The Role
Provides on-site operational and technical liaison support between the customer command centre, mission crews, and support teams. Advises on platform availability, sensor outputs, tasking, and operational limitations; verifies live feeds and resolves first-line interface or display issues. The role escalates technical faults, maintains operational logs and shift handovers, confirms service restoration, and handles customer and operational data according to security procedures. It is a customer-facing, shift-based position in Dover requiring technical confidence and calm decision-making.
Summary Generated by Built In
To act as DEA's embedded Customer Liaison Officer within a Customer's centre in Dover, providing the day-to-day operational and technical link between the customer, DEA mission crews, and support teams. The liaison officer will be responsible for providing sensor payload output advice on the utilisation of the platform and resolving any issues with the interface. The role will provide first-line support to ensure sensor outputs are correctly received, displayed and understood within the command centre, escalating technical faults where required and maintaining continuity through clear shift handovers. This is a shift-based, customer-facing role requiring a calm, credible and technically confident operator.
Key Responsibilities
Customer Liaison and Operational Support
- Act as DEA's on-site representative during assigned shifts, maintaining a professional and effective working relationship with customer watchkeepers, command staff and operational teams.
- Provide the customer with timely advice on platform availability, sensor outputs, tasking considerations, capabilities and operational limitations.
- Support the customer in understanding and using sensor payload outputs, including explaining what the platform can deliver and any factors affecting collection or display quality.
- Coordinate live operational queries and issues between the Customer's Centre, DEA mission crews, and support teams, ensuring information is passed through the agreed command and communication routes.
Sensor Output and Platform Advice
- Maintain a practical working knowledge of the platform sensor payload, output formats, display characteristics and key operational limitations.
- Advise on effective utilisation of the platform and sensor payload to support customer requirements, including appropriate use of available sensor products and outputs.
- Confirm that live feeds, imagery, video and associated data are being received and displayed correctly within the Customer's Centre.
- Explain any known collection gaps, degraded outputs, latency or other limitations to the customer and support identification of workable operational alternatives where possible.
Interface, Display and Technical Support
- Provide first-line diagnosis and resolution of interface or display issues affecting the delivery of sensor payload outputs into the command centre.
- Complete agreed system checks and basic recovery actions, including connection, display, and configuration checks, within authorised procedures and access permissions.
- Identify whether faults are likely to sit within the local display/interface, communications path, mission system or aircraft platform and engage the appropriate support team.
- Escalate unresolved technical issues promptly, providing clear fault details, timings, symptoms, actions taken and current operational impact.
- Confirm restored service with the customer following corrective action and record the outcome to support traceability and recurring fault analysis.
Compliance, Handover and Reporting
- Conduct structured shift handovers covering platform status, customer priorities, current faults, outstanding actions and any operational limitations.
- Maintain concise operational and technical logs, capturing customer requests, interface issues, resolutions and matters requiring follow-up.
- Handle customer information, imagery and operational data in accordance with company procedures, customer security requirements and Customer site rules, raising risks or recurring issues through the appropriate management route.
Technical Experience and Expertise
- Demonstrable operational experience in a military, law enforcement, border security, command and control, intelligence, aviation, technical operations or similar environment; an ex-military or law enforcement background is highly desirable.
- Strong technical aptitude with experience of live video, sensor feeds, mission systems, IT interfaces, communications or control-room display systems, and the confidence to carry out first-line fault finding.
- A relevant technical, communications, avionics, IT, ISR, or operational qualification is desirable; equivalent practical experience will be considered.
- Experience working directly with customers or operational command staff in a live or time-sensitive environment is desirable.
- Able to work a shift pattern on-site in Dover and meet all company and customer security, vetting, and site access requirements.
Skills Profile
- Confident and credible customer-facing communicator, able to build trust with operational staff and explain technical matters in clear, practical language.
- Calm and methodical under pressure, with a strong problem-solving approach and the judgement to distinguish between issues that can be resolved locally and those requiring escalation.
- Technically curious and comfortable working with unfamiliar systems, interfaces and display equipment while following controlled procedures.
- Strong attention to detail, with disciplined logging, handover and incident reporting habits.
- Able to work independently, take ownership of issues and maintain momentum while remaining closely connected to the wider DEA operational and technical teams.
- Reliable, flexible and team focused, with the ability to support shift work and changing operational priorities within a customer command-centre environment.
About
DEA and our sister company ESAO are a world leading specialist technology-led provider of complex aerial data acquisition services. A pioneer in airborne data gathering, DEA/ESAO use ground-breaking techniques and the most advanced and innovative technologies in the industry to help you answer complex questions and make informed decisions in real time.
Skills Required
- Operational experience in a military, law enforcement, border security, command and control, intelligence, aviation, technical operations, or similar environment
- Strong technical aptitude and experience with live video, sensor feeds, mission systems, IT interfaces, communications, or control-room display systems
- Ability to perform first-line fault finding and basic system recovery actions
- Relevant technical, communications, avionics, IT, ISR, or operational qualification
- Equivalent practical experience in place of a relevant qualification
- Experience working directly with customers or operational command staff in a live or time-sensitive environment
- Ability to work an on-site shift pattern in Dover
- Ability to meet company and customer security, vetting, and site access requirements
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The Company
What We Do
DEA is a world leading technology-led provider of specialised aerial data acquisition services. Specialised Operations DEA delivers bespoke airborne solutions using their proprietary technology, real time connectivity and operational expertise combining senior military and commercial aviation experience to provide a class- leading innovative and agile response to the most demanding requirement. This combination forms the basis of enduring partnerships with our customers. Leading Technology DEA’s technical systems team create the soft and hard ability quickly to merge differing complex sensor technologies and technical standards, to deliver industry-leading operational flexibility and capabilities within competitive time and cost constraints. DEA's Mission Management System consolidates all required data and functionality into one easy to use platform enabling better analysis and outcomes. Engineering services DEA provides reliable and robust aircraft management, maintenance, modification & technical integration and parts services that are designed to keep their own fleet and our customers’ aircraft airborne and safe. All services and approvals are compliant with regulators including the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the United States Federal Aviation Authority (FAA). DEA's services include: • Intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) • Aerial survey • Specialist commercial air transport • Flight calibration and flight path validation.
