Senior Drone Pilot: Reality Capture & Digital Delivery

Jacobs; Kansas City (MO); Hybrid; USD 75,000 - 104,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental, vision

401(k)

Employee stock purchase plan

PPTO and holidays

Job summary

Jacobs is seeking a technically focused Drone Pilot to safely transform aerial data into practical project information for construction and digital delivery. The role requires operating in construction, BIM/VDC coordination, and reality capture workflows while collaborating with project teams to deliver dependable deliverables across design, construction, commissioning and facility operations.

The position offers hybrid work with base salary range disclosed and benefits including health, 401(k),

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 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.
• Excellent communication, organization, documentation, and stakeholder‑engagement skills.
• Ability to travel to project sites and work flexible hours when flight windows require off‑shift or weekend operations.

Responsibilities

• Plan and conduct commercial drone flights in accordance with FAA regulations, company policies, project requirements, and site 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 with proper separation distances.
• Coordinate flight windows, airspace restrictions, site access, security requirements, and operational constraints with stakeholders.
• Use visual observers, spotters, and site communication protocols as required.
• Respond 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 operations.

Skills

FAA Part 107

Flight planning

Communication

Safety

Travel flexibility

Tools

DJI platforms

Autodesk ReCap

Pix4D/DroneDeploy

BIM/VDC tools

ArcGIS

Job description

Jacobs is seeking a technically focused Drone Pilot to safely transform aerial data into practical project information for construction and digital delivery. The role requires operating in construction, BIM/VDC coordination, and reality capture workflows while collaborating with project teams to deliver dependable deliverables across design, construction, commissioning and facility operations.

The position offers hybrid work with base salary range disclosed and benefits including health, 401(k),