Cox’s “Flying Doctors”: Inside the Program Driving Electric Vehicles Forward

The rise of electric vehicles (EVs) isn’t just a shift in technology; it’s a leap toward the future. But even cutting-edge innovations can sometimes hit speed bumps.  

Enter Cox Automotive’s Flying Doctor Program, a first-of-its-kind solution to ensure EVs stay charged and on the move. With a team of elite field service engineers trained to tackle complex, high-stakes EV battery emergencies on the road and in dealerships, this program is fueling progress across the industry. 

The “flying doctors” are part of Cox’s EV Battery Solutions, which operates end-to-end service, storage, distribution, repair, remanufacture and recycling across the United States. 

We recently spoke with Brandon Carter, the original flying doctor who now oversees the program based in Oklahoma City. Here, Brandon talks about how this groundbreaking initiative came to life, why it’s been a game changer for automakers and dealerships alike and what it takes to become part of this trailblazing team. 

A new program takes flight 

The Flying Doctor program was created in response to a request from an automaker and Cox partner that was looking for specialized support as their EV program ramped up. 

The flying doctors are Cox EV field service engineers who specialize in rapid-response service for damaged EV batteries across the US. Whether at automotive dealerships or on the road, they can be on-site in as little as 24 hours to handle emergencies. Their work focuses on expert repairs, safe handling, recycling damaged battery materials and proactively reducing potential hazards. 

As the first flying doctor, Brandon hit the ground running when the program started, completing an impressive 35 to 40 repairs in just one year.  

“You kind of feel like a rock star,” Brandon said. “Our mindset is like, ‘let’s pioneer. Let’s be first. Let’s create these solutions for customers.’” 

Now, Brandon is growing his team. In 2024, he welcomed two new level III field service engineers as flying doctors. And as EV technology advances and higher voltage batteries become more prevalent, he foresees a growing need for trained personnel to meet the demand for these specialized services. 

What does it take to become a flying doctor? 

As a hiring manager, Brandon is looking for people “someone who’s willing to travel 75% of their month, who has technical experience with high-voltage safety tests and who has mechanical experience to take something apart and put it back together,” he said. 

There are different experience levels within Brandon’s root cause analysis team, so there’s room to grow and gain hands-on experience. More entry-level team members work in OKC.  

Those who become flying doctors have the most field experience after undergoing rigorous on-the-job training and spending time shadowing more seasoned members on the team. They have field experience, all the required training and certifications and can work independently or lead a small team. 

“It requires the most experience and training because, not only do they have to be trained internally, but we also send them to receive a minimum course requirement for the OEM (original equipment manufacturer) before they can attempt a repair category,” Brandon said. 

Beyond these technical requirements, Brandon says that what would make a person successful as a flying doctor is a love for problem solving.  

“To do this job, I think you really have to find joy in being challenged,” he said. “This job offers quite a bit of variable work environment, where I’m solving different problems on a regular basis, and that’s really intriguing to me.” 

Moving the EV industry forward 

This program allows automakers to maintain momentum in rolling out new EV models without disrupting customer service. Brandon explained that when brand-new EVs require battery repairs that dealerships aren’t yet equipped to handle, the flying doctors step in as a stopgap solution. 

“There is a whole network of people who are not used to the idea of working on high voltage — they may be intimidated by it and scared of the potential dangers,” Brandon said. “So, we’ll go to a dealership and guide them through the repair, showing them the proper way to wear your personal protective equipment and certain steps that you do to create a safe working environment.” 

Back in the OKC, other members of Brandon’s team will take a damaged battery core and dive deeper into diagnostics.

“Let’s say a battery’s bad, we give [the customer] a new battery and they send us the core back; now it’s our job to determine what happened,” Brandon said. “We would determine what’s wrong and if the battery is a candidate for recycling or remanufacturing. And then the lifecycle continues.” 

Learn more about EV battery recycling at Cox.

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