#33 – Amanda Manos

#33 – Amanda Manos

August 17th, 2026

###

Angus Stocking – Host (00:04.792)
This is Everything is Somewhere, I’m Angus Stocking. My guest today is Amanda Manos, who is the owner and CEO of Darling Geomatics, a progressive survey firm. You might know Amanda if you’re readers of American Surveyor magazine. In the May issue, there was a wonderful profile about her story of pioneering in the field and her progressive business practices. Amanda, it’s very nice to speak with you today, and I appreciate it. Can you tell us more about yourself and what are we gonna talk about today?

Amanda Manos – Guest (00:42.988)
Hi, Angus, it’s great to be here. Thank you for having me. I’m excited to talk a little bit about Darling and the direction we’re taking and the new the new tech expo that we’re gonna have here in Tucson. And I wanted to particularly invite your listeners out to Tucson at the end of October. So my background started in New Mexico. I grew up in southwestern New Mexico, and so it’s kind of fitting that that now I’m in southeastern Arizona working and living and really enjoying the new business here and what we’re what we’re getting to work on.

Angus Stocking – Host (01:19.788)
And just so you know, I’m in Colorado, so not too far from you.

Amanda Manos – Guest (01:23.522)
Great.

Angus Stocking – Host (01:24.936)
And tell us a bit more about your firm. How large are you? and I gather from the the article and just from your LinkedIn and other places, this is a progressive firm that is applying technology at a high level. how does that work out in practice for you?

Amanda Manos – Guest (01:46.562)
Yeah, our our motto here is that we’re a learning in organization and it really fits in well with our offices being at the the University of Arizona Tech Park. And so we we re we work and we we we socialize with individuals from the University of Arizona and it’s just part of our DNA with Darling Geomatics being housed here that we’re we’re progressive and we’re always thinking about the latest technologies and how to apply those technologies to one of the world’s largest, oldest professions. And so it’s not about changing serving for us. It’s about using the best tools that are out there to map efficiently and be consistent with our boundaries and really progress and and build on the great history of what it means to be a land surveyor.

Angus Stocking – Host (02:38.67)
Great. And and speaking of that history, I can’t help but note that you were one of the youngest presidents ever of a national surveyor organization. so you’ve been into this for a long time. how did that start? How did the love affair with land surveying get started for you?

Amanda Manos – Guest (02:58.358)
Yeah, well, kinda completely by accident. My my dad was a realtor in in southwestern New Mexico and couldn’t get couldn’t get a land survey done. And so he thought it would be a great idea to turn, you know, his youngest daughter into a land surveyor. And so Yeah, it really is. It’s a funny part of it. And then the opportunity arose that that I could go to Alaska and work for the BLM and so that really that really drove my interest. I as a as a young person growing up in a…

Angus Stocking – Host (03:12.959)
That’s a great story.

Amanda Manos – Guest (03:27.99)
…really remote environment. I always wanted to get out and see the world. And Alaska was by far on my list of places to see and go. So I was really I was really lucky to have grown up in a state that had a four year degree program and I landed there right away. I wasn’t really aware of what surveyors were or what they did, but I knew that I wanted to go to Alaska and get out and and see the world. And so it it enabled me to do those things and I just stuck with it.

And I started making really good money working for the BLM, you know, as a student intern. And so that that hooked me as well. Being outside, working with new technology and and ultimately my favorite part of it was the camaraderie I felt working in the field with all the PLSs that were that were there and the technicians because it was really it was really hands-on and it was it was the professional land surveyors in the field showing you things and making sure your field book looked right and and the way that we surveyed was so it you had actual physical professionals on the ground with you all day long that you could ask questions to and we we lived in man camps at night.

And so this was a it was a complete atmosphere of land surveying and so when those summers were over, that’s what I missed the most. So, my philosophy at Darling has been to build that for our our young our young surveyors that were were growing through this office and through through our our jobs here. And really one of my main goals is to get out in the office, out of the office and see those guys at least once a week. And the other PLSs in the office are always encouraged to do that too.

Angus Stocking – Host (05:09.748)
You manage to pull it off.

