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Job Description
Mission Coordinator Drone Institute Lafayette, LA Job Details Full-time $40,000 - $60,000 a year 22 hours ago Benefits Dental insurance Vision insurance Qualifications Airframe Enterprise software Flight operations Customer relationship management Contingency planning Relationship management Contracts Remote Pilot Certificate Full Job Description Mission Coordinator Drone Institute AI has unlocked condition intelligence for the built world at scale. We capture aerial data and deliver inspection reports, 3D building models, and portfolio condition intelligence to property managers, commercial roofers, manufacturers, and the insurance and AEC ecosystem. We are hiring a Mission Coordinator to run the operational backbone of our delivery engine: matching the right drone pilot to the right inspection, on the right day, at the right price — every time, for every enterprise client we serve.
What the role is:
We measure this role by one primary outcome: how many client inspections get booked, flown, and delivered on time and on budget each month. When an enterprise client orders an inspection, you are the person who turns that order into a flight on the calendar. You negotiate with our pilot network, lock in the right vendor at the right rate, and own the job from acceptance through imagery delivery back to the data team. What you'll do Own mission dispatch end-to-end. Every inbound inspection order — commercial thermal, property management, residential roofing, industrial NDT — is routed, scheduled, and confirmed by you against our nationwide pilot network. Negotiate pilot engagements. Match the mission to qualified pilots, negotiate rates and scope, lock in the engagement, and document the agreement. Protect margin without compromising flight quality. Build and curate the pilot bench. Vet new pilots, verify Part 107 and waiver status, track performance, and grow the network in regions where client demand is pulling us forward. Manage the calendar. Coordinate weather windows, client access, site logistics, and any required waivers (Part 107, LAANC, controlled airspace authorizations) so that flight day is uneventful. Run the handoff. Once imagery lands, you confirm completeness with the pilot, hand off to the Data Management team, and close the loop with the client on delivery timing. Report against the funnel. Missions booked, missions flown, on-time delivery rate, pilot cost per mission, and margin per job. You own the operational numbers. Escalate fast. Weather slip, pilot no-show, equipment failure, scope creep — you surface it early, propose the fix, and keep the client informed. What we expect Comfort negotiating with vendors. You are speaking to independent pilots every day about scope, rate, and timing. You can hold the line on price without burning the relationship. Working fluency in drone technology. You understand the difference between a Mavic 3 Thermal and a Matrice 350, what a Trinity Pro is for, what photogrammetry needs vs. what a thermal inspection needs, and when a job needs a specialist vs. a generalist pilot. Logistics-first mindset. You think in terms of windows, dependencies, and contingencies. You always have a Plan B. Tight alignment with sales and data ops. You are the bridge between the sales rep who won the job and the annotation team who delivers it. High-tempo execution. We are routing dozens of missions per week and growing fast. You move quickly, document clearly, and never let a job sit in your queue. Honest reporting. If a pilot underperformed or a job ran over budget, you flag it and fix the root cause. What you bring Several years of experience in vendor management, dispatch, logistics coordination, or operations — ideally in a B2B services environment where you were negotiating rates and scopes with independent contractors or third-party vendors. A working understanding of drone technology: airframes, payloads (RGB, thermal, LiDAR, multispectral), flight planning software (DroneDeploy, Pix4D, Site Scan), and FAA Part 107/ waiver basics. You do not need to be a pilot, but you need to speak the language fluently. Strong negotiation instincts. You know how to anchor a rate, hold a position, and close on terms that work for both sides. Sharp written and verbal communication. You will be sending dozens of pilot offers and client updates every day. Comfort with operational tooling. Dispatch software, CRMs, calendars, shared docs, ticketing systems — you pick up new tools quickly. Calm under pressure. Weather slips and pilot no-shows are part of the job; you triage and re-route immediately.
Helpful but not required:
prior experience in aerial services, geospatial, construction, insurance inspection, field services, or any operation that involved coordinating distributed independent contractors. FAA Part 107 certification. Familiarity with property management, commercial roofing, or industrial inspection workflows. What you'll get Competitive base salary plus performance bonus tied to on-time delivery, margin per mission, and client satisfaction outcomes. Meaningful equity participation. Health, dental, vision, retirement match, and a budget for FAA training and certifications if you want to deepen your aviation credentials on our dime. Direct line to the founders. The mission coordination function is at the center of how this company delivers value — you are not buried in an org chart. The opportunity to build and scale the dispatch operation as we grow from dozens of missions per week to hundreds. Drone Institute AI is an equal-opportunity employer.
