Oregon Natural Desert Association (ONDA) is a conservation organization that represents more than 25,000 members and supporters dedicated to protecting, defending and restoring Oregon’s high desert. We are seeking one Lead Field Technician and one Field Technician to conduct inventory of public lands in southeastern Oregon to identify “lands with wilderness characteristics” to support efforts to protect these areas. These are full-time, temporary seasonal positions running from approximately May to September 2025.
Lead Field Technician
The Lead Field Technician will coordinate and manage a two-person team (including themself) to collect, store and report accurate data on land uses, road and route condition and wilderness characteristics on public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management Andrews Field Office in Oregon.
The Lead Field Technician will be responsible for making determinations about wilderness characteristics and landscape conditions (using provided guidelines) in collaboration with the Field Technician.
The Lead Field Technician will be responsible for ensuring accurate data collection, thorough documentation of required information, maintaining a productive and efficient work ethic, and ensuring team safety.
The Lead Field Technician will also be responsible for maintaining regular communication with the Policy Manager, ensuring proper care and maintenance of equipment, and organizing and uploading data in a timely manner.
This position will require someone who is comfortable working in remote locations, demonstrates sound decision-making in challenging situations and is capable of adapting to dynamic conditions without supervision.
Field Technician
The Field Technician will assist the Lead Field Technician to collect, store and report accurate data on land uses, road and route condition and wilderness characteristics on identified public lands in southeastern Oregon.
The Field Technician will be responsible for assisting in making determinations about wilderness characteristics and landscape conditions, such as whether or not an area is primarily natural, affords outstanding opportunities for primitive recreation or offers solitude.
These are both field-based positions that will require strenuous physical exertion such as prolonged hiking over rough terrain for up to 12 miles per day and will require lifting and carrying heavy items. Both technicians must be able to work safely under strenuous conditions outdoors, in a small team, at remote sites with variable weather conditions, and with various potential environmental hazards (e.g., snakes, insects, absence of trails, etc.). Technicians will be expected to conduct duties in a safe and orderly manner so as not to endanger themselves or others, or damage property with which they are entrusted.
Most work weeks will consist of 38-40 hours, typically organized in four 10-hour work days that include traveling and camping in southeastern Oregon for multiple days in a row. Due to the remote locations involved and long travel times to some survey areas, some work weeks will be stacked back-to-back, resulting in a total of up to eight 10-hour work days in a row followed by six days off. Weekly computer work for data entry and processing will be incorporated into the schedule, as applicable.
Desired Qualifications
We seek a Lead Field Technician and Field Technician with a passion for desert wildlands and a desire to protect them. Ideal candidates are those with an interest in exploring a career in natural resource management or a related field, have experience working or navigating in remote areas and operating a four-wheel drive vehicle, enjoy field-based inventorying and scientific assessment, and are comfortable making decisions in remote locations in the field. Knowledge of desert fauna and flora, including the ability to identify species, is preferred but not required. Experience operating manual transmission vehicles is desired.
All candidates must possess and maintain a valid Oregon driver’s license. Residents of central or eastern Oregon are preferred, but all qualified candidates will be considered.
Compensation
The Lead Field Technician position pays $23 per hour and the Field Technician pays $20 per hour, plus a per diem for food. ONDA will provide a field vehicle, equipment and survey training.
To Apply
ONDA uses an anonymous applicant screening process to ensure fair and objective applicant evaluation. To help facilitate this review, please submit two separate attachments via the email address below as follows:
Attachment #1: A single page that includes your name, address, email and telephone number. Do not include this identifying information anywhere else in your attachments.
Attachment #2: A cover letter (without your name, address, email or telephone number) indicating describing your qualifications and interest in one or both of these positions, your resume (without your name, address, email or telephone number), and contact information for two references. This information should be combined into a single .doc or .pdf file.
Please submit these application materials to ondatech@onda.org no later than 5:00PM (Pacific Time), March 23, 2025. ONDA will consider applicants for both the Lead Field Technician and Field Technician positions unless the applicant has explicitly requested to be considered for only one of the two positions.
For the full job application and more on ONDA, visit our careers page: https://onda.org/careers/
