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 (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 planning and tracking…