Senior Project Manager, Drone Services - US

Rippling, Inc.; Columbus (OH); On-site; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Career growth

Flexible work arrangements

Collaborative culture

Job summary

Skyports seeks a Senior Project Manager, Drone Services - US to lead delivery of the US construction monitoring portfolio. You’ll transform contracts into actionable plans, coordinate specialists, manage budgets and risks, and ensure timely, quality outputs for customers.

Bring PMP or equivalent, a proven track record delivering complex drone projects, and strong cross-functional leadership. You will work with Flight Operations, Regulatory, Safety, Tech, Finance and BD teams to scale US services.

Qualifications

• PMP or another recognized project management qualification.
• Experience owning complex customer projects from start to finish.
• Experience owning project budgets, schedules, scope changes and customer relationships.
• Ability to lead across teams without direct reporting lines and make decisions with incomplete information.
• Clear writing, sound commercial judgment and follow-through on actions.

Responsibilities

• Deliver the portfolio with clear scope, milestones, data quality and budgets.
• Coordinate deployment readiness, site access and suppliers across teams.
• Manage the delivery plan from data capture to outputs and handoffs.
• Track costs, forecasts and changes; manage invoicing milestones with Finance.
• Support business development with credible delivery plans and cost assumptions.

Skills

Project management

Budget management

Cross-functional leadership

Stakeholder management

Risk management

Education

PMP certification

Job description

Senior Project Manager, Drone Services - US

Job Title: Senior Project Manager, Drone Services - US

About Us:

Founded in 2018, Skyports is at the forefront of the Advanced Air Mobility revolution, developing and operating cutting-edge infrastructure for electric air taxis and leveraging drone technology to transform business operations across industries.

Our business is split into two key areas:

• Skyports Drone Services uses drones to streamline logistics, capture data, and enhance operational efficiency, with a focus on rural deliveries, surveying, surveillance, and maritime services.
• Skyports Infrastructure plays a vital role in the Urban Air Mobility ecosystem, designing, building, owning, and operating vertiports that enable eVTOL operators to take off and land in cities around the world.

With our presence in this dynamic, high-growth industry, there has never been a more exciting time to be part of our mission to reshape the future of air mobility.

The Role:
Your initial focus will be expanding our US construction monitoring services. You’ll own delivery from contract and rollout planning through drone data capture, processed outputs and software-enabled insights that help customers make decisions. You’ll coordinate the specialists responsible for each stage, manage quality and handoffs, and see the work through to customer acceptance.

This is a hands-on project management role with autonomy, backed by Flight Operations, Regulatory, Safety, Technical, Finance and Business Development teams. Alongside construction, your portfolio may include power line inspection and drone delivery projects. You’ll keep customers informed, budgets under control and delivery teams focused as we grow.

What you’ll own
DDeliver the portfolio

• Turn contracts and customer requirements into achievable plans, with clear scope, milestones, data quality requirements, acceptance criteria, budgets and named owners.
• Manage priorities, dependencies and resource needs across several projects. Work with functional leads to resolve clashes, unblock delivery and escalate decisions early.
• Coordinate deployment readiness, site access and suppliers, working through the teams accountable for operational and regulatory approvals.
• Manage the delivery plan from data capture through processing, quality checks and software outputs. Coordinate technical specialists and resolve handoff issues so customers receive usable results on time.
• Maintain accurate project records, manage changes and risks, and close projects properly with accepted deliverables and useful lessons learned.

Own the customer and commercial detail

Agree how customers will use the outputs and what acceptance looks like. Be their main delivery contact, lead clear reviews and resolve issues early.

• Track actual costs and forecasts against the agreed budget with Finance. Surface overruns early, manage scope changes and make sure invoicing milestones are actioned.
• Support Business Development with credible delivery plans, costs and assumptions for new work. Identify opportunities to expand successful services with existing customers.

Build for growth

• Improve the templates, reporting and delivery routines that help the US team work well. Keep them simple enough to use and consistent enough to scale.
• Share what works across the wider Projects team and help colleagues tackle difficult delivery problems. Bring a practical, customer-focused approach to new locations and service launches.

What success looks like in 6–12 months

• Your portfolio has clear priorities, reliable plans and visible cost forecasts, with risks and decisions raised in time to act.
• Customers receive quality-checked data and useful insights on time, with clear updates and confidence in delivery.
• The US team has repeatable delivery practices that make each new project and location easier to launch.

What you’ll bring

Essential

• PMP or another recognized project management qualification, or strong evidence of applying formal project management methods successfully.
• A strong track record owning complex customer projects from start to finish and managing several projects at once.
• Experience owning project budgets, schedules, scope changes and customer relationships, with evidence of getting difficult projects back on track.
• The confidence to lead across teams without relying on direct reporting lines, challenge unrealistic assumptions and make decisions with incomplete information.
• Clear writing, sound commercial judgment and a habit of following actions through. You’re comfortable with both detailed planning and practical problem-solving.

Useful experience

Construction monitoring, drone or aviation services, inspection data or software-enabled services, utility inspection, logistics, field operations, regulated environments, or building project processes in a growing business.

Why join

You’ll help build a nationwide construction monitoring service and see your work used on live projects, while shaping delivery across a growing US drone services business.

What We Offer:

• Competitive salary and benefits package.
• Opportunity to work in an innovative and growing industry.
• A collaborative and dynamic work environment with ample opportunities for professional development.
• Flexible working arrangements and a supportive team culture.

Note: This description intentionally excludes application instructions. Skyports is an equal-opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.