Technical Support Team Manager - Drone Operations

This role manages the full customer support organization at Percepto, overseeing an outsourced team for Levels 1 and 2 and an internal team of 4 for Level 3 escalations. The manager owns support KPIs, SLAs, automation and AI roadmap, quality audits, and acts as the primary escalation point for critical issues. They serve as the key cross-functional interface with Ground Ops, Remote Ops, R&D, Product, Commercial, and Safety to keep customers running and the drone fleet flying.

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.