Visualization Engineer

General Dynamics Information Technology; Arlington, Northern (VA, KY); Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

General Dynamics Information Technology seeks a Visualization Engineer to craft geospatial, graph, temporal, and quantitative visualizations for national cyber defense operations in the D.C. metro area.

You will build multi‑layer maps, relationship graphs, and live dashboards with attention to data reliability and legibility at scale. Requirements include hands‑on experience with production visualizations, low‑level rendering, and a strong portfolio.

Qualifications

• Hands-on experience building interactive production visualizations beyond library assembly.
• Experience with low-level rendering (canvas, GPU) and not only high-level charting libraries.
• Experience with graph/network visualization and layout at scale.
• Experience with geospatial rendering, layering, projection, and interaction.
• Demonstrated ability to handle large, continuously updating data without performance loss.
• Ability to justify encoding choices based on reader comprehension.
• Working knowledge of Section 508 and WCAG for visual information.
• Portfolio of production visualization work.
• Bachelor’s degree and 8 years relevant experience (or equivalent).
• Public Trust eligibility and U.S. citizenship.
• On-site work at a government facility in the Washington, D.C. metro area; not remote or hybrid.

Responsibilities

• Build geospatial map components with layering, clustering, and interactions.
• Develop graph and relationship views with scalable layout and filtering.
• Create temporal and quantitative visualization components for live data.
• Encode data reliability, currency, and uncertainty with accessible visuals.
• Maintain performance for large, continuously updating datasets in production.
• Collaborate with design, frontend, and data-service engineers in sprint cycles.
• Adhere to Section 508 and WCAG guidelines for visual information.

Skills

Interactive visualizations

Canvas & GPU rendering

Graph visualization

Geospatial rendering

Performance with live data

Accessibility knowledge

Education

Bachelor's degree and 8 years experience

Tools

D3

Mapbox GL

deck.gl

Leaflet

CesiumJS

Job description

Position Summary

The Visualization Engineer builds data-visualization components for an operator application in a cyber command center supporting national cyber defense across Critical Infrastructure, SLTT partners, and Federal Civilian agencies. Work spans geospatial views, relationship graphs, temporal displays, and quantitative comparisons, all updating continuously. Components must be legible at a glance, perform at interactive frame rates, and visually convey data reliability.

Key Responsibilities

Geospatial

• Build multi‑layer map components with clustering, filtering, and selection.
• Manage projection, scale, and density for legible views from wide area to feature level.
• Implement interactions that maintain selection across geospatial and non‑geospatial components.

Graph & Relationship

• Build graph views showing relationships, including weighted edges.
• Implement layout, filtering, and progressive expansion to preserve legibility at scale.
• Implement path traversal, highlighting, and structural prominence.

Temporal & Quantitative

• Build timeline components for sequence and progression.
• Build live time‑based elements (timers, countdowns).
• Build scoring, ranking, and heat‑based comparison components.
• Represent ranges and intervals, not just point values.

Reliability & Currency

• Encode confidence, source, and data currency to distinguish measured vs. derived values.
• Avoid implying unsupported precision.
• Apply the agreed uncertainty visual language consistently.

Rendering Performance

• Render large and continuously updating datasets without degrading interaction.
• Implement efficient update strategies to avoid unnecessary redraws and maintain smooth animation.
• Profile and optimize against the deployed workstation configuration using realistic data volumes.
• Maintain required training and certifications; certification currency is tracked monthly.

Accessibility & Integration

• Meet Section 508 and WCAG requirements (color independence, contrast).
• Ensure legibility on large shared displays and workstations.
• Provide non‑visual equivalents where needed.
• Build within the shared component library and follow its patterns.

Collaboration

• Work with design on encoding, layout, and interaction.
• Work with the front‑end lead to fit architecture and shared state model.
• Work with service‑layer engineers on data shape and update cadence.
• Participate in sprint planning, demos, and reviews.

Required Qualifications

• Hands‑on experience building interactive production visualizations beyond library assembly.
• Experience with low‑level rendering (canvas, GPU) and not only high‑level charting libraries.
• Experience with graph/network visualization and layout at scale.
• Experience with geospatial rendering, layering, projection, and interaction.
• Demonstrated ability to handle large, continuously updating data without performance loss.
• Ability to justify encoding choices based on reader comprehension.
• Working knowledge of Section 508 and WCAG for visual information.
• Portfolio of production visualization work.
• Bachelor’s degree and 8 years relevant experience (or equivalent experience per policy).
• Public Trust eligibility and U.S. citizenship.
• On‑site work at a government facility in the Washington, D.C. metro area; not remote or hybrid.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience building operational or monitoring visualizations.
• Experience visualizing dependency or propagation relationships.
• Experience encoding uncertainty, confidence, or lineage.
• Experience using animation/transitions for comprehension.
• Experience with libraries such as D3, Mapbox GL, deck.gl, Leaflet, or CesiumJS.
• Experience with large‑format or shared‑display rendering.
• Background in information design or data‑viz practice.
• IAAP accessibility certifications.

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