GIS · Software Engineering · Applied Data Science
HikesNH LLC is a New Hampshire-based consultancy built on three and a half decades of production GIS and software engineering — from statewide spatial databases and nautical charts used by the U.S. Coast Guard, to deep-learning feature detection and coastal-science platforms running today.
What We Do
Every category below reflects work we've delivered for real clients — not aspirational skills. Most projects draw on two or three of these at once.
Custom map production and cartographic design from source data to print-ready output, backed by automated rendering pipelines (Mapnik, GDAL, PostGIS), GeoPDF and streaming web-map publishing, and management of large multi-layer spatial databases — including a statewide New Hampshire dataset spanning 150+ layers and 15+ terabytes.
Full-stack web applications (Python/Flask, JavaScript) and cross-platform mobile apps (Flutter/Dart) for data-driven and geospatial products — from a coastal-ecosystem research platform to a solar-power reporting site to a field navigation app for iOS and Android.
Spatial database design and administration in PostGIS/PostgreSQL at production, multi-terabyte scale — schema design, stored-procedure logic, and automated QA systems that catch problems before they ship.
Processing and analysis of LIDAR, aerial, and multispectral satellite imagery (Sentinel-2, Planet Labs, NAIP) for shoreline mapping, vegetation classification, and environmental analysis, from raw capture through to finished map products.
Production deep-learning systems (YOLO, Mask R-CNN) for automated feature identification across multi-terabyte imagery archives — trained, tuned, and deployed on hardware-accelerated pipelines, with human-in-the-loop annotation tools built to speed up labeling.
Agentic AI workflows for research, reporting, and document management, plus extensive use of coding agents to accelerate software development, testing, quality assurance, and documentation.
Site-suitability and feasibility modeling, tidal-datum shoreline mapping (Highest Astronomical Tide, Mean Low Water), and spectral libraries built to support climate-resilience planning for coastal researchers and land trusts.
Purpose-built automation for data pipelines and reporting, format-conversion utilities, and embedded/IoT development in Python, C++, and C — including microcontroller-based sensor and control systems.
Automated monitoring and reporting systems for solar energy production — aggregating site-level data and submitting production figures to regional bodies like NEPOOL and MassCEC.
Patented navigation technology and chart rendering/display engines for nautical and aviation use, plus nautical file-format conversion utilities built for the U.S. Coast Guard.
Network and computer hardware setup and configuration, plus nautical electronics installation and networking — chart plotters, radar, AIS, GPS, depth sounders, and satellite communications.
Flight and ground planning, live GPS tracking, and remote chart management over satellite link for teams working in the field, drawing on direct experience supporting scientific and exploration expeditions in the Arctic, Greenland, and the Russian Far North.
Track Record
A sample of platforms and projects delivered in recent years, plus long-running collaborations with technology partners.
Built a live research and planning platform for Maine and New Hampshire coastal ecosystems, using Flask, Flutter, and PostGIS on AWS.
Developed three climate-resilience site-suitability models for a Maine conservation organization, covering the southern Maine coast and built on 48 scored attribute layers.
Built an open-access spectroscopy data library for intertidal vegetation, with upload, search, and REST access.
Provided senior engineering on the Terrain Professional mapping package — streaming downloads, geodesy, timber cruising, and cloud integration.
Built a website that automatically monitors solar energy production across multiple sites in New Hampshire and reports production figures to NEPOOL and MassCEC.
Developed a cross-platform mobile application in Flutter/Dart for navigation and data collection on custom maps, downloading map and navigation data from a dedicated AWS server and running on iOS (iPhone and iPad), Android, Windows, and Linux.
Developed a conservation easement ranking website for New Hampshire conservation groups, scoring over 100 individual data layers for parcel assessment and supporting multiple ranking models built for different priority systems.
Developed a cloud-based workflow for automated identification of ground-based objects in high-resolution aerial photography, handling terabyte-scale imagery with custom interfaces for data entry, AI model training, and automated feature identification, plus a feedback loop for self-training and shared cloud database storage.
About
BA in Applied Mathematics from Carnegie Mellon University, followed by 35 years building geospatial software and production mapping systems — as a VP of Product Development, senior consultant, and now as founder of HikesNH LLC in Brentwood, New Hampshire. Holder of two U.S. patents in navigation technology and co-author of published research spanning cognitive science and coastal ecology.
Off the clock: steward of a 1,700+ acre conservation woodlot in Maine, volunteer trail maintainer for the U.S. Forest Service and Appalachian Mountain Club, and a hiker of all 48 of New Hampshire's 4,000-footers in both winter and summer — the work this company is named for — plus a top-5 age-group finish at the 2025 USATF Mountain Running Championships.
Get in Touch
Whether it's a single mapping problem or an ongoing engineering engagement, we'd like to hear about it.