Chris Grazioso is the full-time Chief of UAS Operations for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s Aeronautics Division Drone Team. In this role, he oversees mission planning and execution, initial and recurrent training, DOT UAS program coordination, and emergency response operations. He also leads a wide range of transportation infrastructure inspections, including highways, rail, airports, and bridges, as well as other critical transportation facilities across the Commonwealth.
Chris also serves part-time as Team Lead for the Metropolitan Law Enforcement Council’s (MetroLEC) Tactical Drone Unit. MetroLEC is a consortium of over 46 police and sheriff departments serving 600 square miles and 850,000 residents in the south metropolitan Boston area. The Tactical Drone Unit supports SWAT and Search & Rescue teams with pre-mission planning, real-time situational awareness, live streaming, search and rescue, and indoor/outdoor suspect and victim location operations.
A recognized leader in public safety and transportation UAS operations, Chris is a FAAST Team DronePro for the Boston FSDO, a Public Safety Technical Expert with DRONERESPONDERS, and sits on their Board of Advisors. He is a frequent subject matter expert speaker at national conferences and has trained hundreds of public safety operators, members of the general public, and DOT employees across the country since 2015.
Chris has been a medical specialist with Massachusetts Task Force 1 (FEMA US&R) since 2005 and has deployed to multiple national incidents. His aviation background includes 15 years as a manned aircraft pilot and 12 years as an unmanned aircraft pilot.
He has extensive experience with DJI and Skydio rotorcraft, as well as Delair, eBee, and Censys fixed-wing platforms. His sensor experience includes EO, thermal, multispectral, and LiDAR.
His areas of expertise include aerial mapping and inspections, public safety operations, night operations, search and rescue, indoor flying, remote dock operations, BVLOS operations, and emergency response support.