How to hire a survey director

How to hire a survey director, step by step

Here's a step-by-step survey director hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a survey director job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new survey director
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

Post a survey director job for free, promote it for a fee

Post free

1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a survey director, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a survey director to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a survey director that fits the bill.

   Here's a comparison of survey director salaries for various roles:

   Type of Survey Director	Description	Hourly rate
   Survey Director	Surveyors make precise measurements to determine property boundaries. They provide data relevant to the shape and contour of the Earth’s surface for engineering, mapmaking, and construction projects.	$18-42
   Party Chief	A party chief is a management position responsible for leading and guiding a program and providing leadership for its success. To fill this role, you will manage the program and provide overall technical expertise... Show more	$14-31
   Professional Land Surveyor	Professional land surveyors have skills in reading comprehension, mathematics, listening, speaking, and time management, as well as a keen attention to detail. These traits are needed for the tasks of this chosen career, which include updating boundary lines for construction in order to prevent legal disputes... Show more	$14-33

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • GPS
   • Business Development
   • Project Budget
   • GIS
   • Proposal Preparation
   • Boundary Surveys
   • Alta
   • Private Sector
   • Construction Layout
   • CAD
   • Survey Data
   • Data Collection
   • RFP
   • Survey Projects

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Perform quality control and quality assurance reviews on exhibit documents submit to RMP for the right-of-way acquisition process.
   • Facilitate consumer understanding of NCQA standards.

   More survey director duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your survey director job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A survey director salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, survey directors' average salary in nebraska is 46% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level survey directors earn 56% less than senior-level survey directors.
   • Certifications. A survey director with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a survey director's salary.

   Average survey director salary

   $59,087yearly

   $28.41 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level survey director salary

   $39,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 24, 2025

   Average survey director salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	New York	$78,759	$38
   2	Michigan	$71,492	$34
   3	Washington	$60,123	$29
   4	Georgia	$59,044	$28
   5	South Carolina	$58,619	$28
   6	Maryland	$58,522	$28
   7	Washington	$57,406	$28
   8	Florida	$54,727	$26
   9	Florida	$54,726	$26
   10	Florida	$54,725	$26
   11	Florida	$54,716	$26
   12	District of Columbia	$54,433	$26

   Average survey director salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	University of Michigan	$73,453	$35.31
   2	Federal Reserve Bank of New York	$69,348	$33.34
   3	Federal Reserve	$50,929	$24.49

4. Writing a survey director job description

   A survey director job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a survey director job description:

   Survey director job description example

   Survey Director - Land Development $120k
   
   Company experience Rapid growth. As a result of the growth, there are opportunities for advancement, as well as mobility within the organization. We have a competitive benefits plan and we have been in the industry for +30 years.
   
   
   
   Benefits
   

   • Health and Dental Insurance
   • PTO (Paid Time Off) & Holidays
   • Life Insurance
   • Flexible Benefits Plan
   • Short-Term Disability Insurance
   • Long-Term Disability Insurance
   • 401(k) Plan

   
   
   Will ultimately be responsible for supporting Department Managers and their teams by:
   

   • Managing clients and undertaking business development activities,
   • Preparation of survey proposals and contracts,
   • Representing ESP and client(s) in public settings.

   
   
   Responsibilities:
   

   • The Survey Director will have responsible charge of all aspects of a surveying and geomatics group (field and office) by providing training, mentoring, technical and administrative guidance, and oversight.
   • Initiate and maintain contact with key personnel and officials of organizations and companies.
   • Manage client expectations regarding project timelines, costs, and updates.
   • Administer contracts and manage projects, interpret, organize, execute, and coordinate assignments.
   • Assist Project Managers with workforce planning, monthly billing, and final review of completed reports and maps.
   • Manage the practice to achieve expected profitability and growth.

   
   
   Qualifications:
   

   • Licensure as a Professional Land Surveyor (SC PLS) required. NC PLS preferred.
   • Bachelor’ s degree in Surveying, Geomatics, or related field preferred.
   • Progressive experience in surveying management, specifically supporting land development survey projects.
   • Experience supporting DOT and/or utility survey projects preferred.
   • Strong self-motivational and organizational skills with the ability to lead, motivate and direct a team of office and field personnel.
   • Experience with survey computations and platting using Trimble Business Center, AutoCAD Civil 3D, and ArcGIS, as well as field experience with Trimble Survey field equipment.
   • Thorough working knowledge of GPS.
   • Experience with Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Access, and Google Earth a plus.
   • Candidate must be able to pass a drug screen, background check, and have a satisfactory driving record in accordance with the company’ s driving (MVR) policy.

   INDSTO

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find survey directors for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your survey director job on Zippia to find and recruit survey director candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit survey directors, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new survey director

   Once you've selected the best survey director candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   To prepare for the new survey director first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

   Sign up to download full list

   Sign up

How much does it cost to hire a survey director?