NPS GIS: Coronado National Memorial
Overview:
The National Park Service's Southeast Arizona Group (SEAZ) includes Coronado National Memorial, Chiricahua National Monument, and Fort Bowie National Historic Site. The trio of parks are managed by one leadership team, headed by a superintendent. The selected GIS intern will work in the division of Resource Management and will focus on GIS data management, workflow, and data collection. Work will occur as an individual and in a team setting; field and office based (40% field / 60% office); and conducted primarily at Coronado National Memorial but will also include participating in projects at Chiricahua National Monument and Fort Bowie National Historic Site.
Prospective participants are advised that due to its location near the international border with Mexico, conditions for conducting field work are unique. Illegal activity takes place throughout the park in the form of drug smuggling and illegal immigration. Employees must take extra precautions to assure the security of their equipment, vehicles, and persons. Some areas within the park may be periodically closed due to border-related safety concerns. Collaboration with park’s law enforcement will be necessary to safely conduct field work. The job may involve strenuous physical activity (steep hiking for several hours), and exposure to heights and to weather extremes. The participant will receive training in backcountry hiking and safety.
Responsibilities:
The GIS intern will work with the park’s Resource Management division. The intern will be responsible for (1) working on remote sensing undocumented immigrant trail delineation in conjunction with a NASA DEVELOP project team, (2) collecting surficial and sub-surface LiDAR data. reviewing legacy resource datasets for source accuracy and completing metadata as necessary (this can include field verification of dataset location accuracy), (3) modernization and organization of legacy data sets, (4) standardizing datasets using NPS geodatabase templates, and (5) improving mobile GIS workflow, improving and providing tools and applications for data editing, and migrating workflow to ArcGIS Pro and updating technical documents, (6) responding to GIS user issues and requests, and (7) communicating progress and results with SEAZ staff.
Qualifications:
A successful candidate will have advanced GIS skills and knowledge of ESRI ArcGIS software and applications are essential, whether gained through coursework or applied experience. They should be familiar with basic spatial data standards and comfortable managing and editing feature classes in a geodatabase. Completed coursework in geology or archaeology is preferred, but not required. Candidates should be comfortable working independently and reaching out to resource managers or outside specialists as needed. Must possess strong organizational, teamwork, and communication skills, including technical writing and presenting. Although some of the work (ca. 60%) will be conducted in a climate-controlled office, field work for program support activities and locational accuracy will take place in rugged, exposed, desert backcountry locations. Candidates should be generally comfortable living in a remote, rural, desert environment along the United States-Mexico border. The applicant must be a U.S. citizen or permanent legal resident between the ages of 18 and 35 years old. Prior to starting this position, a government security background clearance will be required.