Surveyor Job Description Templates
Free land surveyor job description templates: land/boundary, construction, licensed PLS, and survey technician. Download 4 variations as one DOCX.
Surveyor Job Description Templates
4 free land surveyor templates. Download as DOCX or copy-paste.
The surveyor job description trips up a lot of employers before they even start, because the word means several different jobs. In the US it almost always means a land surveyor: a licensed professional who measures property boundaries and prepares legal land documents. But the role still splits by work and seniority, a boundary surveyor, a construction surveyor doing site layout, a licensed PLS who certifies documents, and an entry-level field technician are very different hires with different pay and licensing. Most templates online give one generic block that blurs these together.
At FirstHR, we build templates for the small civil and surveying firms that make up most of this industry, where the licensed owner often runs the hire and the paperwork. The four templates below cover the role by type: land/boundary, construction/site, licensed PLS, and survey technician. Each names the licensing requirement and the FLSA status to confirm. Fill in the brackets and post, and the guide to writing a job description covers the fundamentals.
What Does a Surveyor Do?
A land surveyor makes precise measurements to determine property boundaries and prepares the legal documents that result: boundary and cadastral surveys, records research, data processing, and plats, legal descriptions, and maps. In federal occupational data the role maps to surveyors (SOC 17-1022), who establish official land, airspace, and water boundaries.
For the employer writing the posting, the key point is that the work depends on the type of surveying and the license. A boundary surveyor prepares legal descriptions; a construction surveyor stakes and lays out sites; a licensed PLS certifies documents; a technician supports the crew. The four templates on this page split by type so the document matches the actual role rather than a generic definition.
Surveyor vs Quantity Surveyor vs Survey Researcher
Before you write the posting, make sure you are hiring for the right job, since three unrelated roles share the word surveyor. In the US, an unqualified surveyor almost always means a land surveyor.
| Title | What it is | US relevance |
|---|---|---|
| Land surveyor | Licensed pro measuring boundaries, legal land docs | The standard US meaning; these templates |
| Quantity surveyor | UK/Commonwealth construction-cost role (RICS) | Not a US title; closest is cost estimator |
| Survey researcher | Designs and analyzes polls and surveys | Separate, small social-science occupation |
| Building surveyor | UK/Australia building inspection and control | Not a US title; closest is home inspector |
If you are hiring someone to measure land and set boundaries, you want a land surveyor, and these templates fit. If you are hiring for construction-cost work, the US title is construction cost estimator, not quantity surveyor. The rest of this page covers the US land surveyor role.
Surveyor Duties and Responsibilities
Surveyor duties center on fieldwork, records and research, office deliverables, and licensing and certification. The type shifts the emphasis, layout and staking for construction, certification for a licensed PLS, equipment support for technicians, but these four categories hold across nearly every surveying role. These are the duties grouped the way the templates use them.
A strong posting grounds these in your specifics: the type of surveying, the license requirement, the instruments and software, and who the surveyor reports to. For a structured way to scope any role before posting, the guide to defining job responsibilities walks through the process.
Which Template Should You Use?
Pick the template by the type of surveying and the license level. The four roles share survey fundamentals, but the credentials, the work, and the FLSA status differ enough that the matched version always reads more credibly. Use this guide to choose.
4 Free Surveyor Job Description Templates
Download all four as a single Word document or copy individual templates. Each follows the same structure: company overview, position summary, key responsibilities, qualifications, the license requirement and FLSA status, pay, and how to apply, with an EEO statement. Fill in the brackets and post.
Template 1: Land / Boundary Surveyor (W-2)
The core version for boundary, cadastral, and ALTA surveys and the legal documents that result. Start here for most surveying hires. Exempt professional if licensed.
Template 2: Construction / Site Surveyor
For site layout and construction staking: setting grade and control, as-built surveys, and reading civil plans. Common at contractors and civil firms.
Template 3: Licensed Professional Land Surveyor (PLS)
For a licensed Professional Land Surveyor who certifies and seals documents, serves as surveyor of record, owns technical quality, and mentors staff.
Template 4: Survey Technician (Entry-Level)
For an entry-level field role supporting the crew: running equipment, setting stakes, and processing data, with training toward licensure. Non-exempt and hourly.
Surveyor Licensing and Certifications
Surveying is a licensed profession. To certify legal documents and serve the public, a surveyor must hold a Professional Land Surveyor (PLS) license, and not every role on a crew needs one.
Be clear in the posting about whether the role requires an active license, progress toward one, or none. A licensed PLS can certify documents; a surveyor-in-training is on the path; a construction surveyor or technician often does not certify. Useful additional credentials include the NSPS Certified Survey Technician (CST), FAA Part 107 for drone work, and AutoCAD, Civil 3D, and GIS proficiency.
