GIS Specialist (NPS, Death Valley National Park)

The Great Basin Institute, in cooperation with National Park Service, Death Valley National Park (DEVA), is recruiting one GIS Specialist to join the Cultural Resources (CRS) Program and the DEVA Cultural Flood Team. The Specialist will work under the direction of the Cultural Resource Program Manager, NPS GIS Specialist and the Senior Flood Archaeologist to provide geographic information system (GIS) modelling, mapping, and data management support related to conservation, flood recovery and restoration, facility assets management, and the protection and recording of cultural resources. The GIS Specialist will create a model based on flooding characteristics to determine appropriate cultural resources for the team to revisit. This model will help inform the DEVA flood team where to revisit, stabilize, and manage cultural resources that may have been damaged by recent year floods.

Essential Job Functions may include the following:

• Using several datasets, model for flood severity and help the team determine which cultural resources to revisit.
• Assist with quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) of the cultural resources database for accuracy and consistency;
• Communicating and collaborating with cultural resource team assist in QA/QC of data, using ESRI’s ArcGIS Pro and ArcGIS Online platform;
• Collecting, ground-truthing, and updating GIS data in the field as part of an interdisciplinary team;
• Operating hand-held GPS or tablet for navigation and electronic field data collection;
• Provide training to staff in the use of hand-held GPS or tablet for navigation and electronic field data collection;
• Producing maps and compiling data in support of park programs such as cultural and natural resources, and facility asset management;
• Provide training to staff in the production of maps for cultural resource location and site sketch maps;
• Utilize ESRI’s Field Maps application with government issued mobile device;
• Processing detailed data accurately into a variety of databases;
• Creating documentation of procedures and project progress;
• Creating and updating metadata.

LOCATION: Furnace Creek, CA

Death Valley National Park encompasses nearly 3.4 million acres in southeastern California and western Nevada, a 70-minute drive from Pahrump, Nevada (the nearest grocery store), 2- to 3-hour drive to Las Vegas. Death Valley National Park is in the transition zone and contains both the Mojave Desert and the Great Basin. Aside from the outdoor recreation opportunities and natural wonders within the park, the Mojave Preserve, the Eastern Sierras, as well as Lake Mead and Spring Mountains National Recreation Areas are nearby (2-3 hours) and afford a diversity of outdoor activities ranging from hiking, mountain biking and rock hounding to fishing, boating and skiing/snowboarding. Nearly everything, including a major airport, can be found in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Field conditions at Death Valley National Park include hot, arid days with high exposure to the sun, as well as cold, winter weather and elevation ranges from -282 feet to over 11,000 feet. Resources of the region include threatened and/or endangered species habitat, big game habitats, abandoned mine lands, and historic and precontact cultural sites. The Death Valley National Park comanages with the local Timbisha Shoshone Tribe on many projects.

TIMELINE:

• October or November 2026 start date; 52 weeks;
• Possibility for extension;
• Full time (40 hours/week)

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

Wage: $27 to $32 DOE an hour

Benefits:

• Premiums 100% GBI-paid: comprehensive medical, dental (with an optional coverage upgrade), visual insurance
  • Enrollment eligibility begins the first day of the month following the first day of service.
• 401(k) retirement savings with up to 4% GBI match;
• $25,000 Basic Life & AD&D insurance at no cost;
• Paid Leave Benefit: Paid Time Off accrued at 4.61 hours per 80-hour pay period starting on the first day of employment;
• Paid holidays (12 per year);
• Pro gear/equipment deals through various companies and websites.

Housing: In-Park housing may be available for this position