GIS System Administrator - Fairfax - Fairfax County, VA

Description

Salary : $79, $131,987.44 Annually
Location : FAIRFAX (EJ32), VA
Job Type: FT Salary W BN
Job Number:
Department: Information Technology
Opening Date: 01/31/2026
Closing Date: 2/20/2026 11:59 PM Eastern
Pay Grade: S27
Posting Type: Open to General Public
Job Announcement
Join the Department of Information Technology's Enterprise GIS Division as a senior member of the Geospatial Applications and Systems Branch. This position plays a key role in supporting and advancing the county's enterprise GIS environment by administering and maintaining critical GIS systems and applications, including ArcGIS Enterprise (Portal for ArcGIS and multiple ArcGIS Server roles), Windows Virtual Desktop (Azure), and VertiGIS Studio.
In this role, you will perform Windows-based system administration tasks such as managing user access, troubleshooting applications and systems, and providing technical support to end users. You will work closely with the Branch Manager to design, implement, and support integrations between GIS platforms and other enterprise business systems.
This position also focuses on improving efficiency through automation by designing and implementing repeatable system administration and data transformation processes. You will manage projects to deliver GIS-based solutions that support business operations, using scripting languages such as Python and PowerShell, along with automation tools including Microsoft Power Automate and VertiGIS Studio Workflows.
Illustrative Duties

• Identify, design, develop and conduct spatial solutions/models to complex business problems for users;
• Creates/develops solutions for GIS systems (data, applications);
• Conducts data modeling;
• Guides GIS project personnel;
• Performs project management duties for spatial system development and implementation;
• Establishes standards and methods for developing GIS application software; database development and operation;
• Effectively participates and collaborates in cross-departmental teams. Develops documents and maintains data loading tools and processes;
• Develops and conducts advanced spatial queries in GIS data warehouse (e.g., with Oracle Spatial);
• Performs all stages of the System Development Life Cycle (SDLC), and applies relevant tasks and deliverables of the SDLC to GIS projects;
• Defines system/database requirements for spatial applications;
• Develops and performs enterprise level acceptance tests for GIS hardware and software;
• Utilizes IT Information Library (ITIL) and other relevant County standards on system projects;
• Provides training, guidance and assistance to lower level analysts;
• Designs, develops, conducts and implements training programs and classes;
• Provides technical support for complex system level problems;
• Evaluates, designs, and implements spatial data models;
• Serves on Selection Advisory Committee/Technical Advisory Committee to evaluate proposals submitted in response to Request for Proposals;
• Formulates detailed project plans and timelines;
• Coordinates efforts between GIS staff, other County staff, and contractors;
• Manages and leads the design and development of moderate to complex GIS applications;
• Provides technical assistance in data layer maintenance procedures;
• Communicates with agency GIS leaders to assess needs and develop priorities;
• Provides input to the GIS Spatial Analyst IV to help determine assignments of GIS resources to project initiatives;
• Coordinates with County agencies in providing connectivity between the GIS database and County enterprise databases;
• Provides GIS Liaison and coordination with neighboring jurisdictions and state agencies. Assists agencies with technical hardware and software resources required in a distributed environment;
• May supervise, assign, and evaluate work for GIS Spatial Analyst Is, IIs and Technicians;
• Provides assistance to other staff as needed;
• Provides both technical and functional GIS presentations to Senior County Management, Board Members, and constituents;
• Attends meetings and conferences related to GIS;
• Performs any of the illustrative duties in support of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC);
• Performs evaluation of suitability and capability, estimation and prediction, using spatial tools;
• Performs any or all of the four traditional types of spatial analysis: spatial overlay and contiguity analysis, surface analysis, linear analysis, and raster analysis.

