Technical Support Team Manager - Drone Operations

Percepto; Town of Florida (NY); On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Percepto seeks an experienced Support Team Manager to own our end-to-end customer support, combining an outsourced Level 1/2 partner with an internal Level 3 team. You’ll collaborate daily with Field/Ground Ops, Remote Ops, R&D, Product, Commercial, and Safety to keep customers running and fleet flying.

Lead staffing, KPIs, and escalations while shaping the AI-driven support roadmap and automation strategy. Hands-on in critical investigations when needed.

Qualifications

• Hands-on technical background across hardware and software.
• Willingness to dive into escalated diagnostics and field troubleshooting.
• Strong understanding of UAV/drone hardware, onboard software, and cloud platforms.
• Experience with automation platforms and AI-assisted workflows.

Responsibilities

• Own performance and day-to-day operations across all three support levels.
• Own support KPIs, SLAs, and ticket workflows and reporting.
• Own the AI roadmap and automation for triage, routing, and deflection.
• Design and manage a quality audit program across all levels.
• Act as primary escalation point for critical issues and lead complex investigations.
• Cross-functional liaison with Ground Ops, Remote Ops, R&D, Product, Commercial, and Safety.
• Own staffing, on-call coverage, onboarding, and vendor performance.
• Own knowledgebase and training materials across three levels.

Skills

Technical leadership

People management

Python scripting

Windows & Linux

Remote diagnostics

Automation tools

AI tooling

Tools

Zapier

Make

Torq

ChatGPT

AI tooling

Job description

Percepto is the leading provider of autonomous inspection and monitoring solutions that harness robotics, including our market-leading industrial drone-in-a-box solution. Our team comprises software and hardware engineers, industry experts, and professionals passionate about innovation and driven to push the boundaries of what's possible with software, AI, and hardware. Our company's growth will not stop anytime soon, and we are looking for great talent like you to join our team!

We are seeking an experienced Support Team Manager to own our full customer support organization: an outsourced team handling Levels 1 and 2, and an internal team of 4 handling Level 3 escalations. This is a high-visibility role that sits at the center of the company. You will work daily with Field/Ground Ops, Remote Ops, R&D, Product, Commercial, and Safety to keep our customers running and our fleet flying. This is an opportunity for an experienced, hands‑on people leader who wants ownership over an end‑to‑end support function and a seat at the table across the business.

Responsibilities:

• Own performance and day‑to‑day operations across all three support levels: manage the 4 direct reports on the Level 3 team directly, and hold the outsourced partner accountable for Levels 1 and 2.


• Own support KPIs, SLAs, and ticket workflows/escalation paths across all levels, and report on performance and trends to leadership on a regular cadence.


• Own the Support automation and AI roadmap, turning operational pain points into AI‑assisted workflows for triage, routing, and deflection.


• Design and manage a quality audit program across all three levels, holding the outsourced partner accountable to agreed quality benchmarks.


• Act as the primary escalation point for critical or high visibility customer issues, personally getting hands‑on with complex technical investigations when a case demands it.


• Serve as the key cross‑functional interface: Ground Ops and Remote Ops on field readiness and on‑site or remote incidents, R&D and Product on fixes and roadmap input, Commercial on renewal‑critical accounts, and Safety on flight‑safety and regulatory matters.


• Own staffing, on‑call coverage, and recruiting/onboarding for the Level 3 team, and manage the ongoing relationship and contract performance of the outsourced Level 1/2 vendor.


• Own the support knowledgebase and documentation strategy, keeping guides and training materials current across all three levels.

Requirements:

• Deep, hands‑on technical background across hardware and software, comfortable personally diagnosing complex issues rather than only directing others.


• Willingness and ability to step directly into escalated technical investigations, remote diagnostics, or field level troubleshooting when a case demands it.


• Solid understanding of how UAV/drone hardware, onboard software, and cloud platforms interact end to end.


• Hands‑on experience with Windows and Linux operating systems, networking fundamentals, and remote connectivity/troubleshooting tools.


• Proficiency in scripting (Python or similar) to investigate logs, automate diagnostics, or build support tooling.


• Comfortable reading technical documentation, wiring diagrams, and system architecture to guide both the team and cross functional partners.


• Hands‑on experience with automation platforms (e.g. Zapier, Make, Torq, or similar) and proven use of generative AI tools (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or similar) to improve support efficiency and quality.