Shashwot Niraula

About Me

Hello! I'm Shashwot Niraula, a Geospatial Application Developer & Analyst at WSP USA. I build, deploy, and maintain GIS software across the Esri ArcGIS ecosystem — Experience Builder, ArcGIS Online/Enterprise, Survey123, ArcGIS Dashboards, and ArcPy automation — working directly with state and municipal government clients.

Right now I own the expansion of a cloud-based geospatial asset inventory platform across the Esri suite: designing new features, consolidating data across many asset classes, and establishing the application architecture and standards my teammates build against. I pair a Computer Science degree with academic certificates in GIS and AI/ML to deliver full-stack geospatial applications, relational-database-backed data pipelines, and AI-powered mapping tools.

Beyond work, I'm an avid explorer who loves hiking in pristine landscapes, playing soccer and tennis, and occasionally indulging in cooking. My multicultural background lets me speak English, Nepali, and Hindi fluently.

Education

Bachelor of Science — Computer Science

University of Idaho Moscow, ID

August 2021 – May 2025 · Academic Certificates in GIS and AI/ML

GIS Certificate AI/ML Certificate Outstanding Senior Award Guy & Grace Wicks Award 2024 Alumni Award for Excellence NSA President International Ambassador NASA Balloon Project

Relevant coursework: Machine Learning, Deep Learning, GIS Programming, Remote Sensing / GIS Image Analysis, Intermediate GIS, Introduction to Web GIS, Software Engineering, Database Systems.

Honors & awards: Donald R. & Cora E. Theophilus Award, Outstanding Senior Award, Guy & Grace Wicks Award, 2024 Alumni Award for Excellence, Alton Campbell Community Impact Award, Anjum Sadiq Memorial Scholarship, and MLK Art & Writing Contest Winner.

Four transformative years at U of I where I grew as an engineer, leader, and community builder — from tutoring 1,000+ students to representing Nepal on campus, launching weather balloons for NASA, and earning multiple senior awards.

Technical Skills

Programming Languages

Python JavaScript TypeScript SQL C/C++ C# Java HTML/CSS

Geospatial & ArcGIS

ArcGIS Pro ArcGIS Online/Enterprise ArcGIS SDK Experience Builder ArcPy Survey123 ArcGIS Dashboards QGIS PostGIS GeoPandas Leaflet.js Google Earth Engine

AI / Machine Learning

LangChain Llama Mistral Scikit-learn TensorFlow PyTorch LiDAR ML Pipelines Time-Series Forecasting

Platforms & Cloud

AWS (S3, EC2, CloudFront, Beanstalk) Google Cloud Docker FastAPI Flask Django React.js Node.js Git

Databases

PostgreSQL MySQL MongoDB

Languages Spoken

English Nepali Hindi

Interests & Hobbies

Soccer Hiking Cooking Travel Cricket Tennis Cultural Events

Work Experience

Oct 2024 – Present

Geospatial Application Developer / Analyst

WSP USA (Boise, ID)

Build and maintain geospatial applications and automated data pipelines with Python, SQL, ArcGIS Pro/Enterprise, and Experience Builder (React/JavaScript) for transportation, asset-management, and emergency-response systems. Own the expansion of a cloud-based GIS asset inventory platform across Experience Builder, Survey123, ArcGIS Dashboards, and ArcGIS Online/Enterprise — consolidating many asset classes into unified, quality-controlled systems for state government clients. Built a Meta Llama–powered conversational AI widget in Experience Builder for natural-language map commands (e.g., "zoom to evacuation zone", "summarize assets in this area"). Implement ML workflows for LiDAR lane extraction and connected-vehicle data processing; coordinate priorities and schedules across engineering, civil/traffic, and GIS teams; document client requirements for RFP/RFI proposals; and present demos to clients and stakeholders.

May 2024 – Aug 2024

Software Product Intern

Esri Inc. (Redlands, CA)

Led technical outreach for Esri's developer community; built training resources and contributed to open-source projects. Authored Python scripts, tutorials, and a certification study guide integrating the ArcGIS API for Python with Google Colab. Published two technical articles on Esri's official developer blog and produced three instructional video tutorials on Esri's official YouTube channel.

May 2023 – Aug 2023

Computational Geospatial Data Science Intern

Intermountain Forestry Cooperative (Moscow, ID)

Built Python-based LiDAR classification and 3-D visualization workflows (pylas, PDAL, laspy). Used the Google Earth Engine JavaScript API for multi-temporal satellite image analysis, land-cover classification, and NDVI computation.

