Resume / CV

Brian Pellican Murphy is a remote sensing and cartography specialist who has performed GIS work across the across the west coast of the USA, for both federal government and private industry. He has worked in a variety of GIS positions from doing project management and drone flights to complex spatial modeling and coding. He lives in Portland, Oregon and enjoys outdoor painting and mapping out his spring garden.

brian.pellican.murphy@gmail.com

Professional Experience

Geographer (Remote Sensing)

Bonneville Power Administration (Vancouver, WA)
October 2024 – Present

Subject matter expert of transmission corridor imagery for 15,000 mile network. Responsibilities included processing, caching, and publishing imagery to be used by the organization-wide internal GIS system.
Developed python scripts to modernize and automate geoprocessing tasks for the remote sensing team.
Subject matter expert of BPA’s historic imagery archive of 76 years of aerial photography encompassing 200,000 images and spanning the entire transmission network. Responsibilities included developing an ArcGIS Online web app for non-GIS users to access, query, view, and download BPA historical imagery.
Collaborated with IT to test and implement software version control with Microsoft Azure Dev Ops.
Trained and supervised employees in image processing workflows for accurate, efficient, on-time results.
Researched and developed ESRI GeoAI tools for automated feature extraction of historical imagery.

Cartographic Technician 2

Bonneville Power Administration via ACS Professional Staffing (Vancouver, WA)
June 2023 – October 2024

Processed, cached, and published high resolution transmission line corridor imagery into data products.
Created Python scripts to optimize imagery processing workflows for both corridor and facility imagery by automating the copying, mosaicking, and attributing of imagery, with special attention to error handling.
Developed systemic QAQC methods and workflows using Python scripts for cross referencing multiple datasets to ensure data accuracy and consistency of the historic aerial imagery archive.
Performed historic aerial imagery requests from historians, realtors, and environmental scientists by researching and creating georeferenced time series imagery maps of facilities and transmission lines.
Utilized and maintained existing Python codebase to perform production focused remote sensing tasks including updating scripts from Python 2.7 to Python 3.11, and incorporating PEP 8 Python conventions.
Maintained and updated features within an SDE for versioning of GIS edits.
Collaborated with IT to test ArcPro software deployment strategies and provided performance metrics.
Conducted photogrammetry of substations and hydroelectric facilities using PluraView softcopy machine.

Project Manager and GIS Lead

Buildaberg (Weaverville, CA)
June 2021 – July 2023

Managing 40 concurrent projects and performing client consultations across Trinity County, California.
Conducting sUAS drone mapping surveys to create high-resolution GIS datasets. Responsibilities include flight planning, operating a drone as the remote pilot in command, orthographic image processing, 3D model generation, and 3D spatial analysis. All flights are conducted with FAA Part 107 sUAS license.
Creating various maps for 40 concurrent clients incorporating sUAS acquired data. These maps are for a wide variety of local and state agencies including the California State Water Resources Control Board (CSWRC), California Department of Food and Agriculture, and Trinity County Planning Department.
Developing and implementing a new company-wide GIS system that emphasizes consistency and replicability across all projects. Responsibilities include creating a geodatabase system with custom templates to increase map production efficiency, and designing a new cartographic style guide for the company’s maps. Additional responsibilities include creating, documenting, and updating GIS workflows to improve efficiency and data access across multiple users.
Writing CEQA Tiering checklist documents according to county guidelines by synthesizing multiple documents, maps, and county data sources. Responsibilities include initiating and co-managing multiple concurrent documents for clients across Trinity County.
Developing a document automation system to enhance efficiency and consistency of document writing by using JavaScript to connect Google Sheet spreadsheets with Google Docs.

GIS Survey Technician

GHD Engineering Consultants (Eureka, CA)
November 2020

Conducted utility surveys of the sewer system of Redway, California, for the Redway Community Services District.
Data collected using ESRI’s Survey 123 app and an Eos GNSS RTK receiver to collect submeter location data for individual maintenance holes.

GIS Specialist

Thomas Gast and Associates Environmental Consultants (Arcata, CA)
June 2019 – July 2020

Modeled subbasins of the Tenmile Creek watershed in Laytonville, California, with EPA software to determine ecological baseflows for the Eel River Recovery Project (EERP). Responsibilities included creating maps, spatial analysis, watershed modeling with VELMA, and QAQC with Python.
Developed a GIS web tool to visualize water velocities over multiple locations and time scales in the Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta for the Department of Water Resources (DWR). Responsibilities included digital web map development with JavaScript, HTML, CSS, and data processing and QAQC with Python.
Processed Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) into bathymetric measurements to calculate the volume of sediment accumulation in a pond for the Eagle Creek Hatchery in Estacada, Oregon. Responsibilities included data processing with Python, spatial analysis, and map creation.
Created a GIS-based web tool to visualize and query decades’ worth of oceanography documents and make them available for users to download. Responsibilities included data processing in Python and web programming with JavaScript, HTML, and CSS.

Watershed Web Map Developer

Cal Poly Humboldt Enviro. Science and Mgmt. Department (Arcata, CA)
6.2019 – 7.2020

Visualized California watersheds with web maps within both 2D and 3D using JavaScript
Explored multiple cartographic techniques for displaying hydrologic processes and natural phenomena
Designed websites that are accessible to both scientists and citizens using HTML and CSS

Geospatial Tutor

Cal Poly Humboldt Enviro. Science and Mgmt. Department (Arcata, CA)
1.2019 – 5.2019

Applied personal geospatial knowledge to tutor students and assist students in GIS.
Instructed students how to use ArcGIS and ENVI software to conduct spatial analysis.
Assisted with teaching Python programming to inexperienced programmers.