MQ-9 Reaper Air Vehicle Pilot

AVIAN LLC; Patuxent Highland (MD); On-site; USD 140,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

AVIAN is seeking an MQ-9 Reaper Air Vehicle Pilot to join UX-24 at Patuxent River, MD. The role involves piloting MQ-9 during developmental tests and serving as a project officer coordinating aircrew and flight test engineers.

Requirements include 1000+ flight hours, 500 PIC hours, SLR experience, and active DoD/Secret clearances. Travel to CONUS/OCONUS sites is possible; on-site work at NAS Patuxent River, MD is expected.

Qualifications

• MQ-9 Pilot with SLR experience and flight test participation.
• Over 1,000 documented flight hours in manned/unmanned aircraft.
• At least 500 PIC hours in medium/high altitude long-endurance UAS.
• Active Secret clearance with ability to obtain Top Secret.
• FAA Second Class Medical and DoD security clearance requirements.
• U.S. citizenship is required due to sensitivity of customer requirements.

Responsibilities

• Lead test planning meetings and develop test plans and procedures.
• Coordinate flight tests, briefs, debriefs, and post-flight reports.
• Act as Pilot-in-Command (PIC) for MQ-9 launch and recovery.
• Manage UAS ground/flight operations, mission planning, and safety.
• Review maintenance logs, weather data, and flight performance metrics.
• Travel to CONUS/OCONUS sites as needed for flight test activities.

Skills

MQ-9 Pilot

SLR experience

1000+ flight hours

PIC 500h

Secret clearance

DoD security clearance

FAA medical

US citizenship

Job description

Overview

Join a Company Where You Can Make a Real Impact - and Own a Piece of the Future

Are you energized by the idea of helping a company grow smarter, serve our customers better, and connect more deeply? Do you thrive in an environment where your ideas matter, your voice is heard, and your work drives real results? If so, we'd love to meet you.

We're a mid-sized, employee-owned company on a mission to create meaningful value for both our employees and our customers. That means we're not just looking for someone to fill a seat - we're looking for someone who wants to build, innovate, and evolve with us.

Our company primarily serves the Navy and other Department of Defense clients, offering a dynamic environment where your expertise will make a difference.

About the Role

AVIAN is seeking an MQ-9 Reaper Air Vehicle Pilot (AVP) to join the Navy/Marine Corps' premier UAS test squadron, UX-24, in Patuxent River, Maryland. Become part of a dynamic team of military, government, and contract support personnel that will continue to deliver new capability to the Marine Corps' MQ-9 Reaper air vehicles through the test and evaluation of cutting edge next-generation communication and SIGINT payloads.

We are looking for a candidate with a strong background in MQ-9 operations, to include both C-band and SLR launch and recovery, who is familiar with the integration of new payloads and capabilities onto existing airframes. Prior operational or developmental test experience is a highly desired.

In addition to piloting the MQ-9 air vehicle in support of developmental test events, you will work as a project officer within the UAS test squadron where you will manage diverse teams of aircrew and flight test engineers and work closely with those teams to apply real-world operational experience to the test program in an effort to ensure the highest quality product is delivered to support the warfighters needs.

Responsibilities

• test planning meetings
• test plan development
• event planning
• test procedure and card development
• flight briefings
• test execution
• post event support
• test reporting
• deficiency reporting
• Act as Pilot-in-Command (PIC) of MQ-9 aircraft for launch and recovery efforts.
• Coordinate and actively participate in UAS ground and flight operations efforts; including mission planning, execution, briefing, debriefing, aircrew resource management, and safety.
• Define, plan, organize, and execute flight plans and schedules. Review maintenance logs, weather reports, and forecasts.
• Use Technical Orders, other documents, and reports to ascertain factors; such as aircraft weight and balance, fuel supply, route, schedule, and mechanical reliability.
• Maintain ability to travel to CONUS and OCONUS sites.
• Most work will be conducted on-site at NAS Patuxent River, MD, however, some domestic travel will be required in support of flight test activities.

Qualifications

Required:

• Qualified MQ-9 Pilot with SLR experience
• 1000+ documented flight hours (manned/unmanned)
• Minimum 500 hours PIC in medium/high altitude long endurance UAS
• Active Secret clearance with the ability to attain a Top Secret clearance
• FAA Second Class Medical
• Must be able to obtain and maintain a Department of Defense security clearance.
• Due to the sensitivity of customer-related requirements, U.S. Citizenship is required.

Desired:

• Manual Launch and Recovery experience / C-Band operations experience
• Graduate of full-length course of instruction from a recognized military test pilot school: e.g. USNTPS, USAFTPS, Empire, or EPNER. Pay differential for this experience will be applied.
• Operational test or payload integration experience
• 500 hours of MQ-9 experience highly desired
• Project officer experience
• Applicant must be adaptable, have good communication skills, and work well in a team environment.

Salary range: $140,000 - $160,000 ( The offered rate will be based on the selected candidate's knowledge, skills, abilities, and/or experience and in consideration of internal parity.)

About being a part of Team AVIAN

As an employee-owner, you'll be a catalyst for progress - helping us find new opportunities with current or new customers, company efficiencies, streamline processes, and bring people and ideas together in smarter ways. Whether it's helping us optimize workflows, enhancing the employee experience, or delivering more impactful solutions to our customers, your inputs will have reach and relevance across the organization.

Taking care of each other is a cornerstone of our AVIAN philosophy. Being part of the AVIAN team means being part of a team that takes pride in being expansive in our community because our impact doesn't stop in the workplace. We actively engage in community initiatives, empowering our employees to make a meaningful difference.

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