FPV Drone Operator

Eyesatop

$80K — $100K *
Aerospace & Defense
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Expertise in flying FPV aircraft in manual/acro mode for testing purposes.
  • Minimum 2 years of hands-on FPV experience, either professionally or through serious hobbyist activities.
  • Proficiency in building and repairing 5-inch-class quads.
  • Possession of FAA Part 107 certificate, or readiness to obtain it within 90 days with company support.
  • U.S. citizenship is mandatory for the position.
  • Flexibility and willingness to travel to diverse field and test sites.

Responsibilities

  • Fly FPV aircraft for testing, integration, and demonstration purposes.
  • Execute structured flight test plans and thoroughly document performance results.
  • Contribute to R&D tasks including prototype construction and hardware/software integration on non-testing days.
  • Build, repair, and maintain quadcopters, involving soldering and component swaps.
  • Analyze personal flight logs and DVR footage to provide constructive feedback for engineering.
  • Assist in field operations and demonstrations, necessitating travel to various locations.

Benefits

  • Dental Insurance
  • Health Insurance
  • Paid time off
  • Vision Insurance
Full Job Description
The Role

This is a hands-on flying position: piloting FPV aircraft in manual/acro mode for testing, integration, and live demonstrations; putting new airframes, payloads, and software builds through their paces; and telling our engineers exactly what the aircraft is doing and why.

You will be based at our New Jersey test facility with regular travel to field and flight sites. On non-testing days, you will work R&D at the facility alongside the engineering team, building and tuning aircraft, integrating new hardware and software, and turning what you learned in the air into product improvements.

What you'll do

  • Fly FPV aircraft (manual/acro mode) for test flights, system integration, and customer demonstrations
  • Execute structured flight test plans and document results; notice and report subtle performance issues in aircraft, radio links, and video systems
  • On non-testing days, contribute to R&D at our NJ test facility: prototype builds, hardware/software integration, bench testing, and iterating with engineering on findings from flight tests
  • Build, repair, and maintain quads: soldering, component swaps, firmware configuration, and tuning
  • Review your own DVR footage and flight logs to support engineering feedback
  • Support field operations and demos, including travel to off-site locations

Requirements

  • Expert FPV flying in full manual/acro mode (goggles + line-of-sight); this is a hands-on testing and R&D role, not a cinematic or GPS-assisted camera drone position
  • 2+ years of hands-on FPV experience (professional or serious hobbyist / competitive racing / freestyle counts)
  • Comfortable building and repairing 5-inch-class and similar quads
  • FAA Part 107 certificate, or willingness to obtain within 90 days (we'll cover it)
  • U.S. citizenship - required for this position
  • Willingness to travel to field / test sites


Strong fit if

  • You have military experience, especially UAS operations (Army 15W, SUAS operator, Raven / Puma / Switchblade, or Group 1-2 UAS platforms)
  • You have experience flying in degraded conditions: no GPS, contested RF, and night operations
  • You have soldering and electronics troubleshooting skills, with INAV / ExpressLRS familiarity
  • You have instruction or demo experience - you can teach others to fly and represent the product live


Benefits:

  • Dental Insurance
  • Health Insurance
  • Paid time off
  • Vision Insurance

Compensation: $80,000 - $100,000 base salary

Location: Northern New Jersey test facility (field travel required)

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