superb communication skills, with the ability to convey technical results to both technical teams and business users.

 

Preferred Qualifications:

 

• Experience configuring and troubleshooting the Esri Utility Network, preferably on the Utility Pipeline Data Model (UPDM) in a gas or utility environment.
• Esri technical certification(s) relevant to ArcGIS Enterprise administration and/or the Esri Utility Network.
• Experience supporting IQGeo (or a comparable field/web GIS mapping application) in a utility setting.
• Experience with Microsoft Azure IaaS and cloud-hosted GIS environments.
• Familiarity with ArcGIS Experience Builder and Workflow Manager.
• Experience in a regulated utility or energy environment, working within formal change control and release management processes.

 

Decision Making/Impact:

 

• Determines appropriate analysis, configuration, and troubleshooting approaches to diagnose and resolve platform, integration, and data issues.
• Provides input and recommendations on new technologies, tooling, and configuration standards for continuous improvement of the geospatial platform.
• Decisions directly affect the availability and performance of a Tier 1 platform relied upon by field operations and the GIS team.

 

Education / Experience:

 

Bachelor’s degree in Geographic Information Systems, Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and technical experience resulting in proven geospatial and systems skills. Five (5) or more years of relevant experience administering or supporting enterprise GIS platforms and integrations.

 

Special Requirements

 

• This is a hybrid role; employees are required to work on-site at least three days per week.
• Esri technical certification(s) relevant to ArcGIS Enterprise administration and/or the Esri Utility Network preferred.