Federal Master Planning GIS Practice Lead
Tetra Tech
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Benefits offered by this job
Job summary
Tetra Tech is seeking a GIS Practice Lead for the Federal Master Planning team in Colorado Springs. This role combines strategic leadership with hands‑on GIS delivery and team mentorship to advance our geospatial capabilities across the practice.
The ideal candidate brings 5+ years of GIS experience, strong ArcGIS proficiency, and a proven ability to coordinate with diverse stakeholders while driving efficiency, data quality, and innovative GIS solutions.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Geographic Information Systems, Geography, Urban Planning, Environmental Science, Computer Science, Natural Resources, or a related field.
- Minimum of 5 years of professional GIS experience, including multi-disciplinary planning support.
- Proficiency with GIS software such as ArcGIS Pro and ArcGIS Online.
Responsibilities
- Lead strategic execution with the FMP Director and leaders to translate goals into workflows.
- Mentor staff, coach behaviors, and develop career paths within GIS.
- Oversee workflows, staffing allocations, and cost understanding.
- Design and maintain web maps, dashboards, and GIS tools for internal/external use.
- Coordinate with planners, scientists, engineers, and project managers across teams.
- Manage GIS project schedules, deliverables, and stakeholder coordination.
Skills
Education
Tools
Job description
Tetra Tech is adding GIS Practice Lead to our Federal Master Planning team based in Colorado Springs.
At Tetra Tech, we are Leading with Science to solve the world’s most complex challenges. Our industry-leading experts in engineering and consulting are committed to driving positive change in communities around the world. For over 50 years, we have been at the forefront of innovation and sustainability. Today we stand as a market leader, offering cutting‑edge solutions in water, environment, energy, and international development. Our work has improved more than 625 million lives around the world.
Join Tetra Tech to make a real difference. Our work leverages cutting‑edge technologies, advanced analytics, and the expertise of world‑class scientists and engineers to create meaningful change around the world. Discover your full potential – join us to advance your career while leaving a lasting legacy.
A practice leadership role requires balancing strategic business execution with hands‑on team mentorship and operational oversight.
- Strategic Execution: Working with the FMP Director, Practice Leaders, and Goal Captains, translate high‑level FMP Strategic Plan goals into concrete workflows for your discipline.
- Talent Development: Mentor staff, coach on‑job behaviors, foster innovation, and develop discipline career paths.
- Operational Oversight: Monitor workflow, staffing allocations, and create an understanding of costs.
- Culture and Communication: Model positive behaviors, facilitate team alignment, and maintain alignment with FMP vision
In this role, you will help advance and unify our GIS capabilities across the Federal Master Planning Practice. This individual will bring a strong GIS background, demonstrated experience in team leadership, geospatial workflows, and the ability to coordinate, mentor, and support a network of GIS analysts. The ideal candidate will identify opportunities to improve efficiency, consistency, and analytical power by thoughtfully integrating visualization of complex concepts, AI‑enabled tools, and collaborative GIS practices.
- Curiosity and Exploration: We are perpetually curious, building on our expert understanding through continued education and progressive problem‑solving. We reject complacency and encourage explorative, collaborative thinking.
- Transparency and Trust: We prioritize transparent communication to create long‑lasting relationships, fostering a culture of truth and respect.
- Passion for Planning: We deeply believe in our collective potential to create meaningful impacts on the daily life of a community. The quality of our work is fueled by our passion for planning and owning our clients’ interests as if they were our own.
- Lead monthly practice meetings; active participation in Quarterly FMP Strategic Plan Goal Progress Reviews
- Supervisory Responsibilities: May supervise GIS analysts, technicians, interns, consultants, or contract support.
- Responsible for assigning work, reviewing deliverables, coaching staff, and supporting skill development.
- Ensure data quality, consistency, accuracy, and version control across GIS workflows and products.
- Design and maintain web‑based maps, interactive applications, dashboards, and internal or public‑facing GIS tools.
- Collaborate with planners, environmental scientists, biologists, cultural resource specialists, engineers, real estate professionals, facilities personnel, and project managers.
- Manage GIS project schedules, priorities, deliverables, and coordination with internal and external stakeholders.
- Train staff and users on GIS tools, mapping standards, and data interpretation.
- Coordinate with local, state, tribal, federal, and private partners to obtain, validate, and share geospatial data.
- Evaluate and implement emerging GIS technologies, automation tools, and best practices to improve efficiency and decision‑making.
- Develop workflows and procedures that support compliance, records management, data governance, and accessibility requirements.
- Support stakeholder and public engagement efforts by creating clear, compelling visual materials for meetings, workshops, briefings, and online platforms.
- Supervise GIS analysts, technicians, interns, or consultants.
