GIS Intern - Tucson, AZ

About the opportunity

SWCA Environmental Consultants is seeking a GIS Intern for Summer 2026 to support our Southwest sub‑region. This role is ideally based in our Tucson, Arizona office, and we strongly prefer candidates who are local and able to work in person. However, we will consider a remote arrangement for the right candidate. This is a 40 hours per week, temporary, hourly position running from early June through mid‑August 2026. 

Our Vision (the North Star): Help drive SWCA to be the best workplace and industry leader in sustainability, bringing sound science and creative solutions to global environmental challenges while maintaining a dedication to employee-ownership.

Core Values: We are #OneSWCA and collaborate across all our offices, programs, and disciplines. We are #AlwaysLearning, we #NeverSettle, and we #GiveBack. We are 100% employee-owned, and we build our success together. It is imperative for the successful candidate to fit SWCA's unique culture. Do you appreciate sustainability and environmental awareness? Is giving back to your community a priority? SWCA is a team of scientists, planners, technical experts, and corporate services professionals that are committed to our culture. 

Purpose: Our company purpose is to preserve natural and cultural resources for tomorrow while enabling projects that benefit people today. You are invited to be a part of our success story.

This position requires a demonstrated interest in natural sciences, a good attitude, willingness to learn, flexibility, and good communication skills. This internship will occur during the summer 2026 (early June -mid August). Candidates who can start earlier than June 2026 will be considered and those who can remain past August may provide additional value. In addition to project work, the internship program includes regularly scheduled presentations by SWCA leaders. 

This is a paid internship with an hourly rate of $19/hour. 

Applicants are encouraged to apply as soon as is reasonable. We anticipate a large flow of qualified candidates, and we will close the posting as soon as the individual office positions are filled.

Please submit a cover letter to be considered for this position

Application deadline: Our team will begin reviewing applications immediately, and interviews will be scheduled with qualified candidates on a rolling basis. The application process will remain open until we have received a robust pool of qualified candidates. Once we have identified suitable individuals, we may close the application process without prior notice. We appreciate the time and effort invested by all applicants and will carefully consider each submission.

What you will accomplish

• Effectively communicate with other project team members and stakeholders in a timely and clear fashion.
• Implement and complete tasks and responsibilities delegated by GIS Leads.
• Take positive action and accountability for assigned work.
• Help support GIS/cartographic capabilities by creating map products supporting cultural, paleontological, and natural resource projects using Esri products and tools.
• Work with GIS Specialists and Leads to prepare field equipment, maps, and data dictionaries for field staff; post-process and manage field data; and create map products using established protocols and templates.
• Support GIS workload with the team to ensure that productivity goals are met and that projects are delivered on time and on budget.
• Maintain a collaborative work environment between project managers and GIS staff.
• Help ensure quality of work is consistent with SWCA's standards and practices alongside other GIS team members. 
• Use Esri ArcGIS Desktop, primarily ArcGIS Pro, for editing data, analyses, and cartography, including the use of geoprocessing tools, symbolizing features, importing/exporting a wide range of data and file types, and producing report quality and field maps in a reasonable amount of time.
• Data management and support for tablet data collection including Field Maps, and Survey123
• Help design, create, maintain, and QA/QC geospatial databases using ArcGIS, Microsoft Excel, and peripheral software. 
• Use ArcGIS Pro to create maps including appropriate vector data creation, symbology, attribution, labels, scale bars, and  
• Publish to ArcGIS Online and create basic web maps or apps.
• Geodatabase creation, editing, and management.
• Understanding of data integrity
• Data transfer, data analysis, data mining, and data inventory using Esri and Microsoft products
• Calculations in ArcGIS Pro and Excel

Experience and qualifications for success

Required

• Currently enrolled in a college or university, pursuing a bachelor's degree in an environmental or GIS-related field with coursework in environmental sciences, biology, ecology, archaeology of planning; or a recent graduate within 12 months of May 1, 2026.  Candidates with equivalent work experience will also be considered.
• Applicants that are pursuing a Master's degree will also be considered. Ph.D. candidates are not eligible for this program.
• Ability to think critically and effectively communicate.
• Ability to work efficiently and collaborate with existing GIS team.

Preferred

• Candidates who have completed at least their junior year are highly preferred.
• Experience with ESRI’s ArcGIS software suite
• Knowledge of GPS, GIS, cartography, spatial analysis methods and other current technologies.

Why Work at SWCA:

SWCA Environmental Consultants is a growing employee-owned firm, providing a full-spectrum of environmental services.  Our Vision (the North Star) is to make SWCA the best workplace and industry leader in sustainability, bringing sound science and creative solutions to global environmental challenges while maintaining a dedication to employee-ownership. We live our core values: we collaborate as #OneSWCA; we are #AlwaysLearning, we #NeverSettle, and we #GiveBack.

We are 100% employee-owned, and we build our success together. With offices across the United States, SWCA is one of the largest environmental compliance firms and ranks among Engineering News-Record’s Top 200 Environmental Firms. We offer a supportive, team-oriented work environment and competitive wages and benefits, including an 100% employee stock ownership plan (retirement).

If you need assistance accessing SWCA’s website, completing the online application, or require a confidential conversation related to the Americans with Disabilities Act, please contact us at accommodations@swca.com or call 1-480-581-5378. We are committed to providing an inclusive and supportive experience for all candidates. This contact information is specifically for accommodation requests; other inquiries will not receive a response. 

EOE - women, minorities, individuals with disabilities and veterans are encouraged to apply. At SWCA Environmental Consultants, we celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive work environment. We strongly encourage candidates from all backgrounds, including those with diverse experiences and veterans, to apply. We believe that a diverse and inclusive workforce enhances creativity, innovation, and overall organizational success.

SWCA is committed to salary equity and salary transparency for all its employees.  In alignment with this commitment, SWCA posts good faith pay ranges in all its advertised job postings to promote pay equity and transparency.

An employee in this remote-based internship can expect an hourly rate of $19.00 per hour. 

SWCA continues to invest deeply in career development programs, delivering our award-winning Career Landscape support resources to accelerate the growth of our staff. We recognize the valuable skills and experiences our internal team members bring to SWCA’s continued success. Qualified internal candidates are encouraged to apply and will be seriously considered for this position. We believe in promoting from within, where possible, providing our existing employees with compelling opportunities to advance their careers.

#LI-AO1