GIS Assistant -San Antonio Missions National Historical Park

Start/End Dates: May 19, 2025 – August 9, 2025 (12 weeks)

Mosaics in Science seeks to engage ethnically and racially diverse young professionals in natural resource careers.

Requirements:

• You must be a U.S. citizen or legal resident.
• Must have a valid driver’s license.
• Must be a student at an accredited college with a graduation date after the internship end date.

A personal vehicle is RECOMMENDED for this position.

Position Description:

San Antonio Missions National Historical Park preserves four 18th-century Spanish Colonial missions along the San Antonio River. These missions were self-sustaining settlements with their own agricultural and irrigation systems, operated by South Texan Indigenous family bands under the guidance of Catholic Spanish Franciscan friars. The park protects these internationally significant mission complexes and their associated architecture, archaeology, irrigation systems, ranches, and farm fields.

The park relies on decades of collected geospatial data and GIS mapping for all aspects of management. However, the GIS program has only recently begun to be directly managed and is currently undergoing a transformative phase, offering ample opportunities for novel ideas and projects that an intern can fully lead.

The GIS Assistant will develop and teach new mobile data collection workflows using various geospatial programs and GPS equipment. These workflows will empower park facility and natural resource staff to implement long-overdue innovations and shape future projects. Additionally, the intern will be responsible for tracking down, digitizing, and geolocating historical and utility maps for internal park use (e.g., compliance, cultural landscape reports, facility maintenance) and communication with partners and external contractors.

GIS is a valuable tool across multiple disciplines and work boundaries. For this position, the goal is to enhance the park’s GIS resources to meet modern needs, supporting the park in making informed decisions about natural land management and legal requirements. To achieve this, the intern will focus on the two primary duties outlined below:

• Natural Resource Management:
  The intern will collaborate with the park Biologist to learn about natural resource management, understand how it interfaces with GIS, and explore adjacent career paths while addressing park needs. This work will primarily involve creating a GIS-based plant survey, conducting field data collection, and documenting invasive species to support a larger park effort aimed at their removal.

• Lands and Real Estate Management:
  The intern will assist in mapping known and currently unidentified rights-of-way by researching land deeds and records both online and offline in county archives. They will also help design a system to associate scanned legal documents with their corresponding land tracts on a park land ownership map, alongside copies of the rights-of-way.

Responsibilities:

• Produce an invasive plant GIS survey and create GIS workflows and tutorials on their use.
• Develop an updated inventory of rights-of-way, including digitized and geolocated maps.
• Create new map layers for various cultural, natural, and maintenance projects, complete with associated metadata.
• Present findings to local park NPS stakeholders, covering GIS, lands, and natural resource topics.

Qualifications:

• Proficiency in ArcGIS Pro (experience with ArcGIS Online [AGOL] is a plus).
• Equivalent to 6 college credits/2 GIS courses or 4 months of GIS work experience.
• Extensive or intensive GIS projects may be substituted at the park’s discretion.
• Strong organizational skills and vision.
• Ability to work independently and adapt flexibly to tasks.
• Capable of maintaining morale while working on GIS projects for multiple days.
• Proven ability to gather, synthesize, and analyze research from primary sources.
• Effective communication skills to present results clearly and accurately.

Interns in this program will receive 480 hours toward Direct Hiring Authority. See below for more information.

Direct Hire Authority (DHA)
Direct Hire Authority (DHA) at the successful conclusion of their internship. DHA status enables an agency to hire, after public notice is given, any qualified applicant. A DHA expedites hiring by eliminating competitive rating and ranking, veterans’ preference, and “rule of three” procedures. For more information, please click HERE.

EEO Statement

Environment for the Americas provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.