- Serve as the team’s lead integrator for GIS and geospatial solutions.
- Identify opportunities to improve GIS workflows through quality standards, automation, AI‑assisted analysis, and data management tools.
- Collaborate with GIS analysts across our organization to encourage knowledge sharing, consistency, and reuse of best practices.
- Provide mentoring, coaching, and technical guidance to GIS analysts at varying levels of experience.
- Evaluate emerging tools and determine their applicability to our GIS operations, spatial analysis, and map production.
- Support the development of scalable, repeatable GIS processes that improve efficiency and output quality.
- Coordinate with project teams and leadership to ensure GIS resources are effectively aligned with organizational needs.
- Promote innovation in the use of GIS while maintaining quality, accuracy, and data integrity.
- Conduct activities in line with internal procedures, legislation, and industry standards.
- Pursue continuous professional development and maintain a high degree of discipline, knowledge and awareness.
- Work in a safe manner at all times and report all health and safety incidents and concerns.
- Additional duties as required.
- Bachelor’s degree in Geographic Information Systems, Geography, Urban Planning, Environmental Science, Computer Science, Natural Resources, or a related field.
- Minimum of 5 years of professional GIS experience, including experience supporting multi‑disciplinary planning or environmental programs.
- Demonstrated experience with GIS applications in planning, environmental analysis, facilities, or infrastructure‑related work.
- Proficiency with GIS software such as ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Online, and related ESRI products.
- Strong knowledge of spatial analysis, cartography, data management, and geoprocessing.
- Experience working with large and complex datasets from multiple sources.
- Strong written, verbal, and visual communication skills, including the ability to explain technical concepts to non‑technical audiences.
- Ability to manage multiple priorities and work collaboratively across departments and business lines.
- Master’s degree in GIS, Urban Planning, Environmental Planning, Geography, Public Administration, or a related field.
- Experience supporting master planning and familiarity with space management, facility planning, asset inventory, or real property systems.
- Experience developing web maps, dashboards, story maps, and GIS applications.
- Familiarity with demographic analysis, scenario planning, and long‑range planning methods.
- Professional certification such as GISP.
- Experience supporting public sector, utility, defense, transportation, or consulting environments.
- May supervise GIS analysts, technicians, interns, consultants, or contract support.
- Responsible for assigning work, reviewing deliverables, coaching staff, and supporting skill development.
This position requires the candidate to be a U.S. Citizen due to the projects they will be working on.
If this position requires a CAC card, CUI Enclave Access and/or a Security Clearance, a background check will be completed.
The physical demands described here are representative of those required of an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
This work is principally performed in an office environment; however, there are occasional requirements to visit office sites, which may involve working in an office or outdoors. Travel to conferences and client sites is expected to be less than 25% of the time.
- Fluent in English with excellent verbal and written communication skills, including technical writing and editing.
- Proven ability to produce high‑quality reports and presentations for senior leadership.
- Strong skills in preparing and presenting reports and project documentation.
- Excellent oral and written communication skills for preparing and presenting information.
- Highly organized and methodical.
- Strong customer service mindset.
- Clear communicator with patience for helping users adopt better practices.
- Able to balance governance with practicality.
- Able to work independently while coordinating with project managers, technical leads, administrative staff, and IT.
- Understands the importance of version control, access control, data quality, and long‑term information retrieval.
- Metadata Governance
- Comprehensive and market‑competitive benefits.
- Merit‑based financial rewards.
- Flexibility and company‑wide commitment to work/life balance.
- Collaborative team atmosphere that values the contributions of all employees.
- Learning and development opportunities for ongoing professional growth.
The salary range for this position is $ 92,000- $110,000. Please note that Tetra Tech considers various factors in determining pay, including, but not limited to geographic location, qualifications, licensures, certifications, experience, and other skills relevant to the needs of the business. Additional information on our benefits package can be found at Life at Tetra Tech - Tetra Tech.
Tetra Tech is the leader in water, environment, and sustainable infrastructure, providing high‑end consulting and engineering services for projects worldwide. With 30,000 employees working together, Tetra Tech provides clear solutions to complex problems by Leading with Science® to address the entire water cycle, protect and restore the environment, design sustainable and resilient infrastructure, and support the clean energy transition.
Tetra Tech is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified candidates will be considered without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, sex, marital or familial status, status as a protected veteran, or any other characteristic protected by law. Tetra Tech is a VEVRAA federal contractor and we request priority referral of veterans.
Explore our open positions at https://www.tetratech.com/careers. Follow us on social media to learn more about our people, culture, and opportunities:
Twitter: @TetraTechJobs
We thank all applicants for their interest, however, only those candidates selected for interviews will be contacted.
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