Airship Pilot - Talent Pool

Kelluu; Helsinki; On-site; EUR 30,000 - 47,000; Part time

Job summary

Kelluu designs, builds and operates autonomous, hydrogen-powered airships that deliver persistent aerial intelligence. This Airship Pilot role is part-time with variable hours and frequent deployments across Europe and North America.

You'll launch and recover airships, work with an operations lead and mission commander, travel 60–80% of the time, and help with basic maintenance and testing in between mission cycles. A security clearance may be required.

Qualifications

• Hands-on approach with practical fixing skills.
• Willingness to travel to deployment sites.
• Experience in aviation, drones or technical work is a plus.
• Team player with operations and mission coordination.

Responsibilities

• Launch and operate the airship, bringing it safely to ground after missions.
• Collaborate with on-site leaders and mission commander during flights.
• Perform basic maintenance and troubleshooting as needed.
• Support testing and development when teams are together.

Skills

Hands-on

Travel-friendly

Calm under pressure

Aviation knowledge

Job description

Fly something most pilots never will

At Kelluu, we design, build and operate autonomous, hydrogen-powered airships that deliver persistent, high-resolution aerial intelligence for defence, infrastructure and environmental monitoring. We fill the gap between satellites and drones, and we do it with zero emissions.

Good to know before you apply

This is not an active recruitment. When you apply, you join our Airship Pilot talent pool, and we’ll get in touch when a suitable position opens. We don’t review applications right away, so it may take a while before you hear from us.

What the work looks like

This is not a desk job. As a pilot, you launch the airship, starting each flight yourself, and you bring it safely back to the ground when the mission is done. Our airships are autonomous and uncrewed, but every flight is a team effort. You work alongside an operations lead who leads the team on site, a mission commander who plans each flight and directs it while it’s airborne, and IT support who keeps the systems running. Clear communication between these roles is what keeps each mission safe and on track.

Together you travel to deployment sites, set up ground infrastructure and keep flight operations running in demanding conditions. You take care of the aircraft, ground systems and equipment, and you can handle basic maintenance and troubleshooting on your own.

Our pilots fly on both sides of our business. On the defence side, that means multinational flight operations across Europe and North America. On the civilian side, it means missions for customers monitoring forests, power lines and other critical infrastructure. These are often shorter trips, flown from our bases and customer sites. Our civilian business is growing fast, so there are more missions in more places every year. Around 60–80% of your working time is spent travelling. Between missions, you may help with testing and development when the team is together.

Who we’re looking for

Someone hands-on who likes getting things done. You understand how technical and mechanical things work, and when something needs fixing, you roll up your sleeves.

Travel excites you, and changing plans don’t throw you off. Under pressure you stay calm, and on the road you’re the kind of teammate others are glad to have around.

Experience with aviation, drones or technical work is a big plus, but it isn’t a must. We’ll teach you how to fly our airships, and many of our pilots learned the job while studying.

Selected candidates will be required to undergo a security clearance.

Contract and pay

How much you work depends on how much we fly. Airship Pilot positions are usually part-time with variable working hours (0–37.5 h/week): deployments mean full weeks in the field, quieter periods mean fewer hours. Your hours and monthly pay will vary and aren’t guaranteed. Pay is based on hours worked, and deployments abroad also include paid travel time and possible allowances. We’ll go through the exact terms with you early in the process.

Studying? This role can fit around your studies. Some weeks you’ll work a few days, and when we deploy, you’ll join the team in the field.

What you get

You’ll fly airships, something few pilots anywhere get to do, as part of the world’s largest autonomous airship fleet. Our work is backed by the NATO Innovation Fund, and we’ve completed both phases of NATO’s DIANA accelerator. You’ll join a team that is growing fast toward international markets, so there’s real room to grow with us.