GIS Operations Research Analyst

Why do you need to choose between doing important work and having a fulfilling life? At Ardent, we have both. Ardent employees are committed to solving our customers’ most difficult problems—and we are committed to the well-being, personal goals, and professional development of our employee. We are “All In.” We put forth our strongest effort possible to get the mission accomplished and we do it together. We respect the skills and experience you bring to the Ardent team. And we provide a rewarding environment to help you succeed. 

We offer highly competitive benefits, professional development opportunities, and an exceptional culture that embraces flexibility, innovation, collaboration, and career growth. A collective service mindset underpins our work, and a shared camaraderie to serve clients, colleagues and our communities set us apart. Our full commitment to being "All In" for our employees and our clients is not just our approach, it is our standard. If this sounds like the perfect fit for you, choose Ardent and make a difference with us. 

Ardent and its partners are seeking a GIS Operations Research Analyst to join the team.

This is a full-time, on-site position located at the ICE Ops Center at 500 12th St., SW, Washington, DC.

Position Overview

Ardent and its partners are seeking a highly skilled GIS Operations Research Analyst to support data-driven decision-making at ICE through advanced analytics, geospatial technology, and enterprise GIS administration. This position is ideal for a candidate with strong ESRI Enterprise administration experience, operational research expertise, and an interest in contributing to national-level missions.

You will lead efforts in geospatial data management, performance analytics, and dashboard development, while administering and optimizing ESRI’s Enterprise GIS environment, with a specific focus on Portal for ArcGIS.

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as a Senior Operations Research Analyst, leading complex data analysis and reporting projects in support of strategic decision-making.

• Oversee the creation and implementation of performance dashboards, maps, and statistical models using large and diverse datasets.

• Administer and maintain ESRI Enterprise GIS systems, with emphasis on Portal for ArcGIS configuration, optimization, security, and user management.

• Manage geospatial data workflows, enterprise integrations, and performance tuning for enterprise GIS environments.

• Conduct quality control, validation, and continuous improvement of data and analytics products.

• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to identify data gaps and develop meaningful visualizations and analytic tools.

• Present complex findings clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

• Support application automation and customization using scripting/coding languages such as Python, .NET, or Java (preferred).

Required Qualifications

• Master’s degree (MA/MS) in Operations Research, Mathematics, Statistics, Business Analytics, Geospatial Information Systems (GIS), or a related field.

  • In lieu of a Master’s degree, a Bachelor’s degree (BA/BS) in a relevant field plus 2 additional years of related experience (7 years total) may be substituted.

• Minimum 5 years of experience in:

  • Developing data-driven performance reporting tools.

  • Building dashboards with SQL queries and optimized datasets.

  • Performing statistical and geospatial analyses (trend forecasting, logistics, mapping, etc.).

  • Presenting data to diverse audiences and leadership.

  • Managing data quality and working collaboratively with stakeholders.

• Minimum 3 years of experience administering ESRI Enterprise and Portal for ArcGIS, including installation, upgrades, configuration, and security management.

• Experience integrating GIS with enterprise IT systems and optimizing geospatial data workflows.

• Active Top Secret (TS) or DHS SCI Clearance

Preferred Qualifications

• Professional ESRI Enterprise Administration Certification.

• Proficiency in R and Python (training certificate preferred).

• Familiarity with application customization and automation via scripting or programming languages such as .NET, Java, or Python.

• Experience working in federal, law enforcement, or national security environments.

Due to the nature of the work we support, all candidates in consideration for this role must be willing to undergo the government issued background investigation process. We highly encourage all Veterans and those with disabilities to apply.

Ardent is an equal opportunity employer. We will not discriminate in employment, recruitment, advertisements for employment, compensation, termination, upgrading, promotions, and other conditions of employment against any employee or job applicant on the bases of race, color, gender, national origin, age, religion, creed, disability, veteran's status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or any other basis protected by state, local, or federal law.