Employment Standards
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
(Click on the aforementioned link to learn how Fairfax County interprets equivalencies for "Any combination, experience, and training equivalent to")
Bachelor's degree in computer science, geography or related field which included coursework in Oracle and/or another complex database platform; plus two years of experience in working with and developing systems utilizing GIS platforms such as ESRI's ArcGIS Desktop or Server software suites; or performing GIS modeling (e.g., relationship classes, topologies, 3-D, object, data) and spatial analysis (e.g., proximity analysis, image analysis, routing analysis).
NECESSARY SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:
The appointee to this position will be required to complete a criminal background check to the satisfaction of the employer.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Five (5) or more years of experience in GIS system administration, including at least two (2) years supporting the ArcGIS Enterprise suite (Portal for ArcGIS and ArcGIS Server).
• Experience with additional ArcGIS Enterprise components such as ArcGIS Image Server and ArcGIS GeoEvent Server.
• Two (2) or more years of GIS-related scripting and automation experience, preferably using Python.
• Working knowledge of virtualized or cloud-based desktop environments, such as Azure.
• Experience using GIS-specific APIs, including ArcPy, ArcGIS API for Python, and ArcGIS REST APIs.
• Knowledge of software development and debugging tools and techniques, including Visual Studio, browser-based development and diagnostic tools, and/or Jupyter Notebooks.
• Experience with ArcGIS Pro and ArcGIS Desktop, including extensions such as Spatial Analyst and Network Analyst.
• Experience with SQL Server, including spatial databases, spatial indexes, and spatial functions.
• Knowledge of relational database systems and tools used for GIS and geodatabase processing.
• Project management experience.
• Strong organizational, verbal, written, and collaboration skills.
• Strong understanding of GIS technology, including spatial analysis, geospatial data processing, and data modeling techniques.
• Demonstrated attention to detail with the ability to manage multiple tasks simultaneously.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to think critically and creatively.
• Ability to work effectively both independently and as part of a team, with minimal supervision as required.
• Demonstrated initiative and ability to proactively propose and implement innovative solutions to improve processes and outcomes.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:
Work is generally sedentary, performed in a normal office environment. All duties performed with or without reasonable accommodations.
SELECTION PROCEDURE:
Panel interview and may include exercise.
Fairfax County is home to a highly diverse population, with a significant number of residents speaking languages other than English at home (including ) We encourage candidates who are bilingual in English and another language to apply for this opportunity.
Fairfax County Government prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, age, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetics, political affiliation, or military status in the recruitment, selection, and hiring of its workforce.
Reasonable accommodations are available to persons with disabilities during application and/or interview processes per the Americans with Disabilities Act. TTY EEO/AA/TTY.
#LI-JT1
Merit Positions
Fairfax County is proud to offer employees an attractive and comprehensive benefits program, including the following:

• Medical/Vision/Dental Insurance Coverage
• Group Term Life Insurance
• Long Term Disability
• LiveWell Program
• Flexible Spending Programs
• Paid Leave (annual, sick, parental, volunteer activity, and more)
• Paid Holidays
• Contributory Retirement Plan
• Deferred Compensation
• Employee Assistance Program
• Employees' Child Care Center
• Continuous Learning Opportunities
• Commuter Benefits Accounts

NOTE: Fairfax County Government is a qualifying employer under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. For more information about the PSLF program:
For additional details please visit the
Non-Merit Positions

• Non-Merit Benefit Eligible: scheduled to work a minimum 1,040 hours and no more than a maximum of 1,560 hours in a calendar year.
  • Medical/Vision/Dental Insurance Coverage
  • Flexible Spending Program
  • Deferred Compensation
• Temporary: scheduled to work a maximum of 900 hours in a calendar year.
  • No benefits

01
What is the highest level of education that you have completed?

• Less than 12th grade
• High school diploma or GED
• Some college
• Associate's degree
• Bachelor's degree
• Master's degree
• Doctorate degree

02
If you answered "Some college" for the highest level of education completed, please indicate the number of quarter or semester hours you have completed towards a related degree.

• Less than 45 quarter hours
• 45 to less than 90 quarter hours
• 90 to less than 135 quarter hours
• 135 to less than 180 quarter hours
• 180 or more quarter hours
• Less than 30 semester hours
• 30 to less than 60 semester hours
• 60 to less than 90 semester hours
• 90 to less than 120 semester hours
• 120 or more semester hours
• Not applicable

03
Please indicate all major(s) or minor(s) for your completed degree(s). Check all that apply.

• Computer science
• Geography
• Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
• Other (related field)
• Other (non-related field)
• Not applicable

04
If you answered "Other (related field)" or "Other (non-related field)" for the previous question, please list the discipline of your degree. If this question does not pertain to you or you do not possess a degree, enter "N/A".
05
Have you completed coursework in Oracle and/or another complex database platform?

• Yes
• No

06
How many years of full-time equivalent experience in working with and developing systems utilizing GIS platforms such as ESRI's ArcGIS Desktop or Server software suites; or performing GIS modeling (e.g., relationship classes, topologies, 3-D, object, data) and spatial analysis (e.g., proximity analysis, image analysis, routing analysis) do you possess?

• None
• Less than one year
• One to less than two years
• Two to less than three years
• Three to less than four years
• Four to less than five years
• Five to less than six years
• Six or more years

07
How many years of experience have you had managing and supporting the ArcGIS Enterprise suite of software including Portal for ArcGIS and ArcGIS Server?

• None
• Less than one year
• One to less than two years
• Two to less than three years
• Three to less than four years
• Four to less than five years
• Five years or more

08
How many years of experience do you have working on team to support GIS infrastructure (systems and applications) in an organization?

• None
• Less than one year
• One to less than two years
• Two to less than three years
• Three to less than four years
• Four to less than five years
• Five years or more

09
How many years of experience do you have writing scripts to automate GIS and system administration tasks using languages such as Python or PowerShell?

• None
• Less than one year
• One to less than two years
• Two to less than three years
• Three to less than four years
• Four to less than five years
• Five years or more

10
How many years of experience do you have creating and configuring web-based GIS applications using ArcGIS Online, Portal for ArcGIS, or VertiGIS Studio?

• None
• Less than one year
• One to less than two years
• Two to less than three years
• Three to less than four years
• Four to less than five years
• Five years or more

11
Have you ever supported GIS applications in a shared computing environment such as Windows Virtual Desktop?

• Yes
• No