Drone Pilot & Reality-Capture Data Specialist

Jacobs; San Antonio (TX); Hybrid; USD 75,000 - 104,000; Full time

Job summary

Jacobs is seeking a technically focused Drone Pilot to safely transform aerial data into practical project information across construction, BIM/VDC, and digital delivery within U.S. sites.

The role emphasizes developing flight plans, executing UAS operations near active construction or industrial sites, processing imagery and delivering orthomosaic maps, 3D models, and related datasets to project teams and stakeholders.

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.
• Strong safety awareness and ability to work within formal project and client compliance programs.

Responsibilities

• Plan and conduct commercial drone flights in accordance with FAA regulations, company policies, project requirements, and site‑specific safety procedures.
• Maintain required pilot credentials, aircraft registrations, operating records, pre‑flight documentation, and flight logs.
• Perform pre‑flight inspections and verify aircraft, batteries, sensors, firmware, remote‑controller settings, and data‑storage capacity.
• Operate drones safely in active construction, industrial, and data center environments while maintaining situational awareness and required separation distances.
• Coordinate flight windows, airspace restrictions, site access, security requirements, and operational constraints with project stakeholders.
• Use appropriate visual observers, spotters, and site communication protocols when required.
• Respond appropriately to changing weather, site conditions, equipment issues, and other operational risks.
• Capture high‑quality aerial imagery, video, 360‑degree imagery, and other UAS data for design, construction, commissioning, and operational use cases.
• Develop repeatable flight plans and capture standards for progress documentation, quantity verification, site logistics, existing‑condition documentation, and turnover verification.
• Coordinate ground control points, checkpoints, survey control, and site reference information when required for accurate mapping and model production.
• Integrate drone data with terrestrial laser scanning, BIM models, GIS data, schedules, and digital twin platforms, and asset‑information systems.
• Ensure captured data is complete, properly organized, and traceable to the project, location, date, flight, and applicable coordinate system, and meets project quality requirements for downstream processing and analysis.
• Process and quality‑check drone imagery and reality‑capture data using approved software and project workflows.
• Produce orthomosaic maps, 3D models, point clouds, digital surface models, progress exhibits, inspection images, and site documentation packages.
• Publish or transfer approved deliverables to Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC), project document‑management systems, GIS platforms, or other designated environments.
• Perform visual and technical quality checks for image clarity, coverage, overlap, alignment, control, coordinate systems, file naming, and metadata.
• Coordinate with VDC and design teams to compare captured conditions against BIM models, drawings, schedules, construction plans, and model coordination environments.
• Maintain organized project archives and ensure raw data, processed data, reports, and final deliverables can be retrieved for future reference.
• Support construction progress tracking, workface planning, site logistics, schedule reviews, and 4D coordination activities.
• Provide aerial documentation to support installation verification, quality reviews, safety observations, commissioning, punch‑list resolution, and turnover.
• Assist with documentation of hard‑to‑access, elevated, or potentially hazardous areas when drone operations provide a safer alternative to conventional access methods.
• Collaborate with project teams to define flight objectives, required accuracy, image coverage, frequency, and deliverable formats before mobilization or fieldwork.
• Communicate findings clearly and identify limitations, data gaps, obstructions, or conditions that may affect the reliability or intended use of deliverables.
• Participate in site visits, coordination meetings, and demonstrations to promote effective use of drone data across the project lifecycle.
• Follow FAA Part 107, applicable airspace authorizations, company aviation procedures, site safety plans, environmental requirements, and client security protocols.
• Complete job hazard analyses, flight risk assessments, pre‑task planning, and required permits or approvals before flight operations.
• Maintain awareness of personnel, cranes, energized equipment, temporary structures, aircraft, wildlife, weather, and other hazards.
• Protect confidential project, client, facility, and security‑sensitive information in accordance with project requirements and company policy.
• Participate in equipment maintenance, incident reporting, lessons learned, and continuous improvement of UAS workflows and standards.
• Preferred Software & Equipment Experience
• DJI enterprise or equivalent commercial UAS platforms
• DJI Pilot 2 or comparable flight‑control applications
• Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC)
• Autodesk ReCap and ReCap Pro
• Pix4D, DroneDeploy, Propeller, or comparable photogrammetry platforms
• Navisworks, Revit, Civil 3D, or other BIM coordination tools
• Bentley Context Capture or comparable 3D reality‑capture software
• ArcGIS or other GIS platforms
• Cloud‑based data storage, document management, and visualization platforms
• GNSS/GPS equipment, ground control targets, and survey accessories

Skills

FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate

Drone flight operations

Flight planning

UAS data processing

Safety compliance

Tools

Autodesk ReCap

Pix4D

DroneDeploy

ArcGIS

Job description

Jacobs is seeking a technically focused Drone Pilot to safely transform aerial data into practical project information across construction, BIM/VDC, and digital delivery within U.S. sites.

The role emphasizes developing flight plans, executing UAS operations near active construction or industrial sites, processing imagery and delivering orthomosaic maps, 3D models, and related datasets to project teams and stakeholders.