UAS Operations Supervisor

About The Role

The Field Operations Supervisor is responsible for planning, coordinating, and overseeing day-to-day field survey operations, with a primary focus on safe, efficient, and high-quality data collection. This role leads multi-disciplinary field teams (Ground Survey, UAS, GPR, etc.), ensures adherence to safety and quality standards, and manages logistics, equipment readiness, and schedule execution. The Field Operations Supervisor maintains a working knowledge of geospatial data workflows to effectively support the Geospatial Solutions Supervisor and ensure continuity of operations when either role is unavailable.

• Lead and supervise a diverse team including GPR Technicians, Survey Technicians, UAS Pilots, and Field Survey Data Processing Analysts.
• Provide day‑to‑day direction, coaching, and performance feedback to ensure team productivity, safety, and professional growth.
• Support hiring, onboarding, and training for new field staff, reinforcing company standards and expectations.
• Foster a positive, collaborative culture that emphasizes safety, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Demonstrate hands‑on leadership by actively participating in field activities and modeling best practices.

• Plan, organize, and schedule field survey activities to meet project requirements, deadlines, and budget constraints.
• Coordinate daily and weekly work plans with project management, engineering, and geospatial teams.
• Ensure accurate capture of survey data using cameras, GPS, UAVs, GPR, and other field equipment.
• Monitor field progress against schedule, proactively identifying and resolving issues (access, weather, equipment, staffing, etc.).
• Continuously review and refine field workflows for efficiency, including optimizing crew configurations, routing, and daily production.

• Lead job safety planning, including pre‑job briefings, tailboards, and site safety checks.
• Ensure all field staff follow company and client safety protocols, regulatory guidelines, and aviation requirements (for UAS operations).
• Investigate field incidents or near‑misses, document findings, and implement corrective actions in coordination with safety leadership.
• Champion a safety‑first culture, emphasizing hazard recognition, stop‑work authority, and reporting of unsafe conditions.

• Oversee the allocation, deployment, and care of field equipment, including survey instruments, UAVs, GPR units, cameras, and related hardware.
• Work with fleet management to schedule proactive vehicle maintenance, track incidents, and ensure roadworthiness of all vehicles.
• Support inventory control for field equipment, ensuring operational readiness, calibration compliance, and minimal downtime.
• Coordinate logistics for travel, lodging, and mobilization/demobilization of field crews as needed.

• Ensure that field data capture follows defined procedures, naming conventions, and metadata requirements to support downstream processing.
• Conduct basic field‑level QC on collected data (e.g., completeness, correctness, positional checks) before data is handed off to geospatial processing teams.
• Collaborate with the Geospatial Solutions Supervisor to understand data requirements and integrate feedback from the office into field practices.
• Maintain a working knowledge of LiDAR, GPR, thermal imagery, and other field data types sufficient to support quality‑focused field decisions.

• Serve as a primary point of contact for day‑to‑day field‑related questions from internal stakeholders and, when appropriate, from client representatives.
• Communicate project status, risks, and field conditions clearly and concisely to the Superintendent of Field Services and project teams.
• Document field work using standard methods (daily reports, logs, photos, and notes) to support deliverables and incident tracking.
• Support business development efforts by providing field input on scope, schedule assumptions, and resource needs.

• Assist with…