Professional Land Surveyor - New Mexico

Summary:

The Professional Land Surveyor (PLS) - New Mexico supports Ascent Geomatics Solutions' Permian and Southwest energy programs by providing licensed review, certification, and technical survey support for New Mexico project deliverables. This role helps expand Ascent's capacity to execute oil and gas, renewable energy, and infrastructure survey work with accuracy, consistency, and responsiveness.

This position is focused on reviewing, signing, and certifying well plats, right-of-way exhibits, boundary-related survey documents, and other energy project deliverables. The Professional Land Surveyor works closely with the Permian Survey Manager, survey technicians, project managers, and field teams to help keep survey work moving through high-volume client demands while maintaining defensible professional standards.

The role also provides technical guidance and feedback to survey technicians on PLSS-based survey work, supporting quality review, issue resolution, and consistent application of New Mexico survey requirements. The ideal candidate brings sound professional judgment, strong PLSS knowledge, and practical experience supporting energy-related survey deliverables in a collaborative, remote team environment.

Expected Results in the role:

• Well plats, right-of-way exhibits, and other New Mexico survey deliverables are reviewed, certified, and delivered accurately, defensibly, and on schedule.
• PLSS-based survey work is completed with sound professional judgment and consistent application of applicable survey standards.
• Licensed review and certification capacity is expanded, helping the Permian survey team respond to client-driven workload spikes without creating bottlenecks.
• Survey technicians receive timely technical guidance and feedback that supports quality, consistency, and efficient issue resolution.
• Collaboration with Project Management, Engineering, GIS, Permitting, and field personnel results in coordinated deliverables and efficient project execution.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities:

Technical Review & Certification

• Perform professional review, QA/QC, and certification of survey deliverables, including well plats, right-of-way exhibits, legal descriptions, and related survey documentation in accordance with applicable laws, standards, and client requirements.
• Review and certify survey deliverables requiring New Mexico licensure, ensuring accuracy, completeness, and defensibility.
• Prepare or modify survey exhibits, plats, and related survey documents in AutoCAD Civil 3D on a limited, as-needed basis to support project delivery, QA/QC, and schedule commitments.

PLSS Analysis & Survey Review

• Review and support PLSS-based survey work, including section breakdowns, aliquot part interpretation, and related legal and record research.
• Provide technical review and guidance on survey methodologies, boundary determinations, and supporting documentation to ensure consistency and defensibility.

Quality Control & Technical Support

• Review survey records, field deliverables, and supporting documentation for completeness, accuracy, and consistency, identifying deficiencies and coordinating corrections as needed.
• Ensure survey data, records, and deliverables are processed, organized, and maintained in accordance with company standards and QA/QC requirements.

Project Coordination & Team Support

• Coordinate with the Permian Survey Manager, Project Managers, survey technicians, and field personnel to support efficient project execution and timely delivery of survey products.
• Provide technical guidance and feedback to survey technicians supporting assigned projects, including assistance with issue resolution, PLSS interpretation, and survey documentation requirements.

Standards & Continuous Improvement

• Assist with the consistent application and refinement of survey standards, workflows, and QA/QC procedures to support repeatable, high-quality outcomes.
• Support the development and sharing of technical knowledge, best practices, and lessons learned within the Survey Department.

General Duties

• Perform other related duties consistent with the scope and responsibilities of the role as needed to support project and team objectives.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

• This position does not have formal personnel management responsibilities.
• The Professional Land Surveyor provides technical guidance, task direction, and work review for survey technicians supporting assigned projects.

Required Skills & Abilities:

Required Skills & Abilities

• Comprehensive knowledge of land surveying principles, practices, and regulations, with demonstrated experience in boundary surveying and professional certification of survey deliverables.
• Strong technical proficiency in the Public Land Survey System (PLSS), including section breakdowns, aliquot part interpretation, legal and record research, and related survey documentation.
• Demonstrated experience reviewing, certifying, and supporting oil and gas survey deliverables, including well plats, right-of-way exhibits, legal descriptions, and related survey documents.
• Practical experience reviewing and QA/QC'ing survey data and deliverables to ensure accuracy, completeness, and defensibility prior to certification.
• Working knowledge of modern surveying technologies and workflows, including GPS/GNSS systems, total stations, and survey data processing environments.
• Ability to provide clear technical guidance and task direction to survey technicians supporting assigned projects.
• Sound professional judgment and problem-solving ability, particularly when evaluating survey documentation, legal records, and certification-related decisions.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively with Project Management, Engineering, GIS, Permitting, and field personnel.
• Ability to work independently, manage competing priorities, and maintain accountability for assigned work without the need for heavy oversight.

Preferred Skills & Abilities

• Ability to draft survey exhibits, plats, and related survey documents in AutoCAD Civil 3D when needed to support project execution and quality.
• Ability to support renewable energy, infrastructure, or utility-scale development projects, including review of ALTA/NSPS Land Title Surveys.
• Familiarity with survey data processing and drafting environments such as Trimble Business Center, AutoCAD Civil 3D, or comparable platforms.
• Exposure to GIS concepts and data formats (e.g., shapefiles, geodatabases, KMZ/KML) and experience coordinating survey data for downstream use.
• Ability to collaborate effectively in multi-discipline project environments where survey data supports engineering design, permitting, or regulatory submissions.

Required Education, Certifications, and Experience:

Required Education, Certifications, and Experience

• Active Professional Land Surveyor (PLS) license in the State of New Mexico, in good standing.
• Minimum of five (5) years of progressive professional surveying experience, including responsibility for PLSS-based survey work, oil and gas survey deliverables, and professional review and certification of survey documents.
• Demonstrated experience reviewing, preparing, or certifying well plats, right-of-way exhibits, legal descriptions, and related survey deliverables requiring professional review and certification.
• Demonstrated experience performing PLSS-based survey analysis, including section breakdowns, aliquot part interpretation, legal and record research, and defensible survey determinations.
• Demonstrated experience supporting survey projects from planning through delivery, including review of survey records, QA/QC, and coordination with survey technicians and project teams.

Preferred Education, Certifications, and Experience

• Active Texas Registered Professional Land Surveyor (RPLS) license or ability and interest in obtaining Texas licensure.
• Experience supporting oil and gas survey projects in Texas, New Mexico, or other western PLSS jurisdictions.
• Experience reviewing or certifying high volumes of well plats, right-of-way exhibits, legal descriptions, or similar energy-related survey deliverables.
• Experience supporting renewable energy, infrastructure, or utility-scale development projects.
• Experience reviewing or certifying ALTA/NSPS Land Title Surveys.

Working Conditions & Physical Requirements:

• Reliable internet access and a designated, quiet workspace are required.
• Ability to sit and work at a computer for extended periods of time, including regular use of a keyboard, mouse, and monitors.

Other Need-to-know items:

• Remote work is acceptable.
• Standard work hours are Monday-Friday, generally aligned to Mountain Standard Time (MST), to support collaboration with clients and internal teams. Flexibility is supported within continental U.S. time zones, provided core team availability and communication are maintained.
• Travel may be required on occasion for team collaboration, training, or project support.
• Employment is limited to candidates authorized to work in the United States and able to perform work within continental U.S. time zones.
• This job description is intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed. It is not an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, and skills required.