The Geospatial Architect serves as an enterprise leader responsible for designing and governing CenterPoint Energy's geospatial data architecture, cloud-based spatial analytics platforms, and spatial-enabled data products. This role focuses on scalable data pipelines, cloud geospatial processing, advanced analytics, and enterprise integration. The position works closely with the GIS team to ensure alignment between operational geospatial systems and enterprise data and analytics platforms, supporting business units, engineering, planning, AI/ML, and system reliability initiatives.
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
Architect cloud native geospatial data ecosystems using BigQuery GIS, Dataflow, and scalable storage formats (Parquet/GeoParquet,etc.).
Design spatial data models, schemas, indexing strategies, and governance standards optimized for analytics, AI/ML, and reporting.
Translate business and operational requirements into data architecture specifications, collaborating with GIS to align operational datasets with analytical models.
Establish patterns for data ingestion, versioning, lineage, enrichment, and consumption across analytics tools.
Lead development of automated spatial ETL/ELT pipelines using Python, SQL, and event driven architectures.
Ensure data quality via geometry validation, topology checks, schema enforcement, and automated testing.
Integrate operational GIS datasets into analytical and cloud platforms with clear metadata and lineage.
Architect cloud geospatial platforms on GCP, including BigQuery, Cloud Run, Cloud Storage, and VPC/Security.
Implement Infrastructure as Code for geospatial systems (Terraform, Cloud Build).
Collaborate with AI/ML teams to enable spatial features and model ready datasets.
Scale emerging cloud geospatial capabilities such as vector tiles, quadtrees, and semantic spatial search.
Act as the primary geospatial architecture expert within Data & Analytics.
Define the enterprise geospatial data roadmap aligned with corporate strategy.
Mentor data engineers, analysts, and architects on spatial and cloud architecture.
EDUCATION
Requires a bachelor's degree in GIS, Computer Science, Engineering, Data Science, or related field
REQUIREMENTS
12+ years of progressive experience in geospatial data engineering, cloud architecture, or analytics-oriented GIS roles.
Proficiency with SQL, BigQuery GIS or PostGIS, Python spatial libraries, or similar technologies.
Experience building production ETL/ELT pipelines and spatial analytics workflows.
Proven expertise in Python, with hands-on experience using machine learning libraries such as scikit-learn, TensorFlow, PyTorch, and JAX.
Extensive experience with cloud services such as, including Vertex AI, BigQuery, Cloud Storage, Cloud Functions, Dataflow, Pub/Sub, and Cloud Run.
Deep proficiency in data pipeline orchestration, streaming architectures, and containerization using Docker, Kubernetes, and serverless frameworks.
Hands-on experience with Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools such as Terraform, Pulumi, or Deployment Manager.
Demonstrated success in leading high-performing, cross-functional technical teams, mentoring junior engineers, and fostering a culture of innovation.
BONUS TO HAVE
MBA or advanced degree in mathematics, GIS, business, finance, statistics, computer science, or a related field.
Certifications in relevant cloud platforms (e.g., Google Cloud Certified - Professional Data Engineer, Professional Cloud Architect).
Strong understanding of cloud networking (e.g., DNS, load balancing, VPCs, NAT, peering) and zero-trust security architectures.
Familiarity with MLOps and LLMOps practices, including CI/CD for ML, model registry, and automated retraining pipelines.
Proficiency in JSON-based messaging, API integration patterns, and event-driven architectures.
Experience with vector databases, semantic search, and generative AI architectures.
Experience with data governance platforms (e.g., Collibra, Atlan) and metadata management.
Full stack development experience using technologies such as React, Flask, Node.js, Firestore, and GraphQL.
CenterPoint Energy
1111 Louisiana St
Houston
Texas United States
www.centerpointenergy.com
