Director, Remote Sensing

Overview

WGI is seeking a Director, Remote Sensing to lead the operations and technical delivery of our Remote Sensing Department within the Geospatial Division. This position is responsible for the people, technology, equipment, processes, and quality systems necessary to successfully execute WGI's airborne remote sensing programs while engaging with leadership of our other Departments.

The Director, Remote Sensing will provide strategic, operational, and technical leadership for the Remote Sensing Department. This individual is accountable for departmental performance, staff development, resource planning, technology and equipment strategy, quality, production capacity, and successful project delivery. The Director will maintain sufficient technical expertise to provide oversight, evaluate risk, support complex project decisions, and ensure appropriate technical leadership is available throughout the project lifecycle.

This individual will lead a multidisciplinary team of sensor operators, LiDAR analysts, imagery and photogrammetric professionals, and other geospatial technical staff while coordinating closely with project managers, surveyors, GIS professionals, and other WGI disciplines. The Director will be responsible for developing scalable production processes, maintaining high standards for quality and consistency, optimizing staff and equipment utilization, and ensuring that WGI remains at the forefront of remote sensing technology.

This is an in-office leadership position with travel required to support operations, projects, staff, clients, business development, and field activities.

At WGI, you will find talented, passionate associates providing exceptional service in collaborative, team-driven environments, all while having fun and enjoying the work they do. We work to stay ahead of the curve by investing in the latest tools and technology. As one of the nation’s top consulting firms, we consistently strive to promote efficiency, cultivate a culture our associates can proudly embrace, and empower our associates to advance their career growth at WGI and beyond.

WGI is always looking for remarkable individuals to join our team and help us grow in our vision. If you think you are an innovative, self-motivated team player, and want to shape your community, join our WGI team today!

WGI offers a complete Benefits package including: Medical, Dental, Vision, LTD & STD, Life Insurance, 401k with match, PTO, Holidays, HSA with company contribution, Pet insurance, and Employee Assistance Program.

#LI-onsite

Responsibilities

Operational Leadership

Lead the operations of WGI's Remote Sensing Department, including staffing, production capacity, equipment, resource allocation, workload balancing, project performance, and operational priorities. Establish scalable processes, accountability, and performance measures that support consistent, predictable, and profitable project delivery.

Maintain visibility into backlog, production capacity, staffing availability, equipment utilization, and upcoming project demand to proactively identify resource constraints and develop appropriate staffing, subcontracting, scheduling, or technology solutions.

Airborne Acquisition Operations

Provide operational oversight of airborne LiDAR and imagery acquisition programs. Ensure qualified technical personnel, appropriate equipment, documented procedures, quality controls, and adequate resources are in place to support safe, efficient, and successful acquisition.

LiDAR & Imagery Production

Provide leadership and technical oversight for WGI's airborne, mobile, terrestrial, and UAS LiDAR and imagery production capabilities. Ensure production teams have effective workflows, appropriate technical leadership, adequate resources, and clearly defined quality standards from initial processing through final delivery.

Quality Management

Develop, implement, and maintain comprehensive QA/QC procedures throughout the acquisition and production lifecycle. Establish measurable checkpoints for collection completeness, trajectory quality, relative and absolute accuracy, point density, imagery quality, calibration, classification, data integrity, metadata, and final deliverables. Perform quarterly audits to ensure Project Manager’s compliance to WGI’s established Quality Assurance Program.

Technical Leadership

Maintain strong working knowledge of Remote Sensing technologies, methodologies, specifications, and industry standards. Provide technical oversight for complex projects, support technical decision-making, and ensure appropriate subject-matter experts are engaged to resolve specialized technical issues. Develop and empower technical leaders within the department rather than creating dependency on a single technical resource.

Project Delivery

Maintain visibility across active Remote Sensing projects and proactively address schedule, staffing, technical, equipment, or quality issues that could affect successful delivery. Coordinate with project managers to establish realistic schedules, production plans, budgets, and resource requirements.

People Leadership

Lead, mentor, develop, and evaluate Remote Sensing staff and technical leaders. Establish clear expectations, accountability, career paths, succession plans, and development opportunities. Identify staffing and training needs, build technical depth and redundancy, and develop future leaders capable of independently managing critical technical and operational functions.

Equipment & Technology Management

Oversee the effective deployment, maintenance, calibration, and lifecycle planning of remote sensing sensors, GNSS/IMU systems, computing infrastructure, storage, and supporting equipment. Participate in evaluation and justification of significant technology and capital investments.

Automation & Process Improvement

Promote automation, batch processing, scripting, and standardized production workflows to improve quality, repeatability, throughput, and cost efficiency. Identify production bottlenecks and implement measurable improvements.

Technical Risk & Issue Resolution

Ensure complex technical, equipment, software, processing, and data-quality issues are appropriately escalated, investigated, and resolved. Facilitate root-cause analysis and ensure lessons learned are incorporated into standards, training, and operating procedures.

Standards & Procedures

Establish and maintain departmental standards, standard operating procedures, production workflows, technical documentation, and QA/QC requirements to promote consistent execution across staff, offices, technologies, and projects.

Financial & Resource Management

Assist with the development of department budgets, staffing plans, capital expenditures, equipment utilization, project performance, and resource forecasting. Monitor and manage to key operational and financial performance indicators and recommend corrective actions where appropriate.

Business Development & Client Support

Support WGI's business development activities through technical presentations, proposal development, scopes of work, level-of-effort estimates, project approaches, and client meetings. Assist project managers and business development professionals in developing technically sound and competitive remote sensing solutions.

Innovation

Evaluate emerging LiDAR, imagery, UAS, positioning, cloud-computing, AI/ML, and geospatial technologies. Recommend technologies and investments that improve WGI's capabilities, productivity, quality, or competitive position.

Safety & Compliance

Promote a strong safety culture across airborne, vehicle-based, UAS, and field operations. Ensure departmental activities comply with WGI policies, applicable regulations, aviation requirements, client requirements, professional standards, and established operating procedures.

Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in

Geomatics, Surveying, GIS, Geography, Remote Sensing, Photogrammetry,