Amanda Manos – Guest (05:11.566)
Yeah. It it’s hard sometimes, but you definitely have to prioritize it because I saw what it meant during my career to actually work with the PLSs in the field, you know, to taking taking burying trees and setting monuments and and taking the time with those guys. This afternoon I was lucky enough. I always try to time it when they come into the office and on a Friday afternoon when they came through I got to see all of them and they were they were talking about the level loop they ran and they closed it within eight hundredths of a foot with fifty-three setups on a digital level.

And and they were they were so excited about, you know, that level of accuracy that they were able to close out on. And they felt good about the day. And it just reminds me of all the reasons why I love surveying to begin with. You know, it’s the it’s the camaraderie of accomplishing something and building something and then, you know, talking about it at the end of the day when you come in and you know and congratulating each other. It’s just, it just it still makes me happy.

Angus Stocking – Host (06:10.828)
I can see that and it’s it’s kind of amazing what surveyors get excited about. Eight hundreths. Wow.

Angus Stocking – Host (06:20.44)
But I totally I get that. The the arc was in the field, but I always wanted to get into the office. That was ex you know, advancement. And then I became a survey manager at a big consulting firm. And I was kind of, what have I done? so good for you, and I’m got that’s a good emphasis to have as a firm; what kind of work do you find yourself doing, or what’s your you know, bread and butter, or do you have a concentration that you’ve identified in the current field?

Amanda Manos – Guest (07:00.418)
Yeah, we try to we try to have a pretty diverse portfolio. We we don’t try to stick into one area too too much. we have we we do a lot of scanning, we still do a lot of boundary work, we do a lot of construction staking, aerial aerial drone work, photogrammetry and lidar. it it kind of varies across across the public and private sector out here. And so being being in southwestern Arizona, we can easily get to, you know, a number of states.

I’m still licensed in six western states and we have we have a number a a couple other surveyors on staff who are licensed in other states. And so getting out, I I talk a lot on LinkedIn about our work in in Arizona and it’s I guess it’s it’s because I’m so fascinated with the Sonoran Desert at this point in my life. growing up in New Mexico, I didn’t we came to Tucson quite a bit, but I didn’t you don’t really you spend time in the desert, it’s a different animal. And so spending time in Alaska and then Washington State, being in Tucson, I just have a whole new appreciation for this.

And a lot of my LinkedIn posts focus on Arizona and the saguaros and all the great things we get to do here. But we do travel quite a bit into New Mexico and various states and work on large boundary projects. We work on corridor projects, 3D scanning, we do a lot of BIM modeling and industrial scanning. And so I think my favorite part, we brought in a new LSIT a few months ago and she just got her PLS.

And I think my favorite part is that she gets to tell people that every day is not the same and and that we do really cool projects at Darling. And so that’s that’s the absolute best part of it for me is that we’re not stuck doing ALTAs all day long. We’re not stuck doing EV sites all day long. You’re not getting pigeonholed when you’re at Darling, you get to do a multiplex of a variety of jobs and it’s it’s really fun just to listen to the phone ring and because we’re well known for tackling complex pro projects.

Angus Stocking – Host (09:04.014)
Say that we met at a convention and we’re sitting around telling war stories. what’s what are the one or two of the biggest, weirdest projects that that you reach for when you’re trying to impress somebody with land surveying and your firm?

Amanda Manos – Guest (09:26.23)
Well, I think I think recently last winter we worked on a a job for the US Army Corps of Engineers on the Chittamonga River in in Tennessee and we were we were brought in by one of the contractors that was that was doing some metrology work on some of the gates that they had rebuilt and so they real needed really precise scans on these gates that they were rebuilding to replace some of the existing aging structures and so the gates that get put on these dams, you know, can be a hundred feet tall and fifty feet wide and really intricate.

And so scanning those in the in the work environment where it’s humid at one point, where it can be, you know, thirty degrees at one point in the day and then rise to seventy and you have to watch all these variables and monitor them as you’re taking your your measurements is is are some of the really cool projects that we get to work on. Other people really always liked the mining. I always get I always get trapped into talking about the mining, not trapped by trap other people into talking about mining with me because I love it so much. I love the history of mining.

