Project Coordinator Lead (Drone Operations Department)

About QEA Tech

QEA Tech is the global standard in building envelope intelligence, providing the world's most precise building envelope audits. The company combines infrared thermography, proprietary sensors, and AI-powered building science to deliver quantified insights that drive smarter retrofits and measurable energy savings.

Since pioneering AI-powered building envelope analytics in 2019, following research and development that began in 2010, QEA Tech has completed over 1,000 large-scale projects across three continents, analyzed more than 41 million square feet of building envelope, and identified over $18M in energy savings for its clients. Its patented methodology for quantifying energy loss through infrared imaging replaces generic assumptions with precise, measured data: actual R-values, quantified energy loss, and data-driven retrofit plans with exact payback periods.

QEA Tech operates across commercial, multi-unit residential, healthcare, academic, industrial, and data center portfolios, with offices in the Toronto area, Boston, and Tokyo. Drone-based data collection is a core input to this work, and the Drone Operations team is responsible for planning, coordinating, and delivering that data accurately and on schedule.

About the Role

Are you excited by drones, technology, travel, and solving problems in the real world?

This isn’t a desk-bound project coordination role. As the Project Lead, Drone Operations at QEA Tech, you’ll manage missions, pilots, equipment, and client site logistics across multiple concurrent projects — and you’ll be just as comfortable on a remote job site as you are managing schedules and solving problems from your laptop.

You’ll travel, work in the field, communicate directly with clients, adapt to changing conditions, and help shape the systems and processes of a rapidly evolving technology company. The hours aren’t always 9-to-5, the locations aren’t always convenient, and the problems aren’t always defined in advance. What you can expect is variety, responsibility, technology, and the opportunity to help build something that doesn’t exist in a traditional operations environment.

Solid drone operations knowledge is expected, but this role prioritizes project coordination over hands-on piloting. The person best suited to this position is able to keep multiple moving parts running smoothly and on time, more than they are the most technically skilled individual pilot on the team.

Key Responsibilities

Project & Mission Coordination

• Coordinate scheduling and logistics for multiple concurrent drone missions across sites, pilots, and project timelines.

• Serve as the primary point of coordination between pilots, clients, and internal teams throughout each project.

• Track project status, mission progress, and data deliverables against timelines; proactively identify and flag risks or delays.

• Coordinate equipment shipping, preparation, and readiness — drones, batteries, sensors, controllers, and RTK equipment — ahead of deployment.

• Manage equipment inventory, maintenance scheduling, firmware updates, and field readiness across the fleet.

• Support staffing and scheduling decisions across pilots and missions, balancing capacity against project priorities.

Drone Operations & Technical Oversight

• Maintain solid working knowledge of drone platforms (e.g., DJI Enterprise systems), flight parameters, payloads, and mission planning sufficient to coordinate effectively with pilots and troubleshoot routine issues.

• Support and review mission planning for complex urban, industrial, and building-envelope environments.

• Apply working knowledge of photogrammetry and 3D data processing workflows — 3D models, orthomosaics, digital twins — to coordinate data handoffs and quality checks.

• Maintain awareness of RPAS regulations, controlled airspace requirements, and flight authorizations relevant to active projects.

Support & Team Development

• Support onboarding and coordination of pilots, including subcontracted or remote pilots as needed.

• Provide day-to-day operational guidance to pilots on active projects.

• Contribute to developing scalable drone-operation workflows and coordination processes.

Client & Quality Support

• Act as a point of contact for clients on project status and logistics.

• Support quality control review of collected data and deliverables prior to handoff.