Director Unmanned Aerial Systems

Important Application Submission Information In order to ensure your application is successfully received before the job posting expires, please submit your application by 11:59 PM on Monday, August 31, 2026 More than a career - a chance to make a difference in people's lives. Build an exciting, rewarding career with us – help us make a difference for millions of people every day. Consider joining the Duke Energy team, where you'll find a friendly work environment, opportunities for growth and development, recognition for your work, and competitive pay and benefits.

The Director Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) leads all facets of Duke Energy’s UAS organization, both strategic and operational, with ultimate responsibility for the safe, secure and efficient operation of all company operated and contracted drones, in compliance with all applicable regulatory requirements. Drones maximize the safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of each business organization that the UAS organization supports. The Director is responsible for internal (Aviation Services) drone operations and for the training, governance, and oversight for all Duke Energy qualified UAS pilots in other business units. The Director is responsible for a wide range of highly complex programs/projects and is single point accountable for drone operations. This position promotes operational excellence and introduces business transformation by taking a multi-disciplinary, end-to-end continuous improvement approach to strategic planning. They provide supervisory, administrative, technical and contract logistic support including responsibility for cost (budget), schedule, and overall performance. The ability to work across all organizations and Duke Energy territories is paramount. The Director will be an advocate and a promoter of the technology across the enterprise.   This includes regular communications with Senior Leadership. Progression to this level is restricted on the basis of business need. Staff size is maintained at appropriate levels to meet the mission requirements of the Duke Energy Enterprise, generally in the range of 40-50 individuals, with a mix of FTEs and CWs.

Leads the UAS Team activity, by engaging current team members or adding team members, as required, from appropriate areas. Example: Legal, Risk, Emerging Tech. Ensures mutual understanding of each team members' role and responsibilities. Sets project goals and expectations clearly to align the project team. Establish and maintain effective communications among all UAS Team Members and project stakeholders. Coordinates work within work groups and with other Duke Energy departments and regions in multiple states, to include outside organizations (e.g. regulatory agencies, suppliers and contractors). Develops UAS team members Manage the design and deployment of UAS solutions for Enterprise needs. The position manages a portfolio of projects that involves testing or integration of unmanned systems. Acts as a liaison between business units and the manned aviation flight department, while simplifying and promoting access to and utilization of UAS technologies into the Enterprise. Manage UAS for a wide variety of business applications. The UAS Manager will have the lead role in delivering solutions to our Business Unit customers. The Manager has the responsibility to tailor a solution with the right set of hardware, software, and data services to help Business Units gather data and generate information for operations with the goal to save money, increase data collection and improve safety. The UAS Manager understands and defines requirements, design solutions, and manage system implementation and delivery. Oversight of the UAS training program and other UAS contracts/contractors. Responsible for creating and presenting a 1 year, 3 year, 5 year roadmap for the goals, expansion, management and coordination of the UAS program. Reporting to management: statistics,