GIS Terrain Specialist

Who we are and where we are going: 

MAK Technologies (MAK) develops commercial off-the-shelf 3D modelling, training, and simulation software that helps users link, simulate, and visualize their world. MAK’s primary users are in the aerospace, defense, and transportation industries, yet its products and services can help customers anywhere modelling and simulation is needed to train, plan, analyze, experiment, prototype, and demonstrate. MAK’s customers include the top ten defense integrators in the world, along with hundreds of companies in Defense, Air Traffic Management, Command & Control, and Homeland Security. MAK also develops training solutions for the United States and international militaries to address both individual and collective training. MAK is dedicated to serving its customers by building flexible products, offering superior technical support, and innovating new ways to enhance readiness through uniquely tailored training solutions.

What you will do:

Our product line allows users to operate in a completely virtual world. That world is procedurally built from highly stylized GIS data sources that cover the entire planet. You will be responsible for curating, expanding, and maintaining that world. You will work with MAK’s engineering team to oversee upgrades and management of our virtual world server, VR-TheWorld Server. You will test new server releases, validate data, and help deliver server upgrades to our customer base. You will work with artists and 3D modelers on the MAK Art and Content team to build out new cities and areas, create maps, and process various GIS data to meet simulation and performance needs. 

In this role, you will:

• Oversee acquisition, licensing, and compliance for geospatial datasets used in simulation environments, including raster imagery, elevation models, and vector feature data.
• Manage end-to-end workflows for downloading, validating, standardizing, and maintaining geospatial data from diverse sources (e.g., national mapping agencies, satellite providers, open geospatial repositories).
• Coordinate data preparation pipelines, including projection management, tiling, metadata generation, and adherence to internal and customer geospatial standards.
• Direct hosting, configuration, and performance monitoring of terrain server environments to ensure reliable delivery of large-scale raster and vector datasets.
• Collaborate with engineering teams to define terrain data requirements and support integration with simulation products and customer-specific terrain formats.
• Manage preparation, optimization, and integration of multiple terrain formats—including GeoTIFF, DTED, DEM, Cesium 3D Tiles, Quantized Mesh, and OSGEarth terrain packages—to support diverse simulation and visualization workflows.
• Manage the setup, delivery, and operational reliability of tile-based geospatial web services—including WMS, WMTS, and XYZ—to support streaming terrain data for internal systems and customer-facing solutions.
• Work with engineering to develop, produce, and deploy VR-TheWorld Server upgrades.
• Work with customers to educate them on the best ways to process their data.
• Work with the documentation team to update materials associated with custom data curation.

What you need to be successful: 

• Bachelor’s degree in GIS, Game Development, 3D Art Production, or a related field, or equivalent hands-on experience working with complex distributed games and virtual environments.
• Strong grasp of 3D terrain modeling.
• Deep understanding of common GIS formats and tools used to process geospatial data.
• Curious, dynamic mindset; someone who enjoys experimenting, exploring, and stress-testing distributed systems.
• Excellent communication skills.

Additional preferred skills: 

• Knowledge of web servers and software container systems used for deploying web services.
• Experience with 3D modelling for game environments.
• Basic JavaScript and XML experience
• General understanding of software design and development.

You get more than just compensation with us. 

MAK Technologies, Inc. considers several factors when extending job offers, including but not limited to candidates’ key skills, relevant work experience, education/training/certification, job level, and work location.  (The wage range listed above is reflective of all geographic work locations where this position may be based and may not reflect the local market salary range.)

Base salary is only one component of our competitive total rewards package.

• Annual bonus incentive
• 401K with company match
• Medical/Dental/Vision Insurance 
• Disability 
• PTO  
• Life and Accidental Death Insurance 
• Development and Career Growth Opportunities 

Equal Opportunity - It takes diverse talent to solve real-world problems.  MAK Technologies, Inc. is deeply committed to building a workplace community where inclusion is valued, and everyone feels welcome.  We’re proud to consider all qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, family status, marital status, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age, or veteran status, or any other legally protected grounds. So, bring us your personal experience, your perspectives, and your background. It’s through our differences that innovative changes are made.

Reasonable Accommodations – MAK Technologies, Inc. is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities in the employment application process. To request an accommodation, please contact our Recruitment Team at 1-660-287-7390, or by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..    

MAK is an Equal Opportunity Employer.