Drone Pilot: Reality-Capture Data for Construction

Jacobs; West Des Moines (IA); Hybrid; USD 75,000 - 104,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health and welfare benefits

401(k) plan

Company stock purchase

Unlimited PPTO; holidays; caregiver-le

Job summary

Jacobs is seeking a technically focused Drone Pilot to safely and consistently transform aerial data into practical project information across construction, BIM/VDC, and digital delivery. You will deliver quality deliverables, collaborate with project teams, and adapt to project needs in hybrid work settings.

The role requires FAA Part 107 certification, 3+ years of drone ops, and experience with photogrammetry and BIM workflows.

Qualifications

• Current FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate.
• 3+ years of experience operating commercial drones, preferably in construction, engineering, surveying, industrial, infrastructure, or facility environments.
• Experience developing flight plans and executing UAS operations around active construction or industrial sites.
• Working knowledge of photogrammetry, orthomosaics, 3D meshes, point clouds, digital elevation models, and volumetric data.
• Understanding of construction sequencing, BIM/VDC coordination, design documentation, and field verification workflows.
• Experience with survey control, coordinate systems, georeferencing, and accuracy requirements.
• Experience processing, validating, publishing, and archiving large imagery and reality‑capture datasets.
• Ability to interpret construction drawings, BIM models, site plans, and project schedules.

Responsibilities

• Plan and conduct commercial drone flights in accordance with FAA regulations and site safety procedures.
• Maintain pilot credentials, aircraft registrations, operating records, pre‑flight documentation, and flight logs.
• Develop repeatable flight plans and capture standards for progress documentation and turnover verification.
• Capture high‑quality aerial imagery and data for design, construction, commissioning, and operations.
• Process and quality‑check drone imagery and reality‑capture data using approved software and workflows.
• Produce orthomosaic maps, 3D models, point clouds, and other deliverables; publish to ACC, GIS platforms, or DMS.
• Support construction progress tracking, site logistics, and 4D coordination; assist with site safety and QA.
• Adhere to safety, compliance, and quality requirements; protect confidential information.

Skills

Communication skills

Organization

Documentation

Stakeholder engagement

Safety awareness

Travel willingness

Tools

DJI enterprise platforms

DJI Pilot 2

Autodesk Construction Cloud

Autodesk ReCap / ReCap Pro

Pix4D

DroneDeploy

Propeller

Navisworks

Revit

Civil 3D

Bentley Context Capture

ArcGIS

Job description

Jacobs is seeking a technically focused Drone Pilot to safely and consistently transform aerial data into practical project information across construction, BIM/VDC, and digital delivery. You will deliver quality deliverables, collaborate with project teams, and adapt to project needs in hybrid work settings.

The role requires FAA Part 107 certification, 3+ years of drone ops, and experience with photogrammetry and BIM workflows.