Hello, my name is Omar Kawach

My diverse experience will bring a unique perspective to your workplace. Resume available upon request.

  • Computer scientist
  • Geographer
  • Biotechnologist
  • Speaker
  • Writer
Portrait of Omar Kawach
Omar presenting for the ArcGIS Maps SDK for JavaScript at Esri's 2025 Developer & Technology Summit Plenary
Alternate portrait of Omar Kawach
Omar presenting for the ArcGIS Maps SDK for JavaScript at Esri's 2024 Developer & Technology Summit Plenary

Biography

Omar Kawach possesses a multidisciplinary background that combines Computer Science, Geography (Geomatics), and Biotechnology, enabling him to tackle technical challenges holistically.

As a Senior Product Engineer at Environmental Systems Research Institute (Esri), he focuses on the productization of Web GIS products, particularly the ArcGIS Maps SDK for JavaScript’s web component libraries and some parts of ArcGIS Online (SaaS).

His role involves ensuring product quality from ideation to delivery by collaborating with cross-functional teams to align products with user needs and business goals.

His extensive responsibilities include defining technical requirements, architectural improvements, governance, prototype design, conducting code reviews, promoting knowledge sharing, facilitating new hire success, advocating for internationalization and accessibility, maintaining documentation, and overseeing software release processes.

Work experience

Senior Product Engineer — Esri

June 2022 – Present

Established governance and practices to improve long‑term viability, cost‑efficiency, and delivery across Web GIS products.

Elevated product quality and customer outcomes through research, design, development, and rigorous end‑to‑end testing of web components.

Authored documentation, blogs, Esri magazine articles, presentations, tutorials, and template apps to accelerate adoption and onboarding.

Led the creation of internal knowledge resources, promoted resource fluidity, and co‑architected a refactor of a flagship no‑code app builder to significantly reduce build and deploy times.

  • LLMs
  • MCP
  • Web components
  • Lit
  • Node
  • TypeScript
  • React
  • Vue
  • Angular
  • Vite
  • Astro
  • Turborepo
  • GitHub Actions
  • Vitest
  • Storybook
  • ArcGIS Maps SDK for JavaScript
  • ArcGIS Online

GIS Web Developer — Statistics Canada (Contract)

Jan 2021 – Aug 2021

Used ArcGIS, frontend and backend technologies (JavaScript, NodeJS, and Python) to implement a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) web application that allowed subject matter experts and the public to securely analyze and grab data from a map-based user interface.

  • ArcGIS Enterprise
  • ArcGIS REST JS
  • ArcGIS Maps SDK for JavaScript
  • D3.js
  • Node.js
  • JavaScript/HTML/CSS
  • Python
  • ETL

Research Assistant — Carleton University

Jun 2020 – Dec 2020

Built a COVID game simulator in Autodesk Forge Viewer (now Autodesk Platform Services) as a real-world application that could train industry practitioners to improve ventilation or spatial design, make informed risk assessments, and observe contact tracing.

Used OpenLayers, an open-source GIS library, to develop a web application that spatially represents Discrete Event System Specification (DEVS) simulation results.

  • Autodesk Forge Viewer
  • Three.js
  • OpenLayers
  • JavaScript
  • C++

Education

University of Victoria (2019–2022)

BSc Combined Major: Geomatics

Relevant Courses: GIS, Remote Sensing, Data Visualization (JavaScript), Relational Databases (MySQL), 2D Image Processing & Computer Graphics, Artificial Intelligence (Python), Data Structures & Algorithms (Java), Linear Algebra, Statistics (R), Operating Systems (C/C++), HCI design.

Software: ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Online, Google Earth Engine, QGIS, GeoDa, Microsoft Office Suites

Awards: 2021 Esri Canada Higher Education GIS Scholarship

Capstone project: Interactive Learner – GIS, your one-stop shop for all things GIS!

Class research: Deep learning and remote sensing for sea ice concentration classification using Sentinel-1 optical data and pixel-based segmentation (paper).

  • Libraries: Scikit-learn, TensorFlow, Keras, OpenCV, Scikit-image, Imbalanced-learn, Pandas, Seaborn, Matplotlib

Algonquin College (2015–2018)

Advanced Diploma: Biotechnology

Courses: Genetic Engineering, Molecular Biology, Microbiology, Biochemistry, Bioinformatics, Regulatory Affairs, Natural Sciences.

Awards: Dean’s Honors List for high academic standing.

Capstone project: Assisted federal & provincial collaboration studying factors influencing oral rabies vaccination success in raccoons (image).

Achievements

Autodesk University Forge Hackathon 2020

1st Best 3D Game • 2nd Overall

COVID 3D training & risk simulation using Autodesk Forge Viewer, Three.js, and D3.js.

  • Python
  • JavaScript
  • Node

AEC Hackathon 2020

1st Best Hack for Humans

Visualized viral particle spread leveraging BIM and Autodesk Forge Viewer, Three.js, and D3.js.

  • C++
  • Python
  • JavaScript

Publication

SIMAUD 2021

Cloud workflow integrating BIM with DEVS simulation for performance insights.

Other work experience

Lab Assistant — Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)

May 2017 – Aug 2018

Was responsible for experiments supporting collaborative research on oral rabies vaccination campaign of wildlife including conducting virus neutralization assays and vaccine titrations.

Database management for various projects including reporting the monthly occurrences of rabies as part of a coordinated World Health Organization effort to control/eradicate rabies in the Americas.

Setup newly acquired BioTek Epoch2 Microplate Reader and Gen5 3.03 software by validating, troubleshooting, and producing an 8-page manual.

Maintained mammalian cell cultures; e.g. cell lines HEK293, VERO(A) and MNA. Performed monoclonal antibody clarification, purification and enzyme-labelling for an internally-funded competitive ELISA development project.

Security Guard — Commissionaires

May 2016 – May 2018

Obtained Level II SECRET security clearance 2017 (Inactive).

Ensured access control by verifying appropriate documentation, and issued keys and passes to staff, students and visitors

Monitored alarm systems and closed-circuit television

Preserved daily log of on premise occurrences and incidences.

Performed general work safety inspections throughout buildings, and followed emergency procedures when necessary

Control of protected information (A, B and C).

Lab Assistant (High School Intern) — CFIA

Jan 2015 – Jun 2015, Sept 2013 – Jan 2014

Proposed the use of Interscience Scan® 1200 automatic HD colony counter equipment and software to increase lab efficiencies. Bacterial colony counting tasks that would take hours became minutes, results were easily traceable, automated, and exportable in different data formats.

Used microbiological techniques to grow bacterial cultures on selective media (Campylobacter jejuni in vegetables).

Expertise with pH meters, spectrophotometers, light microscope, centrifuges and column chromatography.