Job Description
ISA Certified Arborist – Consulting Track Dark Moss | Full-Time | Tampa, Florida Dark Moss is hiring a full-time ISA Certified Arborist to join our consulting arboriculture team in Tampa, Florida. This role is intended for someone with real arboriculture, urban forestry, landscape, municipal, environmental, or field assessment experience who wants to move into consulting arboriculture. The position will begin with field support, tree inventories, site assessments, documentation, and project coordination. Over time, this person will train with our consulting arborists and develop into the office, regulatory, and technical side of consulting arboriculture, including report preparation, tree preservation planning, permitting workflows, plan review, and construction-related arborist analysis. This is a strong fit for someone who understands that consulting starts with accurate fieldwork, disciplined documentation, and good judgment in the field. What You’ll Do In the beginning, your work will focus on: Assisting with tree inventory fieldwork on residential, commercial, municipal, transportation, and development-related sites Navigating project areas using maps, aerials, site plans, and field direction Identifying tree species and measuring DBH accurately Recording basic tree condition observations Entering tree inventory data into digital field tools Working safely in Florida field conditions, including heat, humidity, sun, rain, insects, mud, uneven ground, brush, and active or semi-active sites Communicating when access, safety, tree identification, measurement, or site conditions are uncertain Helping organize, clean up, and check field data after site visits Learning Dark Moss field procedures, file organization, inventory workflows, and office follow-through As you develop, you may train into: Arborist report preparation Tree preservation, removal, mitigation, and permit planning and documentation Plan review and tree-impact analysis Client and project-team coordination What We’re Looking For Required qualifications: ISA Certified Arborist credential Relevant arboriculture, urban forestry, landscape, municipal, environmental, tree care, or field assessment experience Ability to identify common Florida tree species Ability to measure trees accurately and consistently Comfort working outdoors in Florida conditions Strong observational skills and attention to detail Good judgment around safety, access, weather, animals, terrain, and field conditions Clear and professional written and verbal communication Willingness to learn office workflows, digital tools, and documentation standards Valid driver’s license and reliable transportation Preferred, but not required: Experience with tree inventories Experience using tablets, GPS, Fulcrum, ArcGIS, or similar field data tools TRAQ credential or interest in obtaining it Experience reading site plans, surveys, or construction documents Background in climbing, plant health care, municipal arboriculture, consulting, ecology, or construction observation What Success Looks Like Early In the first phase of this role, success means: You show up prepared for fieldwork You stay hydrated, alert, and safe You can navigate a site without constant direction You identify common trees correctly and ask for help when uncertain You measure consistently You collect complete and organized tree inventory data You communicate field issues promptly You begin learning the office side of consulting arboriculture About the Work Dark Moss works on projects where trees intersect with development, transportation, municipal review, private property, construction, and tree preservation. Our arborist work often begins with field inventory and documentation. That field data later supports reports, plans, permits, and project decisions. The work can be physically demanding. Some sites are hot, wet, buggy, muddy, overgrown, confusing, or awkward to access. Some are active construction sites, road corridors, private properties, or rural sites. We take fieldwork seriously and expect staff to complete work safely and efficiently, and to communicate clearly when conditions are unsafe or unclear. About Dark Moss Dark Moss is a landscape architecture, planning, and consulting arboriculture firm based in Tampa, Florida. Our arboriculture team supports development, municipal, transportation, institutional, residential, and private-sector projects. We help clients understand tree conditions, navig