Survey Crew Chief

Company Description

We are Olsson. We engineer and design solutions that improve the world around us. As a company, we promise to always be responsive, transparent, and focused on results – for our people, our clients, and our company.

We’re a people-centric firm, so it’s no surprise our greatest asset is our people. The impact this creates is an environment that encourages our people to grow and be creative with their talents. This approach builds a culture that is uniquely Olsson. It allows us to grow our people as we grow our business. This, in turn, creates a lasting impact on the world around us.

Job Description

Olsson is seeking an experienced and highly motivated Survey Crew Chief to join our growing Rail Services team. This position is focused exclusively on railroad-related surveying projects throughout the United States. Because travel is a significant component of this role, candidates may be based near any Olsson office location and should expect to travel approximately 80% or more of the year.

The ideal candidate is an experienced crew chief with strong leadership skills, a commitment to safety, and a passion for delivering high-quality survey data in challenging field environments. This position offers the opportunity to work on a wide variety of rail infrastructure projects while helping support the continued growth of Olsson's rail survey capabilities.

Primary Responsibilities

• Lead and manage survey field operations on rail-related projects.
• Plan and coordinate travel logistics, lodging, transportation, and field schedules.
• Maintain, transport, and operate survey equipment including GNSS receivers, robotic total stations, digital levels, terrestrial scanners, and UAV equipment as required.
• Ensure compliance with Olsson Railroad safety policies as well as railroad-specific safety requirements.
• Perform survey data collection in accordance with established survey standards, project requirements, and railroad procedures.
• Conduct topographic, boundary, construction staking, H&H surveys, rail bridge structural surveys, utility, as-built, and control surveys on active railroad corridors.
• Coordinate daily activities with project managers, clients, railroad representatives, and field personnel.
• Train, mentor, and oversee survey technicians and field staff.
• Maintain field notes, documentation, and quality control procedures.
• Identify and communicate potential project risks, safety concerns, schedule impacts, and operational challenges.

We're not simply filling a Crew Chief position. We're building a premier rail surveying team capable of supporting railroad clients across the country.

This role offers the opportunity to work on projects that few surveyors ever experience, from active railroad corridors and large-scale infrastructure improvements to monitoring, reality capture, and emerging survey technologies. You'll be trusted to operate independently, solve complex field challenges, and serve as a key contributor to a growing national practice.