Christopher Garrity is a Supervisory Cartographer with the USGS Geology, Energy & Minerals (GEM) Science Center in Reston, VA. He is responsible for developing scalable, resilient, enterprise-level geospatial web applications and product/data delivery systems for a variety of groups at the USGS.
Chris has an extensive background in geospatial related technologies, specializing in the planning, architecture, development, maintenance, and support of complex geospatial driven applications for USGS stakeholders. Since joining the USGS, he has led numerous high-visibility projects in the Energy/Minerals and Core Science Systems Mission areas. He is an active leader in the USGS geospatial community, especially those interested in open-source geospatial technologies, and serves on numerous USGS and industry steering committees/communities of practice. He currently leads a geospatial team in the Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center.
Professional Experience
Lead developer of a variety of highly visible geospatial related applications in multiple languages/protocols (JavaScript, Python, NodeJS, PHP, JSON/XML, HTML5, CSS, etc.)
Extensive experience utilizing geospatial technologies including ESRI ArcGIS Enterprise, ArcGIS APls, ArcGIS Online, open-source geospatial technologies (PostGIS, GeoServer, OpenLayers, and MapBox)
Extensive knowledge of relational database managements systems such as PostgreSOL and SOL Server
Experience developing middleware and RESTful web services with respect for end user authentication
Experience leveraging contemporary technologies like Cloud, Al/ML, and 3D modeling in geospatial workflows
Experience with distributed computing frameworks for big data (Kubernetes, Dask)
Extensive knowledge of design tools (Adobe Creative Suite, Blender, Figma, Sketch, lnvision)
Experience in computer vision and machine learning toolkits/technologies (OpenCV, TensorFlow, Keras)
Experience in cloud architecture (AWS) and related technologies (RDS, SageMaker, Rekognition, Textract)
Highly proficient in testing, supporting, and developing tools/scripts, and preparing technical documentation
Extensive knowledge in data governance/management related workflows, including geospatial catalog development and curation, semantics/ontologies, data curation, metadata (ISO, FGDC, Dublin Core) management and API technologies
Education and Certifications
B.S. Earth Systems Science, GISciences, George Mason University, 2001