I love retracing US mineral surveys. I love the the field notes and the historic aspect of it and I love finding the stones and the monuments that those those surveyors took and placed because they really took such due diligence and care into the work they did. And it’s just it’s really gratifying for me now to combine that with the technology that we offer with the underground scanning and and mapping that we that we’re able to offer people so they can actually determine where the underground structures are now with the surface.

And so Darling Minesight is part of that that we’ve set up now to to enable our clients to get the full picture of the of the mine and so not only the above ground workings but the tunnels and the structures underneath and to be able to to reference those geospatially to where their boundaries are. It’s a full full portfolio project for engineers and planners to really, you know, delve into what the possibilities of mine planning and the future of mining is is going. It’s really it’s really an exciting time for me to be a surveyor.

Angus Stocking – Host (11:43.234)
Just out of curiosity, what is the are we talking like modeling here or 3D modeling? So for the client it’s a little it can be like a video game, the you know with levels.

Amanda Manos – Guest (11:50.828)
Yeah, yeah.

Amanda Manos – Guest (11:56.652)
Yes, absolutely. And on our LinkedIn page and our website, darlingltd.com, we have a lot of those videos and you can actually do fly throughs through the tunnels and go inside these tunnels and then come out of them on top of the up top of the surface. And so you can actually see what’s going on in the tunnel where the side shafts are at, and and then take measurements in there, see how far deep down these are. And so if you’re trying to hit a tunnel and you’re boring down from the surface, you’ll know where that’s at, or if you’re trying to miss it and you’re trying to go over here or you’re trying to hit a certain ore body, that’s what geospatial specialists and land surveyors can help mining companies accomplish that was so difficult before, which it’s precision precision mining at its finest and so that resources aren’t wasted and you know, really, really fine-tuning where where the disturbance is made so that you know economical economical decisions can be made.

Angus Stocking – Host (12:57.976)
Hmm. Super interesting stuff. And you know, a big part of the job now, and this is no surprise, what you’re talking about is way more computer and software and presentation. in a surveyor is, you know, we tend to think about accuracy in the field, the laser levels and the scanning and so forth, but such a huge part of the job now is just managing data, monitors and presentations and how do you is that like solidly what you’re interested in? You spoke about being in the field and I’m flattering a bit here, but I guess how have you made the mental adjustment to being kind of a computer nerd necessarily in order to be a highly successful land surveyor?

Amanda Manos – Guest (13:57.378)
Yeah, and and the my solution has been to hire younger people to do that. And and and honestly the the things we’re able to accomplish is I’m no expert at these things, but I think I have a a nose for sniffing out talent and getting the people that are really good at this. at this point in my career I’m I’m no expert on point clouds and I’m no expert on flying, you know, the drones and the UAV and gathering the lidar, but the fundamentals of the land surveying and the the basis for where these things start with RTK and good point control and good ground control is what the students that are coming out of school lack. And so I I can bring the foundation, I can bring that to them, and they can bring the whole other realm of you know, it’s almost the video game aspect of it is being able to manage and maneuver in that amount of data.

I watch our our CAD analyst Ellen work in this field and and it makes me almost car sick to watch her, you know, go through all these things and manipulate the data so quickly. It’s it’s a specialized skill and and I I I can’t I can’t even pretend that I can do that at this point in my career, but I certainly appreciate the people who are very, very good at it and represent our data very well.

Angus Stocking – Host (15:14.52)
So you’re an expert on experts.

Amanda Manos – Guest (15:17.71)
Yeah, and and again it really goes back to the fundamentals of land surveying. You know, the technology has changed, but in the end, the ground references and the truth the truth of where we got that that information is what still remains, you know. anybody can go out and and gather, you know, millions and millions of points and point clouds, but can you actually tell me where it is in reference to something else, you know, and what is that something else?

What are you referencing it to? You know, there’s so many different different reference systems and to be able to work in and out of those and get people the data they need and a particular system is what is really key here. And so that’s what that’s why we s decided to do this tech expo this fall is because we really want to help expose people to all the latest and greatest technologies that that are happening and the fun things that are happening here in Tucson and at the tech park.

