Delair, a drone maker in Toulouse, lists experience of flying fixed-wing model aircraft by hand as compulsory for its test pilot job. The pilot prepares and flies trials of new hardware and software for the development team and keeps the test drones in working order.
Daily work
Some pilots fly small FPV drones through a camera headset, and others fly much larger aircraft, such as Rheinmetall's drones of 20 to 120 kg or Avilus' aircraft of up to 1000 kg.
STARK, a German drone maker, has its acceptance pilots fly every newly built aircraft through a standard flight profile and confirm that it is airworthy before delivery. DeltaQuad, a Dutch maker of long-range drones that take off and land vertically, wants an R&D test flight engineer who flies new software releases "in varied conditions, such as lighting tests around sunset" and who, when an aircraft starts acting strangely, has "the skills and nerve to save it".
Safety pilots at TEKEVER, Alta Ares and Anduril watch an aircraft that flies itself and take over if something goes wrong. TEKEVER asks its safety pilots to fly by hand with an RC transmitter, a hand-held radio control, when required.
Other pilots show aircraft to customers or train the people who will use them. UMS Skeldar in Sweden wanted remote pilots to fly the V-200, an unmanned helicopter, in demonstrations and then train its users. Delair's operations pilots train clients in the field and write the mission reports. TEKEVER is hiring the head of a new pilot academy with simulator and flight training.
Between flights, pilots fill in logbooks and repair aircraft, and their working hours depend on the weather. TEKEVER's validation pilots in the UK worked shifts that changed with it, and a STARK test pilot job for its counter-drone systems mentions "long test days, variable conditions". Robot Aviation in Norway wanted pilots with the ability and integrity to call off a flight when conditions required it.
Vyriy Industries, a Ukrainian drone maker, hires R&D test pilots who fly copter and fixed-wing drones, by hand and in stabilised modes, and track down hardware and software faults.
Requirements and pay
EU drone rules put low-risk flights in the open category. Anything riskier, such as flying out of sight, above 120 m or with a drone over 25 kg, belongs to the specific category, which needs more training and permission from the national aviation authority.
| Certificate | What it allows | How you get it |
|---|---|---|
| EU A1/A3 | Flying in the open category, below 120 m and away from crowds | Online course and exam with the national aviation authority |
| EU A2 | Flying closer to people than the A1/A3 allows | The A1/A3 plus practical self-training and a second theory exam |
| EU standard scenario STS-01 or STS-02 | Flights in set conditions in the specific category, with STS-02 out of sight up to 1 km | The A1/A3, a theory exam and practical training |
| EU operational authorisation | Flights outside the standard scenarios, such as longer flights out of sight or drones over 25 kg | The employer, as the operator, gets it from the national aviation authority |
| UK Flyer ID | Flying any drone of 100 g or more | The online test of the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) |
| UK GVC | Flights in the UK specific category | Through a CAA-recognised training provider. The CAA stops issuing it on 31 December 2027 |
| UK Remote Pilot Certificate, levels 1 to 3 | The same as the GVC, with more complex flights at higher levels | Through a CAA-recognised training provider, one level after another. Level 2 needs 50 logged hours, level 3 another 50 hours out of sight and a light aircraft pilot medical certificate |
DeltaQuad and Origin Robotics ask for both the A1/A3 and the A2. Sener, the Spanish engineering group, asks for the A1/A3 together with the standard scenario certificate for STS-01 and STS-02, and Delair asks for the CATS, the French theory exam for the standard scenarios. In the UK, Anduril's flight test operator must hold the GVC, and Greenjets would like the GVC or the Remote Pilot Certificate level 1 together with a flight radio licence and 100 hours or more on fixed-wing drones.
Sphere Defense in Brussels asks for at least 150 hours of flight time and wants its test pilot to be "an expert in flying RC planes and models". Alpine Eagle wants "exceptional manual flying skills beyond highly automated commercial drone platforms", and Twentyfour Industries calls strong hands-on FPV experience non-negotiable.
Some jobs ask for a licence to fly crewed aircraft. Dronamics, the Bulgarian maker of the Black Swan cargo drone, wants its lead remote pilot to hold a commercial pilot licence, and Airbus DS Airborne Solutions, an Airbus subsidiary in Bremen, asks its remote pilots for a commercial licence with an instrument rating, the qualification to fly in cloud by instruments. UMS Skeldar listed a current or past aeroplane or helicopter licence as a plus.
Rheinmetall and Twentyfour count a military background as an advantage, and Destinus requires one for its demonstration operations specialist in the Netherlands. Some pilot jobs require citizenship of a NATO member state or eligibility for security clearance.
Delair's test pilot job in Toulouse pays €42000 to €48000 a year. In the UK, Callen-Lenz offers £50000 or more for a drone training manager, and in Germany SE3 Labs pays a drone working student €20 to €24 an hour. In Ukraine, Vyriy's R&D test pilot job offers 55000 to 150000 hryvnias a month, about €1070 to €2930 at the National Bank of Ukraine's rate on 5 November.
Pilots without formal training
Harmattan AI's job for a reliability technician and pilot says "passionate self-taught pilots are highly encouraged to apply". DeltaQuad tells applicants for its R&D job that "a technical education is a plus, but your skills in the air and at the workbench count most".
A STARK job for a data collection pilot said "a portfolio says more than a CV here". Fiducial, a Dutch company that develops computer vision software for drones, asked applicants for its flight operations job to send photos, videos or links that showed them building, flying or maintaining systems.
SE3 Labs tells candidates for a drone and avionics technician job "We'll train you to become a certified drone pilot". The pilot team lead Vyriy is hiring will assess each newcomer on a simulator to set a starting level, then build a path from junior to senior pilot.
Jobs open in November
In each of these jobs you fly drones or teach others to fly them.
| Employer | Where | Jobs |
|---|---|---|
| Airbus Defence and Space | Germany | Remote pilot |
| Airlogix | Ukraine | Test pilot, operator |
| Alpine Eagle | Germany | Test pilot |
| Alta Ares | France, UK | Test pilot, field operations |
| Anduril | UK | Flight test operator |
| Athlon Avia | Ukraine | Test pilot |
| Avilus | Germany | Remote pilot |
| Delair | France | Test pilot, operations pilot |
| DeltaQuad | Netherlands | Test pilot, instructor |
| Destinus | Spain, Netherlands | Flight operator, demonstrations specialist |
| Dronamics | Bulgaria | Lead remote pilot |
| Greenjets | UK | Remote pilot |
| Harmattan AI | France | Pilot and technician |
| Kvertus | Ukraine | Pilot |
| Origin Robotics | Latvia | Test pilot |
| Orqa | Croatia | Flight test engineer |
| Primoco UAV | Czechia | Pilot, instructor |
| Quantum Systems | Germany, Romania, UK, Ukraine | Test pilot, instructor |
| Rheinmetall | Germany | Pilot |
| SE3 Labs | Germany | Test and field engineer |
| Sener | Spain | Pilot technician |
| Sphere Defense | Belgium | Test pilot |
| Spirit Aeronautical Systems | Greece | Test pilot |
| STARK | Germany, Greece | Test pilot, acceptance pilot |
| TEKEVER | Portugal, France, UK | Remote pilot, safety pilot |
| Twentyfour Industries | Germany | FPV test pilot, instructor |
| UMS Skeldar | Sweden | Flight manager, instructor |
| Uniforce | Poland | FPV pilot |
| Vyriy Industries | Ukraine | Test pilot, instructor |
