Senior Land Surveyor

NV5; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 125,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Life insurance

PTO

401(k)

Professional development

Job summary

NV5 is seeking a California Licensed PLS Senior Land Surveyor to provide professional review of work products and to manage office and field workload under the direction of the Survey Manager. This 100% office-based role supports the San Diego Survey group with quality control, scheduling, and budgeting oversight.

Responsibilities include supervising field crews, reviewing plats, preparing legal descriptions, and ensuring ALTA/NSPS standards compliance, using Civil3D, total stations, and GPS

Qualifications

• California PLS registration required.
• 8–10 years surveying/mapping experience.
• 3+ years project management experience preferred.
• Experience with local or other utility industry.
• Strong written and oral communication skills.
• Proficiency with survey instruments and software.
• Civil3D expertise and drafting skills required; bonus for lidar/hydrographic.
• Ability to read plans and specifications; attention to detail.

Responsibilities

• Provide professional oversight and guidance on projects.
• Manage office and field workload under Survey Manager.
• Review plats and prepare legal descriptions.
• Adhere to safety plans and company policies.
• Conduct quality control checks on computations and data.
• Supervise field crews or act as field crew chief.
• Perform surveys including control, boundary, ALTA/NSPS work.
• Operate survey instruments and manage data reduction.

Skills

Project management

Communication

Interpersonal skills

Reading plans

Quality assurance

Attention to detail

Team supervision

Problem solving

Education

California Professional Land Surveyor registration

Tools

Civil3D

Trimble Business Center

StarNet

GPS data reduction software

MS Word

MS Excel

Total stations

Job description

NV5 is a leading provider of tech-enabled engineering, testing, inspection, and consulting solutions for the built environment. We specialize in engineering design, asset management, and geospatial data analytics to support infrastructure resilience and building systems performance throughout the entire asset lifecycle.

NV5’s expert surveyors and geospatial specialists work across diverse environments, including deserts, rivers, mountains, and urban infrastructure. Their high-precision data minimizes errors and enhances project outcomes.

As a national leader in geospatial data , we utilize cutting-edge technologies, including lidar, topobathy, orthoimagery, hyperspectral imaging, and high-definition scanning (HDS). Our advanced drones, aircraft, robotics, and mobile data collection tools ensure accuracy and efficiency.

NV5 provides cost-effective, high-precision land surveying and mapping services for land acquisition, site development, real estate, construction projects, transportation infrastructure, and environmental assessments. Our experienced surveyors collaborate with government agencies, municipalities, commercial developers, healthcare institutions, and engineering firms to deliver tailored solutions that align with project requirements and community impact.

With decades of expertise in design & topographic survey mapping, ALTA/NSPS land title surveys, subsurface utility investigation, and aerial mapping, NV5 integrates the latest geospatial technology to ensure accuracy, efficiency, and regulatory compliance.

We are seeking a California Licensed PLS Senior Land Surveyor to provide professional review of work products, manage office and field workload under the direction of the Survey Manager, and support the Survey Manager in maintaining project schedules and budgets.

This role involves conducting various types of survey research, computations, reviewing computer-aided survey drafting of topographic maps and plats, and preparing written descriptions of land for deeds, leases, and other legal documents per local, state, federal, and project requirements. The Senior Surveyor will review projects, perform quality assurance, and report progress through completion on each project assigned.

This role is 100% office-based in our San Diego Survey group.

Responsibilities

• Provide professional and technical oversight and guidance.
• Perform project research, logistics, and management; review plats and prepare legal descriptions.
• Adhere to company policies, safety plans, and project safety plans.
• Conduct quality control checks on each project, including computations, field book formats, and content.
• Supervise project field crews and/or serve as field crew chief.
• Work on control, boundary, subdivision, topographic, and design surveys, ALTA /NSPS standards, aerial mapping surveys, and may also perform hydrographic surveying.
• Accurately run and adjust survey measuring instruments, including digital levels, GPS equipment, and total stations with electronic data collecting capabilities.
• Identify and understand basic sources of measurement errors.
• Perform mathematical calculations and check field data.
• Perform data reduction, field note reduction, calculations, data checks, and staking.
• Computations using survey programs and Civil3D.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• California Professional Land Surveyor registration certification
• 8-10 years of surveying and mapping experience required.
• 3+ years of project management experience preferred.
• Must have experience with the local or other utility industry
• Strong interpersonal skills and practical written and oral communication skills.
• Proficiency in using total stations, GPS receivers, data collectors, and GPS reduction software.
• Proficiency in Trimble Business Center, StarNet, or similar survey processing software.
• Experience in Civil3D with demonstrated survey drafting skills required; excellent Civil3D skills a plus.
• Ability to read and understand survey drawings, plans, and specifications.
• UAV / UAS operation, data acquisition, and data reduction experience a plus.
• Knowledge of principles of monumentation, staking, and marking.
• Experience in hydrographic surveying is a plus.
• Experience with lidar data processing is a plus.
• Proficiency with MS Word and Excel.

Physical Demands:

• Ability to effectively manage stress in the workplace without losing time or undue strain.
• Frequently required to sit, walk, talk, or listen.
• Specific vision abilities required include close vision, distance vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.
• Must be able to sit for extended periods, work at a computer terminal for extended periods, type/key-in data, and answer telephones frequently as needed.
• Adherence to company policies, safety plans, and project safety plans is required.

The pay range for this position in California is $125,000 to $170,000 per year. Base pay offered may be higher or lower depending on job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and location of the candidate. Restricted stock units may be provided as part of the compensation package, in addition to a full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the position offered.

All local employment laws apply. Base pay information is based on market location.

NV5 offers a competitive compensation and benefits package including medical, dental, life insurance, PTO, 401(k) and professional development/advancement opportunities.

NV5 provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, amnesty, or status as a covered veteran in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws. NV5 complies with applicable state and local laws governing non-discrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including, but not limited to, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.

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