Jim H. Williams

Mr. Williams advises clients on issues related to aircraft and space operations with specific emphasis on all things related to unmanned aircraft systems or drones. He has nearly 40 years of experience in the aviation and space sectors with NASA, Lockheed Martin, and the FAA. While working at the FAA, Mr. Williams recently served as manager of the FAA's Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration Office, the single agency focal point for all UAS-related activities. Before taking the helm of the UAS Integration Office in March 2012, he spent 6 years as the director of Engineering Services in the FAA's NextGen Organization, where he led the coordination and integration of all systems engineering work needed to move the NAS toward NextGen. During his extensive career with the FAA, Mr. Williams led the organization tasked with life-cycle management of all FAA air traffic control communications systems, worked at the FAA Command Center, and led the team that designed, procured, and fielded the FAA's prototype Air/Ground Data Link Communications System. He also led the FAA team that negotiated with other federal agencies to create a second civil GPS frequency. He started his career working in NASA's Mission Control Center as a flight controller for the Space Shuttle program. Mr. Williams graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1983 with a bachelor of science in aerospace engineering.