Forestry Operations Technician Seasonal (Starkville, MS)

This mostly remote position is based in or near Starkville, MS, and includes a company vehicle for required field work.

Who You Are:

You’re an early-career forestry student or professional who enjoys detailed, precise mapping work, especially digitizing roads and turning field and aerial data into accurate GIS layers. You take pride in getting the details right. You make sure every road segment is captured correctly, attributed completely, and ready for the foresters who rely on it.

You know that good GIS work starts on the ground. When field work is needed, you’re comfortable verifying road locations in remote areas, navigating with a map, compass, and GPS, and working in rugged terrain and Southern weather. You’re safety-minded, dependable, and organized. You communicate clearly, take initiative, and approach challenges with a positive, can-do attitude.

What the Job Is
This seasonal position provides GIS support to our Area Foresters in the Gulf region, with a primary focus on digitizing and maintaining our forest road network. You’ll work with an experienced team that cares about safe, responsible forest management.

Most of your time will be spent digitizing roads in GIS using aerial imagery, GPS data, and field information, then attributing and quality-checking that data so it’s accurate and complete. Our foresters, Harvesting group, and Inventory GIS group use this road data to plan harvests, layout, and operations, so accuracy and attention to detail are essential.

Field work makes up the rest of the role. When field work is requested, you’ll use a company vehicle to verify road locations and conditions, collect GPS data, and support foresters with harvest unit layout and flagging. You’ll also get exposure to the wider range of forestry work, including plantation monitoring, prescribed burning, and contractor oversight.

What You’ll Do

• Actively support a safe workplace and participate in the company safety program.
• Digitize forest roads in GIS using aerial imagery, GPS data, and field information.
• Attribute road data accurately and completely, including road type, surface, and condition.
• Quality-check and edit road data to keep the company road network accurate and current.
• Produce accurate, comprehensive, and clear maps using ArcMap and other GIS tools.
• Enter and maintain field data in GIS and forestry databases.
• Work closely with the Harvesting and Inventory GIS groups to keep data consistent and current.
• Collect and verify road locations and conditions in the field using GPS and other forestry equipment.
• Assist foresters with Harvest Plan preparation and road layout.
• Flag harvest boundaries, stream protection zones, and key habitat features as needed.
• Maintain legible, detailed records and write technical reports.
• Support other forestry projects as needed, including plantation monitoring, prescribed burning, and wildfire response.
• Collaborate with other departments to meet their needs while maintaining a high level of productivity.

What You’ll Bring
You’ll need an associate degree in Forestry, Natural Resources, GIS, or a related field (or equivalent). A bachelor’s degree in Forestry, Natural Resources Management, GIS, or a related field is preferred. Experience digitizing and editing data in ArcMap, ArcGIS Pro, or other GIS software is strongly preferred, along with experience interpreting aerial imagery. Forestry field experience and knowledge of forest road systems are a plus.

Compensation Details: The wage for this seasonal position is $21.00/hr.

Who Green Diamond is: We grow and nurture forests, a renewable resource to build homes, schools, and household necessities; sequestering and storing carbon every single day we operate. We’re a 6th generation family-owned company that is guided by our values of environmental stewardship and supporting our local communities. The history of our Company spans over 130 years. We do what’s right, even when it is the harder path to follow. We focus on the health and safety of our people first – by taking care of all our resources, we plan to be here for another 130 years.