We have we have a great community college here, Pima Community College is putting out some great technicians. We’ve hired two CAD technicians from over there. We continue to hire them. The School of Mines here is at the University of Arizona, and then JTED has a great program and so. It’s about bringing all these people together to continually expose them to how great land surveying is and how we change people’s lives fundamentally every single day.

Angus Stocking – Host (16:42.476)
Amanda, you mentioned US Army Corps of Engineers, which got my attention. My father worked his entire career on waterworks with the Corps and that was kind of my way into surveying and what I currently do is I write for engineering firms and infrastructure magazines and the big buzzword in engineering and land surveying too has been AI. AI. Are you seeing much change in your business right now as a result of artificial intelligence or machine learning or is it not really integrated into the fields so far or you know, what’s the state of play in your point of view?

Amanda Manos – Guest (17:33.292)
Yeah, we’re we’re getting there. I I actually use it. I think the people in my office might get sick of me, but I use it every day to to do everyday tasks for me. It’s an incredibly powerful tool, especially when you’re running a business to to help you, you know, get through certain tasks during the day. And I I think it’s an incredible tool and the way we leverage it in the future is is something that’s yet to be seen. And part of our tech expo, we’re gonna have University of Arizona also has one of the first degree, four year degree courses in artificial intelligence.

And so we’re gonna have an expert come speak to on this point and and talk about the integration of of geospatial technologies. we’re working at the biosphere on a farming project with them and the they’re using basically using robots to farm, but they they need to know and teach the robots where they’re at. And so who better to teach, you know, artificial intelligence where you’re at than than surveyors. And so those things and and the integration of that and where that’s headed, I’ll leave those discussions to people that are more more intelligent than me, but I’m I’m excited from my viewpoint and working with the university and all the directions that we can take this and and really the questions we can ask.

I think the I think where this lies is the questions that we’re asking it and then analyzing the answers for ourselves. You know, we can’t just be directed by GPS at some point into, you know, driving off a cliff. There has to be some some some common sense put closed into this. But there’s there’s there’s there’s so much the the ability to do so much more so much quickly is gonna really enhance who we are as professionals to verify those things and to keep them in check. And so where those points collide is really interesting to me. And that’s part of why we’re doing the tech expo, is to to look at the newest technologies, to talk about AI and the future of land surveying.

Angus Stocking – Host (19:41.87)
So let’s pivot now and talk about the the expo. is this the first one you’ve done? what are the goals? How big a deal is this? w what what can people look forward to at the the expo?

Amanda Manos – Guest (19:55.362)
Yeah, this is this is a really great time. We’re taking a little bit of time this fall when things slow down. You know, everybody’s always busy in the summer. And so that that’ll be on the 29th here in Tucson, and we’re bringing together surveying, geospatial professionals and technology providers, students, educators and clients with speakers and hands-on exposure to where to to talk about where the profession is heading.

And then we really want to bring all these people together to to talk about you know the latest advancements in AI and BIM and SLAM scanning and and really expose the students that are here as well to this technology and to what’s going on. But it’s gonna be a really a really great way to not just complain about the pipeline problem that we’re having with getting land surveyors, but to help build the pipeline and so.

The Darling Geomatics Tech Expo is gonna be about outreach and mentorship and exposing people to technology and developing employees that are examples of what Darling is doing in the Southwest and what we’re seeing what works. And so we’re really excited to share the things that we we’re doing here and to help other geospatial companies, you know, to get get to get on board and and actually advance their programs as well.

Angus Stocking – Host (21:21.526)
I’m happy to help get the word out on that.

Amanda Manos – Guest (21:25.438)
Thank you. Yeah. Thanks for having us having me on. I really appreciate it.

