Wisconsin Department of Transportation
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT), Division of Transportation System Development (DTSD), North Central Region is looking to hire a Geographic Information System (GIS) Specialist (IS Data Services Professional) intern for summer 2026!
This position will be headquartered in Wisconsin Rapids or Rhinelander.
This position offers a hybridized work schedule. The position will be headquartered at and required to work from one of the DTSD North Central office buildings at least 2 days per week. This schedule may change based on operational needs and organizational requirements. All employees working a hybrid work schedule are generally expected to telework from within the State of Wisconsin.
This position is available part-time during the school year and up to 40 hours per week in the summer. Students who have already graduated or will be graduating from a college/university program in May 2026 are ineligible. However, students who have graduated from an undergraduate program but are enrolled in or entering a graduate program are eligible.
Position Summary
This position is located within North Central Region’s Maintenance Unit, which is responsible for providing guidance, direction, and oversight of roadway maintenance activities on the state highway system.
This position supports engineering and operational staff by developing GIS products, modernizing data workflows, and assisting with automation of routine processes. The internship will assist in building and maintaining geospatial datasets, developing scripts or tools to streamline data handling, support reporting needs, and contribute to improved digital organization within WisDOT’s cloud storage software.
This position’s main responsibilities include:
- Create and maintain GIS layers, maps, and ArcGIS Online content.
- Assist with spatial analysis and data preparation for engineering workflows.
- Build or refine automated or semi-automated processes
- Clean, structure, and integrate datasets from counties, internal systems, and field reports.
- Support development of dashboards, summary reports, or visualizations.
- Perform quality assurance checks on GIS data, automated workflows, and reporting outputs.
To view the complete position description, email Benjamin Harwell at BenjaminK.Harwell@dot.wi.gov
View our website to learn more about WisDOT internship positions.
Qualifications
A qualified candidate will have training or experience with all of the following:
- Geospatial mapping tools such as ArcGIS Pro and ArcGIS Online.
- Working with customers and/or project teams on data analysis and reporting.
- Managing and organizing digital files and datasets from multiple sources (experience may include facilitating collection of data, coordinating/troubleshooting data entry, auditing data input and results, or other related activities).
- Using Microsoft Excel or similar programs to manage and track data.
In addition to the above, a well-qualified candidate will have training or experience in at least one of the following:
- Knowledge of GIS data collection, assessment, and integration of GIS layers.
- Familiarity with programming or scripting concepts such as Python, SQL, ModelBuilder, or similar.