FLSA: Are Surveyors Exempt or Non-Exempt?
Surveying spans both exempt and non-exempt roles, and matching the classification to the real job is the compliance point most worth getting right. A licensed surveyor is generally exempt, while a field technician is often not.
The deciding factor is the actual duties and salary, not the title, so a person called a surveyor who is really doing technician-level field work may be non-exempt. For the underlying rules, the exempt vs non-exempt guide and the Fair Labor Standards Act guide explain the tests. Classify each role by its real duties, mark the status on the posting, and track hours for non-exempt field staff. This is general information, not legal advice; confirm with an employment attorney, since state overtime rules can be stricter than federal.
How to Write a Surveyor Job Description
A strong surveyor posting takes about fifteen minutes once you settle the type, the license requirement, the responsibilities, and the pay. Here is the process the templates are built around. If you are building out a field team, the guide to hiring construction workers covers the steps around the posting itself.
Surveyor Pay
Surveyor pay varies by license status, experience, region, and the type of surveying. The federal data gives a solid anchor for setting a range.
Licensed PLS roles, complex boundary work, and high-cost metros push toward the higher end, while entry-level technician roles start lower. Many openings come from an aging surveying workforce retiring. These are the most recent confirmed federal estimates.
| Role | Relative pay | Typical FLSA status |
|---|---|---|
| Survey technician (entry) | Lower | Non-exempt (hourly) |
| Construction / field surveyor | Mid | Confirm by duties |
| Land / boundary surveyor | Around the median | Exempt if licensed; confirm |
| Licensed PLS (senior) | Higher | Exempt professional |
For setting pay, use the federal median as a reference, adjust for license status, the role, and your local market, set an honest range, and state it in the posting, since a growing number of states require a range.
Hiring a Surveyor at a Small Firm
A large engineering firm or government agency hires surveyors through a recruiting team and a standard process. Most US surveying, though, runs on small, independent firms where the licensed owner makes the hire directly, often infrequently. Here is how to do it well.
After You Hire: Onboarding a Surveyor
The job description is step one. For a surveying firm that hires infrequently, a repeatable onboarding process pays off. The first steps are the offer and paperwork: the offer letter with the pay and FLSA classification stated, the I-9, tax forms, and state new-hire reporting, plus verifying the PLS license or surveyor-in-training status. For the broader flow, the new hire paperwork guide covers the documents and state new-hire reporting covers that requirement.
Then comes role-specific onboarding: equipment and vehicle assignment, field-safety training, access to survey software and project files, and a walkthrough of your standards. The documents around the hire follow the usual sequence: the offer letter template for the terms and the onboarding checklist template for the first days, with signed onboarding documents kept in one place.
FirstHR fits this directly: e-signature for the offer and policies, document management for licenses, certifications, insurance, and signed forms, task workflows for equipment and safety onboarding, training assignments with completion records, an HRIS with an org chart, and a self-service portal, all of which help a small firm handle an infrequent but important hire cleanly. FirstHR does not run payroll or administer benefits, so connect your payroll and benefits providers for those functions. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a surveyor do?
A land surveyor makes precise measurements to determine property boundaries and prepares the legal documents that result. The core work includes boundary and cadastral surveys, researching deeds, titles, and land records, operating GPS/GNSS, robotic total stations, and levels, processing survey data, and preparing plats, legal descriptions, and maps. A licensed surveyor also certifies legal documents and may testify in boundary disputes. The exact scope depends on the role. A boundary surveyor focuses on property lines and legal descriptions, a construction surveyor handles site layout and staking, a licensed PLS certifies documents and leads the work, and a survey technician supports the field crew. Because the work and credentials differ so much by role, a job description should describe the specific type and licensing rather than a generic list, which is why the templates on this page split into land/boundary, construction, licensed PLS, and survey technician.
What is the difference between a surveyor, a quantity surveyor, and a survey researcher?
They are three unrelated jobs that share a word. A surveyor in the US almost always means a land surveyor: a licensed professional who measures property boundaries and prepares legal land documents (BLS SOC 17-1022). A quantity surveyor is a UK, Australian, and Commonwealth construction-cost profession (governed by RICS); it is not a standard US job title, and the closest US equivalent is a construction cost estimator. A survey researcher is a social-science role that designs and analyzes surveys and polls for research and market-research firms (BLS SOC 19-3022), a small and declining occupation unrelated to land or construction. For a US employer hiring someone to measure land and set boundaries, the role is a land surveyor, and the templates on this page are built for that. If you are hiring for construction-cost work, search for a cost estimator instead.