Angus Stocking – Host (21:29.656)
Couple more questions. you mentioned the pipeline and the engineers I talk to quite a bit and the seminars I’ve been to, they’re you know, they talk about the talent shortage. and on paper it sure looks severe and people are worried. AI, I think, plays into that as a possible, you know, solution. Maybe give us your take on, you know, how severe is the talent shortage or you know, pipeline crunch from your point of view and what are are we gonna make it? I mean it seems like civilization could fall if we don’t get enough engineers or land surveyors, but I I think we will, but what are your thoughts?

Amanda Manos – Guest (22:20.258)
Yeah, I’m I’m always more optimistic in this. You know, the the days of you know of needing a a surveyor on every every single job on is are are kind of gone. The professional land surveyor where the professional land surveyor is needed. I I will never discount that, you know, the professional land surveyor is needed to oversee a lot of things, but I think you can certainly extend what we’re doing and that the technicians and the field crews and well educated individuals that are analyzing data, that’s what’s really that’s what’s really going to to be the end all here.

And so it’s a lot about visibility, you know, there was there’s always sometimes there’s always this stigma that if you get into land surveying or a geospatial realm that you have to be a PLS. And that’s never been my goal. I’ve I have a lot of career individuals here who are in the field who will stay in the field who and who will never get you know chain to an office desk because that’s where their love and their passion is about it and they’re really great at what they do. And so I think I’ve seen online universities really start building and we’ve saw New Mexico State go from a program that was, you know, in around two thousand five they had we’re down to 17, 18 students. And now with the online offerings, they’re they’re well above a hundred now. And similar things are happened at East Tennessee State when one of my when I employees started there, she said they only had 20 or 30 students.

And by the time she left, there there’s 200 students now. And so I think the pipeline’s getting fed. I think we we haven’t started seeing the end results with as many PLSs yet, but I think it’s it’s starting to happen. And so I’m more optimistic, but I think we all still still need to can do do our part. You know, there there is definitely a shortage. I’m not I’m not gonna discount that by any means, but we need to talk about our careers and what has made us successful and developing technicians into crew chiefs and future surveyors means mentorship and giving people meaningful responsibilities. You know, I think I think they’re craving this. the young the young the young men and women I that I employ, we get we’ve got…

Amanda Manos – Guest (24:39.566)
…pushed into a time crunch at certain points and they’ve had to step up when n might they might not have been completely ready, but that always seems to be trial by fire is a good way to to learn and to push yourself.

Angus Stocking – Host (24:53.294)
Do you have a general strategy towards you know training on site or professional development? How much effort do you put into that for your new surveyors?

Amanda Manos – Guest (25:05.388)
Yeah, we put a lot. I there was a lot a lot of back and forth went through a lot of people. I worked primarily remotely when COVID occurred. I was working with the Army Corps of Engineers at that time and and we did I worked for two years, you know, at my home and when I came back to the office it was it was a hard adjustment, but I really saw the the benefit of having in-person discussions and we are an in-office we are an in-office team. we have a few remote contractors, but I always tell our employees you you will come into the office every day because that’s how we learn the most. And it’s these impromptu meetings that we have in the hall. I’ll hear the guys come in and they were just assessing field books this afternoon. And because I’m again I’m harping on on taking field notes and and taking part in those things.

And so my field crew coordinator was talking to them about, you know, field books. And so I I got to just, you know, go over and start talking to them about, you know, some of the field books and the notes I took while working for the BLM and the and the importance of the historical record of those, you know, and encouraging him to just, you know, write down in his field book what happened that day. And to hear my my field coordinator telling him, you know, just write down something that happened that day would be helpful for us to know in the future for what was going on with you out in the field. You know, it started raining and I only got these points and it’s really it it that’s fundamental to me that we’re in the office learning from each other and so and taking the time to do that is is fundamental to what we’re doing at Darling.

Angus Stocking – Host (26:44.312)
Well, thank you for that take and thank you for your optimism. I don’t share it to the same extent as you, but I I appreciate you’re a more optimistic, level headed person, I think. And you’re also a I get the impression you’re a long term planner. Could we close maybe with what you see happening over the next five to ten years, for the profession and for your firm in particular?

Amanda Manos – Guest (26:48.086)
Hmm.

