Sr. LiDAR & Geospatial Scientist

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

Senior LiDAR Mapping Scientist

Prairie Engineers is a small business engineering, surveying and mapping, and natural resources firm serving federal, state, and private clients nationwide. We are hiring a Senior LiDAR Mapping Scientist to own LiDAR production from acquisition specifications through classified point clouds, surfaces, accuracy assessment, and client delivery and to build that capability into a repeatable practice.

You will lead Office production and mentor UAV Pilots and existing mapping staff who already field collect LiDAR and perform basic geospatial production. You will set methods, tool selection, quality control, and level‑of effort estimates and will report directly to our Mapping Discipline Lead (who additionally oversees Hydrographic Survey, Subsurface Utility Engineering (SUE), and Geospatial practices). You also will support land survey, hydrographic surveying, and engineering staff on multidisciplinary projects.

The Opportunity

Field acquisition and partner manned‑aircraft collection are in place.

This role industrializes classification, surface production, accuracy reporting, and production standards so Prairie can deliver mapping‑grade products consistently across UAV, mobile, terrestrial, SLAM, and partner aerial datasets. Anticipated Salary Range is $80,000/year to $135,000/year depending on ability, experience, certifications, and education.

What You Will Do

• 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.

Tools and Deliverables

Prairie acquires data with NDAA‑compliant LiDAR sensors flown on Blue Light sUAS platforms, plus mobile, terrestrial, and SLAM systems. We partner with other mapping firms for larger manned‑aircraft LiDAR and imagery.

Current production tools include the Terrasolid Suite (TerraScan and related modules), Spatial Explorer Pro, Phoenix Lidar Mill, LP360, Global Mapper, TopoDOT, Pix4Dmatic, ArcGIS Pro, Civil 3D and Recap, Bentley Open Roads Designer, HyPack/HySweep, Applanix PosPac.

You will own recommendations to improve this suite for efficiency and accuracy.

Deliverables include design‑scale topographic mapping, transportation corridor mapping, levee/flood mapping, and occasional topo‑bathymetric LiDAR tied to in‑house hydrographic survey.

What You Bring

• 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.

How You Align

• People Focused: Professional, respectful, and team‑oriented, with a strong work ethic and the ability to collaborate internally and externally.
• Can Do Attitude: Positively engages with challenges, facilitates problem‑solving, and takes initiative to deliver solutions.
• Responsive: Communicates openly, proactively, and promptly, with excellent verbal and written communication skills.

Why Prairie

Prairie Engineers is small enough that this role shapes our mapping practice and large enough to pursue substantial, technically complex mapping work. We hold prime surveying and mapping contracts in multiple USACE Districts, prime state DOT and DNR contracts, and have performed mapping wor