May 2023 – Apr 2024

Undergraduate Research / Student Assistant

NASA Idaho Space Grant Consortium — NEBP (Lakeview, OR & North Springfield, PA)

Supported two 30-hour balloon-launch operations for NASA's Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning Project (Oct 2023 annular and Apr 2024 total solar eclipses), gathering gravity-wave data. Applied technical and analytical methods to process and evaluate gravity-wave sensor data.

2022 – 2025

Website Editor / Developer

Nepali Students' Association | University of Idaho (Moscow, ID)

Revamped the NSA website using HTML/CSS/JS; led content strategy and tech operations; improved navigation, responsiveness, and brand consistency.

Aug 2021 – Dec 2024

Academic Tutor / Teaching Assistant

University of Idaho (Moscow, ID)

Guided 1,000+ students in Mathematics and Computer Science courses through one-on-one and group tutoring. Served as Teaching Assistant for Computer Science classes, grading and mentoring students.

Leadership & Activities

Director of Communications & Digital Engagement

International Alumni Council, University of Idaho · 2026 – Present

Lead communications strategy and stakeholder content for the newly formed executive board of the International Alumni Council.

International Student Ambassador

University of Idaho · May 2024 – May 2025

Assisted hundreds of international students, spearheaded a housing initiative, and launched "From Everywhere to Idaho," a podcast sharing international students' stories.

President

Nepali Students' Association, University of Idaho · May 2024 – May 2025

Led an executive team and an organization of 350+ members — resource planning, event budgets, and volunteer task assignments — including cultural events like Taste of Nepal.

Technical Team Lead

Senior Capstone — Lightcast Consulting Cloud

Directed a development team building a hybrid cloud-local automation platform for a real external client (Lightcast Consulting) over a year-long engagement.

LeaderShape Institute — Participant

University of Idaho · March 2025

Selected for the university's inaugural four-day national leadership development retreat.

Undergrad Life @ U of I

Four years of memories, friendships, and growth in Moscow, Idaho

Snapshots from four years in Moscow, Idaho.

Achievements & Awards

Outstanding Senior Award

One of ten seniors recognized for exceptional leadership, outstanding service, academic achievement, and commitment to serving the University of Idaho community. Required 3.0+ GPA and demonstrated excellence in campus activities. (April 2025)

Alton Campbell Community Impact Award

Funded by the Honors Leadership Council, awarded for demonstrating exceptional cultivation of student community through organizing events, discussions, and service with long-term commitment to community integrity. (April 2025)

Guy and Grace Wicks Award

One of the highest honors at U of I, recognizing senior students with outstanding success based on GPA, campus activities, and exceptional service to the university in the spirit of Guy Wicks' 34-year legacy. (April 2025)

2024 Alumni Award for Excellence

Prestigious recognition from the University of Idaho Alumni Association for exceptional achievements and contributions to the university community. (October 2024)

MLK Art & Writing Contest Winner

Won University of Idaho's Martin Luther King Jr. Art & Writing Contest for creative work celebrating diversity, equality, and social justice. (May 2024)

Cal Hacks Participant

Participated in the world's largest AI collegiate hackathon at UC Berkeley. Developed innovative voice recognition application using GPT-4 API and deep_speech technology. (June 2023)

Anjum Sadiq Memorial Scholarship

Awarded for consummate volunteerism honoring Anjum Sadiq's impact on U of I and Moscow community. Recognizes active volunteerism on campus and in the community with financial need consideration. (April 2023)

International Student Scholarship

Competitive scholarship from International Programs Office endowment recognizing strong academic performance, active campus/community participation, leadership, and clear career objectives. (January 2023)

Nepali Student Association Scholarship

Awarded for active NSA membership, participation in Taste of Nepal and NSA events, academic achievement (3.0+ GPA), and financial need. Funded by NSA fundraising efforts. (April 2022)

Outstanding First-Year Student Award

One of ten first-year students recognized for demonstrating outstanding service, leadership, and academic achievement (3.0+ GPA) with commitment to serving the university community. (April 2022)

From the Blog

December 2023

Using Google Earth Engine for Remote Sensing

Learn how to analyze NDVI for drought and non-drought years in the Palouse region using Google Earth Engine.

January 2024

Navigating the Unexpected: My 2023 Journey

Reflecting on personal growth, career development, and unexpected opportunities throughout 2023.

November 2023

Documentation as a Storytelling Medium

Exploring how effective documentation enhances collaboration and code maintenance in software development.

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