Remote Drone Pilot for Reality Capture & BIM Data

Jacobs; San Diego (CA); Hybrid; USD 75,000 - 104,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401(k) plan

Stock purchase program

PPTO (paid time off)

Job summary

Jacobs is hiring a technically focused Drone Pilot to safely transform aerial data into practical project information. You will plan and conduct drone flights, produce 3D models and orthomosaics, and collaborate with BIM/VDC teams to support construction, commissioning, and operations.

You will work across construction and industrial sites, ensuring safety, quality, and data integrity while leveraging tools like ACC, ReCap, and GIS platforms. Applicants may travel to project sites as needed.

Qualifications

• Current FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate.
• 3+ years of experience operating commercial drones 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 GIS tools.
• 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.
• Excellent communication, organization, documentation, and stakeholder‑engagement skills.

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.
• Develop flight plans and capture standards for progress documentation, quantity verification, site logistics, existing‑condition documentation, and turnover verification.
• Capture high‑quality aerial imagery, video, 360‑degree imagery, and other UAS data for design, construction, commissioning, and operational use cases.
• Coordinate ground control points, checkpoints, survey control, and site reference information when required for accurate mapping and model production.
• Integrate drone data with BIM models, GIS data, schedules, and digital twin platforms.
• Produce orthomosaic maps, 3D models, point clouds, and related deliverables for project use.
• Publish or transfer approved deliverables to ACC, project document‑management systems, GIS platforms, or other designated environments.
• Maintain organized project archives and ensure data traceability and retrievability.

Skills

FAA Part107 knowledge

UAS operations

Safety awareness

Communication skills

BIM/VDC familiarity

Travel flexibility

Data processing / GIS understanding

Education

FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate

Tools

DJI Enterprise

DJI Pilot 2

Autodesk Construction Cloud

Autodesk ReCap

Pix4D

DroneDeploy

Propeller

Navisworks

Revit

Civil 3D

Bentley Context Capture

ArcGIS

Cloud storage platforms

GNSS / GPS equipment

Job description

Jacobs is hiring a technically focused Drone Pilot to safely transform aerial data into practical project information. You will plan and conduct drone flights, produce 3D models and orthomosaics, and collaborate with BIM/VDC teams to support construction, commissioning, and operations.

You will work across construction and industrial sites, ensuring safety, quality, and data integrity while leveraging tools like ACC, ReCap, and GIS platforms. Applicants may travel to project sites as needed.