Survey Party Chief

Job Title: Survey Party ChiefJob Description

The Survey Party Chief leads field survey crews and coordinates daily activities to ensure accurate, timely, and high-quality deliverables for a wide range of land surveying projects. Working closely with senior survey leadership and office staff, this role oversees field operations, manages schedules and progress, and maintains strong communication to meet client deadlines and project goals.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate, communicate, and collaborate effectively with survey leadership and survey office staff to ensure project requirements are clearly understood and client deadlines are consistently met.
• Manage day-to-day oversight of the survey schedule, monitoring field progress and deliverables to keep projects on track.
• Lead field survey crews by providing daily information and direction based on project plans and guidance from the Assistant Field Survey Program Manager.
• Offer clear guidance to field crew members regarding project schedules, task priorities, and daily status updates.
• Gather and review information from field crews to support efficient completion of project deliverables within required timeframes.
• Inspect each job site for potential safety hazards and ensure appropriate protective equipment and safety protocols are in place and followed.
• Perform and oversee all technical field efforts, ensuring measurements, observations, and records are accurate and complete.
• Make trigonometric calculations, including traverses and calculation of coordinates, control points, quantities, and areas.
• Research existing record information, such as record maps, plans, deeds, easements, and right-of-way documents, to support survey work and verify site conditions.
• Assist in the completion of all types of surveys, including topographic, boundary, ALTA, as-built, and construction stakeout surveys.
• Ensure accurate and detailed daily upload and download of data, photographs, and field notes into appropriate systems.
• Maintain proficiency in all survey equipment and ensure it is properly operated, maintained, and available for field use.
• Drive a company vehicle from the office to survey sites and represent the survey team professionally at all project locations.

Essential Skills

• 3-5+ years of land surveying experience, including topographic surveys, boundary surveys, ALTA surveys, as-builts, and construction stakeouts.
• Proven experience in field surveying with responsibility for data collection and field documentation.
• Experience working as an instrument operator or field survey crew chief, leading or supporting field survey teams.
• Hands-on experience operating and maintaining survey equipment such as Total Stations, Leica, Trimble, TopCon, and GPS instruments.
• Strong ability to perform trigonometric calculations, including traverses and the calculation of coordinates, control points, quantities, and areas.
• Ability to research and interpret record maps, plans, deeds, easements, and right-of-way documents.
• Capability to work outdoors in the field for extended periods and adapt to varying site and weather conditions.
• Valid driver's license with the ability to safely operate a company vehicle between office and job sites.

Additional Skills & Qualifications

• Experience in land surveying across residential, commercial, and infrastructure-related projects.
• Background in civil survey work, including topographic surveys, boundary surveys, and construction stakeout activities.
• Familiarity with ALTAs, stormwater, development, and infrastructure-related surveying.
• Experience working with robotics-enabled survey equipment and modern GPS-based survey systems.
• Ability to lead and mentor survey crew members, fostering strong teamwork and communication in the field.
• Strong attention to detail and commitment to accurate data collection, documentation, and reporting.
• Organizational skills to manage multiple tasks, schedules, and project priorities simultaneously.
• Comfort working with technology used for data upload, download, and digital field note management.

Work Environment

This role is primarily field-based, with daily reporting to the Woodbridge, VA office before departing to survey sites. The Survey Party Chief works on a variety of projects, with a focus on residential communities and commercial developments across different phases of design and construction. The broader team consists of approximately three dozen professionals organized into multiple project-focused teams, creating a collaborative environment with shared expertise and support. The position involves driving a company vehicle from the office to job sites, working outdoors in diverse terrain and weather conditions, and using modern survey technologies and equipment such as Total Stations, Leica, Trimble, TopCon, and GPS instruments. The schedule offers flexibility, along with competitive pay, benefits, and bonus opportunities, in a professional setting that emphasizes safety, accuracy, and teamwork.

Job Type & Location

This is a Permanent position based out of WOODBRIDGE, VA.

Pay and Benefits

The pay range for this position is $52000.00 - $80000.00/yr.

Individual compensation offered for this position within this range will depend on many factors, including qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, geographic location, internal equity, and other pertinent job-related factors.

Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job classification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may be subject to specific elections, plan, or program terms. If eligible, the benefits available for this temporary role may include the following: • Medical, dental & vision • Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital • 401(k) Retirement Plan - Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available • Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents) • Short and long-term disability • Health Spending Account (HSA) • Transportation benefits • Employee Assistance Program • Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)

Workplace Type

This is a fully onsite position in WOODBRIDGE,VA.

Application Deadline

This position is anticipated to close on Oct 7, 2026.

About Actalent

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing winner for both client and talent service.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law.

If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or adjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability, please email actalentaccommodation@actalentservices.com for other accommodation options.

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Massachusetts Lie Detector: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process, including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applications and qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, you acknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.