What are the duties and responsibilities of a surveyor?
Surveyor duties fall into four areas. Fieldwork: operating GPS/GNSS, total stations, and levels, running boundary, topographic, and as-built surveys, and setting control, stakes, and layout points. Records and research: researching deeds, titles, and land records, resolving boundary evidence, and keeping accurate field notes. Office and deliverables: processing survey data, preparing plats, descriptions, and maps, and drafting in AutoCAD or Civil 3D. Licensing and certification: a licensed PLS certifies and seals documents, follows professional and state standards, and supports boundary dispute resolution. The emphasis shifts by role, layout and staking for construction surveyors, certification and oversight for a licensed PLS, equipment and data support for technicians. The templates on this page group these duties so you can adapt them to your specific surveying role.
Do surveyors need a license?
To certify legal documents and offer surveying services to the public, yes. All US states require a Professional Land Surveyor (PLS) license, and only a licensed surveyor can sign and seal plats, legal descriptions, and survey documents. The typical path runs through a bachelor's degree in surveying or geomatics (or an approved experience pathway in some states), the NCEES Fundamentals of Surveying exam, roughly four years of experience under a licensed surveyor, the NCEES Principles and Practice of Surveying exam, and a state-specific exam. Not every surveying role requires the license, though. A surveyor-in-training works toward it, a construction or field surveyor may not need to certify documents, and a survey technician supports the crew without a license. When writing the job description, be clear about whether the role requires an active PLS license, progress toward one, or none, since that defines who can legally do the work and shapes the pay.
Are surveyors exempt or non-exempt under the FLSA?
It depends on the role, and surveying spans both. A licensed professional land surveyor is generally exempt as a learned professional: the work requires advanced knowledge in a field of science, customarily acquired through a degree and licensure, and the role must be paid on a salary basis of at least $684 per week to qualify. A field survey technician or trainee, on the other hand, is often non-exempt and owed overtime, since the work is more about operating equipment and following procedures than exercising independent professional judgment. The deciding factor is the actual duties and salary, not the job title, so a person called a surveyor who is really doing technician-level field work may be non-exempt. Classify each role by its real duties, mark the FLSA status on the posting, track hours for non-exempt field staff, and confirm with counsel, since state overtime rules can be stricter than federal. This is general information, not legal advice.
How much does a surveyor make?
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual wage for surveyors was $72,740 in May 2024, which works out to about $34.97 per hour, with the lowest 10 percent earning under about $43,680 and the highest 10 percent over $116,330. Pay varies by license status, experience, region, and the type of surveying, with licensed PLS roles and high-cost metros toward the higher end and entry-level positions lower. Survey technicians, a related but separate occupation that does not require a license, had a lower median of $51,940. Surveying employment is projected to grow about 4 percent from 2024 to 2034, roughly as fast as average, with about 3,900 openings a year, many from an aging workforce retiring. Because pay is one of the first things candidates screen on, post a real range; the templates leave it as a field. National compensation surveys can help you set a range for your market and the specific role level.
Do small businesses hire surveyors?
Yes, and surveying is structurally a small-business industry. US land surveying is dominated by small, often family-owned firms; most surveying practices employ only a couple dozen staff or fewer, and many have under ten employees. The licensed surveyor who owns the firm frequently does the hiring, the field work, and the paperwork. So a small civil or surveying firm hiring a boundary surveyor, a construction surveyor, or a field technician is exactly the typical employer for this role, alongside government agencies and larger engineering firms. The practical implication is that the owner is often the one writing the job description and running onboarding alongside the survey work, which is why the templates here are written to be filled in quickly and paired with a simple, repeatable onboarding process for an infrequent but important hire.
What happens after I hire a surveyor?
Once the candidate accepts, the hire moves into onboarding, and for a surveying firm that hires infrequently, a repeatable process matters. The first steps are the offer and paperwork: the offer letter with the pay and FLSA classification stated, the I-9, tax forms, and state new-hire reporting, plus license and certification verification for a PLS or surveyor-in-training. Then comes role-specific onboarding: equipment and vehicle assignment, field-safety training, access to survey software and project files, and a walkthrough of your standards and workflow. Because field crews work in changing conditions and the owner often runs HR alongside the survey work, having this set up before day one saves real time. FirstHR fits directly: e-signature for the offer and policies, document management for licenses, certifications, insurance, and signed forms, training assignments with completion records for safety onboarding, an HRIS with an org chart, and a self-service portal. FirstHR does not run payroll or administer benefits, so connect your payroll and benefits providers for those. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR.