Dustin J. Stephens

Background & Credentials

Experience

AI-native technical GIS leader with 15+ years in geospatial systems, enterprise applications, automation, documentation, and user support.

Career

Work Experience

Strong background managing GIS teams, supporting technical operations, translating business needs into usable tools, and applying modern AI workflows to improve productivity, quality, and decision support.

May 2022 – Present Orbis Inc. Charlotte, NC

GIS Project Manager / Analyst

  • Manage and mentor a GIS technician team, coordinate workflows, establish data-quality standards, and support repeatable service delivery for land, forestry, and SaaS GIS operations.
  • Support business users and internal stakeholders across GIS applications, mapping services, data issues, workflow questions, and operational service requests.
  • Maintain and troubleshoot back-end Esri mapping services using ArcGIS Server and ArcGIS Online, including service configuration, sharing, refresh workflows, and user-facing issue resolution.
  • Implement data integrations into SaaS services using ArcGIS Notebooks, Python-based workflows, REST/service-oriented patterns, and practical automation approaches.
  • Develop training materials, documentation, process guidance, and user support resources that help teams adopt systems and reduce dependence on tribal knowledge.
  • Use AI-assisted and agentic coding workflows to accelerate prototype planning, workflow documentation, troubleshooting, and automation opportunity discovery.
Oct 2019 – May 2022 Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Utilities Winston-Salem, NC Overlapped with the Civil Engineering Coordinator role

Information Systems Analyst

  • Administered ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Server/Enterprise environments supporting municipal water, wastewater, and utility operations.
  • Developed and deployed custom GIS web maps and applications using Experience Builder, Web AppBuilder, and Esri web mapping tools for operational users.
  • Administered Cityworks Asset Management Software and supported Esri integrations, bridging GIS, asset management, work orders, field users, and IT requirements.
  • Used Python scripting, ArcPy, ArcGIS API for Python, and ModelBuilder to automate tasks, improve repeatability, and support operational workflows.
  • Provided technical support and training to GIS users, field staff, and operational teams; coordinated with IT on infrastructure, access, and system reliability needs.
Feb 2018 – Aug 2020 City of Winston-Salem, Engineering Department Winston-Salem, NC Overlapped with the Information Systems Analyst role

Civil Engineering Coordinator

  • Managed staff responsible for GIS data maintenance, editing standards, interdepartmental data sharing, and infrastructure-related data quality.
  • Communicated technical information to citizens, developers, internal departments, and engineering staff to support infrastructure decisions and workflows.
Oct 2015 – Feb 2018 Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Utilities Winston-Salem, NC

Utilities Supervisor (GIS Team)

  • Supervised GIS staff implementing technology solutions for construction, maintenance, inspection, mobile GIS, and utility operations teams.
  • Led training initiatives for GIS applications and mobile technology while serving as a liaison between Utilities and City Information Services.
  • Contributed to GIS infrastructure planning, data model improvements, quality-control practices, and operational system adoption.
Jan 2012 – Oct 2015 Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Utilities Winston-Salem, NC

Engineering Technician / Senior Engineering Technician (GIS Team)

  • Performed GIS edits, utility asset data maintenance, QA/QC, schema improvements, field workflow support, and data migration for water and wastewater datasets.
June 2010 – Jan 2012 City of Mount Airy, Planning Department Mount Airy, NC

GIS Technician / Administrative Assistant

  • Performed GIS edits and QA/QC on zoning, city limit, and land-use layers, maintaining the department geodatabase and producing current zoning maps.
  • Administered zoning permit intake and processing, providing front-line customer service to residents, developers, and departmental staff.
  • Supported subdivision and site plan review, preparing map exhibits and application materials for planning staff review.

Academic Background

Education

Bachelor of Science
Geography, GIS Concentration Appalachian State University, Boone, NC
Bachelor of Science
Community & Regional Planning Appalachian State University, Boone, NC

Capabilities

Technical Skills

AI / Agents
Codex, Claude Code, Cursor, ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, AI-assisted coding, agentic development workflows, LLM tooling, prompt/workflow design, human-in-the-loop review
Agent Frameworks
LangChain, LangGraph, OpenAI Agents SDK, Claude SDK, agent harness patterns, context control, tool use, token-cost awareness
Automation
Python, ArcPy, ArcGIS API for Python, GeoPandas, Shapely, GDAL, DuckDB, GeoParquet, Leaflet, MapLibre, and other open-source GIS tooling, ArcGIS Notebooks, ModelBuilder, REST/service workflows, GitHub, Docker, Supabase, Vercel, JavaScript familiarity
Data / GIS
ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Enterprise/Server, Portal, Experience Builder, Web AppBuilder, QGIS, geodatabases, QA/QC
Databases
SQL Server, Oracle, PostgreSQL, PostGIS, schema concepts, data integration, versioning concepts, data reconciliation
Product / Ops
Requirements discovery, technical documentation, training, adoption support, stakeholder communication, support workflows, process modernization

Next Steps

Let’s Connect

Interested in GIS leadership, automation, or AI-enabled geospatial workflows? I’d welcome a conversation.

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