Autonomous Drone Operator & Systems Engineer (Defense)

Air Pixels; Minden (NV); On-site; USD 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Sentradel in Minden, Nevada, is seeking a Drone Operator to build, program, and fly the drones used in live-fire turret tests. You will own the fleet end to end—from airframes and firmware to flight profiles and field repairs—and you will run the flight side of demos for customers across the US.

Candidates must have extensive ArduPilot experience, be able to read and modify code, hold a FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate, and demonstrate hands-on skills in soldering, wiring, and maintaining

Qualifications

• FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate required.
• Extensive ArduPilot experience with Mission Planner and tuning.
• Ability to read ArduPilot code, modify, compile and flash.
• Experience building drones from bare frames, soldering, wiring, RF.
• Expert level stick time, manual and autonomous flight capability.
• Proven ability to fix a broken aircraft in the field and fly again.

Responsibilities

• Build, wire, solder, and repair the target drone fleet
• Flash and configure flight controllers, tune aircraft for repeatable test profiles
• Modify ArduPilot source to add autonomous behavior
• Plan and fly autonomous missions for repeatable turret engagements
• Serve as pilot in command at range tests and customer demos across the US
• Own batteries, radios, ground stations, and spares for uninterrupted tests
• Pull flight logs and convert them into usable data for engineering

Skills

ArduPilot

Mission Planner

Code modification

Flight tuning

Drone piloting

RF integration

Education

FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate

Tools

ArduPilot

INAV

Python

C++

Job description

Sentradel in Minden, Nevada, is seeking a Drone Operator to build, program, and fly the drones used in live-fire turret tests. You will own the fleet end to end—from airframes and firmware to flight profiles and field repairs—and you will run the flight side of demos for customers across the US.

Candidates must have extensive ArduPilot experience, be able to read and modify code, hold a FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate, and demonstrate hands-on skills in soldering, wiring, and maintaining