Survey Engineer - Fully Remote | Upto $60/hr

Obsidian; New York (NY); Remote; USD 62,000 - 83,000; Part time

Job summary

Obsidian is building a specialized practice that delivers plan review comments, survey exception schedules, and measured reads from real drawings, maps, aerials, and site documents. Task authorship and peer review ensure accuracy before submission.

The team seeks civil engineers, land development engineers, land surveyors, geospatial professionals, or Phase I environmental analysts based in the US, with PE or PLS credentials and 3+ years of relevant experience.

Qualifications

• Minimum 3 years in site, civil and survey review role in the US.
• PE in civil engineering or PLS credential is required.
• Experience with US DOT standards or local land development practice preferred.
• Ability to read drawings, maps, aerials and parcel data.

Responsibilities

• Review site, civil and survey drawings and produce plan review comments.
• Prepare survey exceptions, ALTA/closing survey items and elevation checks.
• Coordinate with reviewers and clients, ensuring regulatory compliance across jurisdictions.
• Mentor EITs or junior survey crews and support project resubmittal cycles.

Skills

Civil engineering

Land development

Land surveying

Geospatial analysis

Phase I environmental

Education

PE license (civil)

PLS (Professional Land Surveyor)

Job description

We are building a large set of evaluation tasks for the construction and property field. Each task starts from real drawings, maps, aerials and site documents, and asks for the same structured deliverable you would produce at work: a plan review comment set, a survey exception schedule, a measured read. You author the task and the correct answer, and a second reviewer in your discipline checks it before it ships.

What you would be buildingTasks drawn from real site, civil and survey work, including: civil grading plan review, erosion and sediment control plan review, stormwater design plan review, roadway plan check, work-zone and traffic control plan review, utility service drawing review, floodplain permit review, civil RFI response review, landscape ordinance and tree protection review, earthwork quantity verification and stockpile volume certification, ALTA Table A survey items, title survey exception review, closing survey setback review, elevation certificate photo checks, topographic map review and map stack reading, historic aerial and Sanborn map dating, and assessor sketch verification.

Who we are looking forYou currently hold, or recently held, the seat that produces or reviews site, civil and survey work: civil engineer, land development engineer, land surveyor, or geospatial or Phase I environmental analyst.PE in civil engineering, or PLS for the survey and mapping work.3 or more years in the seat, US based, working to US standards and state DOT or local land development practice. We prefer 8 or more years.You are comfortable moving between drawing sets, aerials, topographic maps and parcel data.

What makes someone excellent hereThe hard part is not reading the sheet, it is knowing which quantity, contour or exception a reviewer takes on faith. Standouts have usually reviewed submittals for an agency or DOT, mentored EITs or survey crews, carried a project through agency resubmittal cycles, or worked across several jurisdictions and can name what each one checks differently.

Probably not a fitGIS analysts who have not reviewed engineered drawings, drone pilots without survey credentials, environmental scientists whose work is sampling rather than site plan review, and CAD technicians without design or review responsibility.

Paid hourly at $45 to $60 depending on experience, with a path to grow your rate as the project scales.