Senior LiDAR Mapping Scientist — Lead Production & Standards

Prairie Engineers, P.C.; Columbia (IL); On-site; USD 80,000 - 135,000; Full time

Job summary

Prairie Engineers, P.C. invites a Senior LiDAR Mapping Scientist to own LiDAR production from acquisition specs through classified point clouds, surfaces, accuracy reporting, and client delivery.

You will lead office production and mentor UAV Pilots and mapping staff, set methods, quality control, and level‑of‑effort estimates, reporting to the Mapping Discipline Lead on multidisciplinary projects. This role drives repeatable, high‑quality LiDAR mapping across datasets.

Qualifications

• 8+ years producing mapping-grade LiDAR products for design or engineering clients not visualization alone.
• Demonstrated classification, surface modeling, and written accuracy reporting. Additional Photogrammetric Experience a plus.
• Experience estimating mapping scopes for government and private clients.
• Comfort working directly with licensed surveyors, pilots, and design engineers. Federal A‑E or state DOT mapping experience is a plus.
• Bachelor's degree in geomatics, photogrammetry, surveying, geography, or a related field preferred; equivalent production experience accepted.
• ASPRS Certified Mapping Scientist – LiDAR (CMS‑LiDAR) or ASPRS Certified Photogrammetrist (CP) strongly preferred.
• Experience With Python, Scripting, Batch Processing, Or Other Geospatial workflow automation is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Specify internal acquisition methods and/or vendor/flight requirements for UAV, airborne, mobile, SLAM, and terrestrial LiDAR and limited photogrammetry projects.
• Process, calibrate, classify, and deliver point clouds and derived surfaces (DEM/DSM, breaklines, contours, hydro‑flattening).
• Design Quality Control workflows; assess vertical/horizontal accuracy against ASPRS Positional Accuracy Standards and project specifications.
• Diagnose failed trajectories, weak control, datum issues, classification errors, and surface artifacts. Identify root causes and implement practical corrections before data delivery.
• Prepare level‑of effort and cost estimates for mapping task orders and proposals.
• Mentor junior mapping scientists and technicians and develop repeatable production standards along with support for hydrographic, GIS, engineering, and other staff on multidisciplinary projects.

Skills

LiDAR production

Classification

Surface modeling

Accuracy reporting

Python scripting

Education

Bachelor's degree in geomatics or related field

Tools

Terrasolid Suite

Spatial Explorer Pro

Phoenix Lidar Mill

LP360

Global Mapper

TopoDOT

Pix4Dmatic

ArcGIS Pro

Civil 3D

Recap

Bentley Open Roads Designer

HyPack/HySweep

Applanix PosPac

Job description

Prairie Engineers, P.C. invites a Senior LiDAR Mapping Scientist to own LiDAR production from acquisition specs through classified point clouds, surfaces, accuracy reporting, and client delivery.

You will lead office production and mentor UAV Pilots and mapping staff, set methods, quality control, and level‑of‑effort estimates, reporting to the Mapping Discipline Lead on multidisciplinary projects. This role drives repeatable, high‑quality LiDAR mapping across datasets.