Senior Urban Arborist: Street Tree Protection & Planning

City-of-Seattle; Washington; On-site; USD 167,655,000 - 194,933,000; Full time

Job summary

City of Seattle’s SDOT seeks an Arborist within the Right of Way and Urban Forestry division to plan, protect, and manage trees affected by transportation projects. You’ll oversee plan reviews, conduct risk assessments, manage GIS inventories, and respond to public inquiries while guiding field staff.

Strong candidates will have ISA arborist credentials, TRAQ, and experience reading engineering drawings, with a focus on protecting trees during construction and coordinating with contractors.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in horticulture, landscape architecture, or forestry or closely related field.
• Requires five or more years as an Arborist or Landscape Architect with street use or urban landscape design; at least two years in supervisory roles.
• Driver’s license or evidence of equivalent mobility.
• Equivalent education/experience accepted.

Responsibilities

• Review and interpret engineering drawings and landscape plans; suggest design modifications to protect trees.
• Develop and monitor tree protection plans; supervise field inspections across project phases.
• Supervise a team of Arboriculturists inspecting protection, pruning, and removals.
• Manage tree inventory (GIS); track removals and plantings; document mitigation needs.
• Provide training to staff on tree removal, protection, pruning, or planting.
• Coordinate Urban Forestry work orders and field support during construction.
• Develop scope for tree planting projects and liaise with contractors.
• Respond to public inquiries about tree work.

Skills

Arborist

Supervision

TRAQ

ISA Certified Arborist

A300 Standards

Reading engineering drawings

Tree protection

Education

Bachelors in horticulture/landscape/forestry

Tools

ArcGIS Pro

Bluebeam Revu

MS Office 365

Job description

City of Seattle’s SDOT seeks an Arborist within the Right of Way and Urban Forestry division to plan, protect, and manage trees affected by transportation projects. You’ll oversee plan reviews, conduct risk assessments, manage GIS inventories, and respond to public inquiries while guiding field staff.

Strong candidates will have ISA arborist credentials, TRAQ, and experience reading engineering drawings, with a focus on protecting trees during construction and coordinating with contractors.