Principal Engineer, GIS

About Niyam IT (Niyam)

Niyam was founded in 2007 by a group of consultants who shared a unique vision: a technology company steeped in orderly process yet driven by passion and innovation. For nearly two decades, we have served the U.S. Federal government delivering mission-critical IT solutions across Emergency Preparedness and Response, Civilian Agency Services, and Law Enforcement and Public Safety.

Niyam is CMMI DEV Level 3 accredited and ISO certified (ISO 9001:2015, ISO/IEC 20000-1, ISO/IEC 27001), and holds an active CMMC Level 2 certification. We are proud to be recognized as a Best Places to Work by The Washington Post (2025) and USA Today (2026).

What We Offer:

• Flexible Work Hours: Life doesn’t always fit into a 9-to-5 schedule. We offer flexibility to help you manage your work-life balance effectively.
• Remote Work: Niyam understands the value of flexibility. We offer remote work.
• Career Growth: Niyam is not just a job; it’s a career journey. We provide a supportive environment for your professional development and offer fully paid opportunities for training and advancement within the company.
• Great People: Our people are the blueprint of who Niyam is to the industry and community.
• Great Environment: Niyam fosters a great environment where innovation, collaboration, and personal growth thrive.
• Diversity & Inclusion: We believe in the strength of diverse perspectives. Your unique ideas are welcomed and celebrated every day at Niyam.

Join us in creating a workplace where innovation, diversity, and well-being thrive. Your journey at Niyam awaits. Apply today!

Niyam is seeking a Principal Engineer, GIS / Geospatial Solutions to serve as the company's senior-most hands-on technical authority for geospatial engineering. This individual will define technical strategy and reference architecture for our GIS solution accelerators (GeoCube, SPHERE, RisQ), serve as lead Solution Architect on GIS-focused proposals and captures, and represent Niyam externally as a recognized geospatial thought leader through technical publications and conference speaking. The role combines deep hands-on delivery across active federal contracts with enterprise-level influence on Niyam's geospatial technical direction and growth strategy, and requires the ability to obtain a Top Secret clearance to support Niyam's continued expansion into DoD and Intelligence Community work.

Roles and Responsibilities

• Technical Leadership & Strategy

  • Serve as the company-wide expert and recognized thought leader in GIS/geospatial engineering, setting technical direction for GeoCube, SPHERE, RisQ, and related capabilities.
  • Define technical strategy, reference architectures, and engineering standards for geospatial data ingestion, the Medallion (Bronze/Silver/Gold) data architecture, and the Model Lifecycle Management Framework.
  • Solve the organization's most complex or ambiguous geospatial and spatial-analytics challenges, from data fusion and geoprocessing to real-time situational awareness dashboards.
  • Collaborate closely with Niyam's Technical Directors (GIS, Solutions Engineering, Data Analytics) to align geospatial strategy with enterprise technical direction.
  • Drive innovation, such as AI/ML-enabled geospatial analytics and predictive risk modeling, that materially improves platform capability, performance, or revenue.

• Solution Architecture & Delivery

  • Serve as the primary Solution Architect on GIS-related engagements, providing hands-on architecture and delivery leadership across multiple active contracts/projects concurrently.
  • Design and oversee geodatabase architecture, geoprocessing models, and cloud-native geospatial pipelines that meet performance, security, and scalability requirements.
  • Resolve high-impact technical risks and escalations across GIS programs, ensuring solutions align with client mission needs and Niyam engineering standards.
  • Directly influence revenue and CPAR/customer-satisfaction performance by shaping technical strategy and solution quality across multiple projects.

• Business Development & Proposal Leadership

  • Act as lead Solution Architect and technical author on GIS-focused proposals and capture efforts, defining win themes, technical differentiators, and solution strategy.
  • Advise capture leadership and executives on technical feasibility, innovation opportunities, and competitive positioning for geospatial pursuits.
  • Support orals preparation, client technical due diligence, and solution demonstrations as the geospatial subject matter expert.
  • Partner with the GIS Technical Director and capture teams to protect and grow revenue through differentiated, credible geospatial solution offerings.

• Thought Leadership & External Representation

  • Author and publish technical blog posts, white papers, and case studies that position Niyam IT as an innovator in geospatial intelligence and disaster/risk analytics.
  • Speak at industry conferences, client forums, and technical webinars as a recognized geospatial subject matter expert, building Niyam's brand and pipeline visibility.
  • Represent Niyam in professional GIS/geospatial communities (e.g., Esri User Conferences, GEOINT, FedGeoDay) to strengthen market positioning and teaming relationships.

• Mentorship & Organizational Growth

  • Mentor engineers at all levels (Associate Engineer through Staff Engineer/Lead Architect) on geospatial engineering practices and career growth.
  • Make substantial contributions to the GIS/Geospatial Center of Competency (CoC), including standards, training materials, and reusable technical assets.
  • Support hiring and technical interviews for geospatial roles across the organization.

Required Qualifications

• Must be a U.S. citizen and able to obtain and maintain a Top Secret (TS) security clearance.
• Bachelor's degree in GIS, Geography, Computer Science, Geospatial Engineering, or a related field (equivalent experience considered in lieu of degree).
• 12+ years of progressive experience in GIS/geospatial engineering, including architecture-level design of geospatial platforms and analytics solutions.
• Deep hands-on expertise with the Esri ArcGIS platform (ArcGIS Enterprise, ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Pro), geodatabase design, and geoprocessing model development.
• Demonstrated experience architecting cloud-native, scalable geospatial data platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud) including data pipelines and API-enabled analytics.
• Proficiency in Python and/or other languages used for geospatial data engineering, automation, and analytics.
• Proven track record leading technical proposal content, solution architecture, and capture support for federal government contracts.
• Demonstrated experience mentoring engineers and driving technical standards across teams or programs.
• One or more industry-recognized certifications of considerable difficulty in a relevant technical discipline (e.g., Esri Technical Certification, AWS/Azure Solutions Architect, GISP).
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including experience authoring technical publications and presenting to technical and executive audiences.

Preferred Skills

• Active Top Secret clearance or prior DoD/Intelligence Community clearance eligibility.
• Experience with hazard risk modeling, emergency management, or disaster response platforms (e.g., FEMA, DHS, or similar mission areas).
• Familiarity with AI/ML-enabled geospatial analytics, predictive modeling, or the Medallion (Bronze/Silver/Gold) data architecture pattern.
• Prior publication of technical white papers, blog content, or peer-reviewed papers, and experience speaking at industry conferences (e.g., Esri UC, GEOINT Symposium, FedGeoDay).
• Experience supporting GSA MAS, OASIS+, or other federal contract vehicle proposal efforts.

Why Join Niyam

• Recognized as a Washington Post and USA Today Top Workplace (2025, 2026).
• SBA Certified HUBZone small business with a growing federal past performance portfolio (FEMA, CBP, NOAA, DOJ, TSA, and more).
• Opportunity to shape the technical direction of proprietary solution accelerators (GeoCube, SPHERE, RisQ) used across the federal government.
• Clear, transparent technical career path with growth potential to Distinguished Engineer.

Join Niyam and help us win the work that matters.