Amanda Manos – Guest (27:12.226)
Yeah, and our firm in particular, I’m really trying to to to bring in the best tools and the best the best resources we have to complete certain jobs. And so that might not mean we have the best experts right at Darling right now, but building the friends and the relationships I have across the country and through FIG and some of the other, you know, really wonderful groups I’ve gotten to be a part of. I know a lot of people I have a good friend in Maryland who needed some help on some surveying stuff and I said, you know, I don’t I don’t know anything about that issue in Maryland, but I can certainly, you know, put you in touch with somebody who does.

And Ramon Labrador, the one of the deputy surveyors, he used to work for the District of Columbia, actually helped her there in DC. And that’s what’s fun to me. It’s it’s solving the problem in in the right way. We had a we had another issue with a a mining project and I didn’t know how to tackle it. We it was one we hadn’t tackled before. And I I reached out online to a a colleague out of Australia and he he gave me some tips on how he would have handled it. And that’s what I love about where surveying and the geospatial industry is headed, is it it’s not this evil competition that it once was, that this cutthroat thing, but we’re actually still working together to solve problems and

And Trent Keenan at Diamondback was always a great example of that. I had my CAD analyst here who needed some more expertise and some training. And I’m not in that category to train her anymore. And he brought her on and and gave her some exposure to his team there in Las Vegas. And I think that mindset that we’re not all in competition, that there’s plenty of work to go around for everybody is what I’m excited about. And that this lack of resources isn’t the case anymore. And I think we can really thrive if we do that as geospatial professionals and continue to build off of what’s been done. And so the I’m still I have to be optimistic. I couldn’t get out of bed if I wasn’t.

Angus Stocking – Host (29:23.488)
And it looks great on you.

Amanda Manos – Guest (29:25.41)
Huh. Well thank you, Angus. I appreciate that.

Angus Stocking – Host (29:28.194)
Amanda, thank you. This has been a fantastic interview. I feel better about land surveying and life itself after speaking with you. Any closing thoughts or should we call it good at this point?

Amanda Manos – Guest (29:42.146)
You know, I really just want to stress that I want Darling to be a place where where anybody can come as a technician and get exposed to great technology and great mentors and actually see a path to becoming a crew chief, a project surveyor, a PLS, or whatever direction fits them, you know. And we have we have all walks of people that walk through this door and and find their path here. The the latest technician I found was actually at Jack in the Box. My husband and I were there on a Sunday morning at 6am and this young man was was cleaning tables and I needed creamer and and he was very kind and he helped me and he was wiping tables down and I said, what what are you doing with your life?

Is it is this where you wanna be? And he was like it was kind of an odd question at 6:30 in the morning, you know, and from a stranger and he was like, No, you know, I’m not sure. I just graduated from high school, but no, I don’t wanna work here forever and I said, well, are you interested in computers and drones and you know mapping and sciences? He said yeah, that sounds neat. He said, I want to go into law enforcement. But I said, Well, you seem like a hard worker. I said, If you if you want to do something else, come by my office. You know, my office is over there at the tech park. And he showed up and he’s been with us for three months now. And I about have him convinced that maybe, you know, being a surveyor is kind of cool too. Not that I’m trying to take him away from law enforcement, but this is such a great skill to have, you know. And he’s learning that the hard work out in the field and he’s gotten a raise and it’s it’s paying off, you know, and he’s enjoying the camaraderie of it as well.

Angus Stocking – Host (31:21.646)
Well and forensic land surveying is such a fascinating field.

Amanda Manos – Guest (31:26.668)
Yeah, that’s what I told him, you know. But I’m I’m gonna hook him. He’s gonna stay with us for a while, I hope.

Angus Stocking – Host (31:31.756)
I would not bet against that. Thank you. This has been super and I’m in favor of everything you have planned and I wish you the greatest success in the world. So thank you, Amanda.

Amanda Manos – Guest (31:45.634)
Thanks, Angus. Come out and visit us sometime in Tucson soon.

Angus Stocking – Host (31:48.48)
Yeah, well and I I’m in Paonia, Colorado. We’ve got mines out here too.

Amanda Manos – Guest (31:52.984)
Great, great.