When you join the City of Guelph, you join a team of over 2000 employees who deliver services the community relies on every day. Together, we are bringing to life Guelph’s vision of an inclusive, connected, and prosperous city where we look after each other and our environment. As a single tier municipality, we offer a variety of occupations and career specialities within our organization. Guided by the goals and objectives of the Future Guelph: Strategic Plan and committed to the Corporate Values of integrity, service, inclusion, wellness and learning, the candidate will aid in the achievement of the Community Vision for an inclusive, connected, prosperous city.

What we offer

We offer competitive wages and comprehensive benefits to meet the needs of our diverse employees. Many of our positions offer:

• Paid vacation days, increasing with years of service
• Paid personal days;
• Hybrid and flexible work arrangements;
• Defined benefit pension plan with OMERS, including 100-per-cent employer matching;
• Extended health and dental benefits, including Health Care Spending Account;
• Employee and Family Assistance Program;
• Parental leave top up program;
• Learning and development opportunities including tuition assistance
• Employee recognition programs.

Resumes are being accepted for the position of System Architect (GIS) within the Information Technology department. Reporting to the Manager, Manager, IT Architecture and Design Solutions in the IT Strategy and Design division, this role is primarily responsible for the governance and technical solution architecture of the ArcGIS Enterprise platform to meet specific business and technical needs, ensuring the GIS data, application, and service tiers are well-architected to deliver the functional and non-functional requirements. The System Architect position acts as a bridge between the corporate GIS team and the business needs of the organization, ensuring the delivery of GIS capabilities aligned with organization goals.

Key duties and responsibilities

• Lead the GIS solution strategy and ArcGIS system architecture development using a collaborative approach to guide the GIS program of work aligned with ArcGIS Enterprise best practices integrated with other systems.
• Deliver fit for purpose solution architecture in delivery of maps, apps, services and information demands.
• Translate GIS project requirements into technical architecture including design components related to data, application, and service tiers considering factors like scalability, performance, security, and integration capabilities.
• Document enterprise GIS technology current state and collaboratively develop GIS strategy roadmap for desired target state, sharing technical and architectural vision for overall GIS landscape and project.
• Establish policies, procedures, and controls to streamline ArcGIS development cycle for efficient development and deployment aligned with business goals, efficient resource allocation, and mitigation of risks associated with geospatial technologies.
• Document, maintain and share Architecture Decision Records to foster transparency, knowledge retention, and informed decision-making within teams and organization.
• Develop strategy to configure, test, and optimize geodatabases for large-scale infrastructure datasets.
• Collaborate with the GIS/Data Program Manager and IT divisional management including ERP, Business Solutions to ensure clean system integration and functional interoperability.
• Research, evaluate, and recommend new technologies, processes, and tools to enhance business and technical capabilities.
• Lead the development of GIS business continuity plans for on-premises and cloud deployments, ensuring security and governance
• Develop best practices for deploying and integrating ArcGIS technologies with non-Esri platforms
• Provide technical insight and recommendations for GIS best practices, policies, standards and procedures.
• Troubleshoot and resolve technical issues related to GIS & FME software, hardware, and data.
• Stay current with GIS industry trends, technologies, and best practices.
• Act as project manager for geospatial infrastructure/technology improvement projects including generating project artifacts and reporting as requested by the management.
• Other relevant duties as required.

Qualifications and requirements

• Completion of post-secondary education in Geomatics, Computer Science, Computer Programming or closely related field. Candidates with an equivalent combination of education and experience will be considered.
• Extensive experience in GIS solutions development (on premise) and GIS solutions development (in Cloud).
• Considerable experiences in architecting and administering enterprise GIS solutions that leverage the ArcGIS enterprise platform, server, online, ArcGIS Pro, FME and its integration with enterprise application systems including ERP, EAM and CRM.
• Expert proficiency in Esri-based geospatial solutions, ArcGIS Portal, ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Server, ArcGIS Image Server, GIS infrastructure, middleware, maintenance, services, applications, databases, monitoring, and tools.
• Advanced proficiency in geospatial database design, ETL processes, and data modeling for municipal infrastructure assets.
• An excellent understanding of city infrastructure systems (roads, water, sewer, transit, etc.) and their related asset hierarchies.
• Ability to translate operational needs into scalable data architecture and user-facing workflows.
• Familiarity with API integrations and system interoperability standards in municipal or utility environments.
• Excellent analytical, communication, and client-facing skills to support project delivery and stakeholder alignment
• Experience with Oracle, Microsoft SQL, and/or other RDBMS in Windows environment
• Experience programming and scripting with Python, JavaScript, and/or HTML5 modern web frameworks
• Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to communicate effectively with all levels of staff, leadership, consultants and the general public.
• Ability to resolve conflicts in solution architecture using a collaborative approach.
• Excellent organizational skills, accuracy and attention to detail.
• Ability to lead projects and team members under limited supervision.
• Excellent time management skills in a dynamic delivery environment.

Hours of work
35 hours per week, Monday to Friday, between the hours of 8:30 a.m and 4:30 p.m. This position is eligible for hybrid and flexible work arrangement options (as per current corporate policy).

Pay/Salary
Non-Union Grade 6: $94,319.68 - $117,899.60

How to apply
Qualified applicants are invited to apply using our online application system by September 9, 2025. Please note all applicants must complete the online questionnaire specific to this position at the time they submit their resume and cover letter in order to be considered.

The City of Guelph is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive workplace where employees feel welcome, valued and engaged. Our employment policies strictly prohibit all forms of discrimination on any of the grounds in relevant laws. All employment practices are solely based on individual merit, qualifications, and organization's needs at the time. In keeping with the Ontario Human Rights Code and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, we are committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodation for qualified individuals in our job application procedures. If you need an accommodation in order to participate in the hiring process, you may contact us to make your needs known in advance.

Personal information collected through the recruitment process will be used solely to determine eligibility for employment. We thank all candidates in advance; however, only those being considered for an interview will be contacted.