ESRI developer

Position title: ESRI developer
Location: plano, Texas
Onsite: 3 days a week
Interview process: 2 video interviews to hire
Contract: 6-18 months to perm

Must have: ArcGIS Enterprise, front end experience, Geoevent, and good communication

The hiring manager is effectively looking for someone who can step in immediately and fill a knowledge gap—not someone who needs training.
1) Strong, hands-on Esri / ArcGIS expertise (NON negotiable)

• Deep experience specifically with ArcGIS Enterprise (not just general GIS tools)
• Comfortable working in the current environment (10.9.1, moving to 11.3)
• Ability to:
• Understand existing implementations quickly
• Modify and extend them without ramp time
• Explicitly stated: they cannot hire someone who needs training or courses1

This is the #1 priority skill
2) Balanced Front-end + Back-end (≈50/50 split)
The role is not purely technical or purely UI—they want a blend.
Front-end (VERY important)
Candidates must be comfortable with:

• ArcGIS Experience Builder
• Dashboards
• Web apps (user-facing tools)
• Survey123
• Mapping tools (Map Builder, ArcGIS Pro for modeling/publishing)

Reason:

• Business users rely heavily on dashboards and visual tools
• Candidate must quickly modify UI elements, filters, widgets, etc.1

Back-end (important, but supported)

• Understanding of:
• Data flows / ETL
• GeoEvent services
• Integrations (internal + external data sources)
• Python + .NET:
• Working knowledge required, not deep mastery
• Internal dev team already supports this area 1

Key insight:
They want someone who can talk to developers effectively, even if not a hardcore engineer.
3) Ability to jump into existing architecture
This is not a greenfield role.
The candidate must:

• Review what exists (apps, surveys, geo-events, dashboards)
• Understand it quickly
• Extend it immediately
• Diagnose issues and know where to look inside the system

Example responsibilities mentioned:

• Modify geofencing rules
• Update dashboard filters/logic
• Adjust data flows
• Understand multi-server architecture

"Hit the ground running” was explicitly emphasized 1
4) Experience with GeoEvent + data-heavy environments
This is a key differentiator skill:

• Handling multiple data inputs (internal + external)
• Working with:
• GeoEvent server
• Real-time data streams
• Understanding how data feeds into dashboards

This is not just GIS—it's operational, data-driven GIS
5) Ability to bridge business + technical teams
Candidate must:

• Work with non-technical business users
• Translate requirements into system changes
• Explain what's happening without deep technical jargon

Reason:

• Business users only interact with dashboards
• They don't understand backend systems 1

6) Seniority level

• Enough experience to:
• Work independently
• Lead pieces of work

7) Bonus / "Unicorn” traits (nice-to-have)
They joked about wanting a "unicorn,” which translates to:

• Strong in BOTH:
• ArcGIS platform (core)
• Development (Python/.NET)
• Able to act as a "tip of the spear” technically with the team 1

What will NOT work
Candidates will likely be rejected if they are:

• Too back-end focused (heavy API / infrastructure, no UI work)
• Experienced in non-Esri GIS tools only
• Missing dashboard / Experience Builder exposure

Strong pitch angle:
"Hands-on ArcGIS Enterprise consultant who has built and customized dashboards, Experience Builder apps, and GeoEvent integrations, with enough Python/.NET knowledge to collaborate with dev teams and extend functionality.”
Bottom line
The right candidate is:

• ArcGIS-first (Enterprise-focused)
• 50/50 front-end + back-end
• Able to step in immediately
• Comfortable with GeoEvent + real-time data
• Strong communicator with business teams