Drone Pilot (Contractor)

Sitemark•, NM

1d•Onsite

About The Position

Sitemark is building a vetted network of independent US drone pilots to perform missions at solar sites. Pilots operate their own drone businesses and equipment, while Sitemark matches missions to their region, equipment, and schedule. Assignments involve collecting data used in reports for solar owners and may include higher-value surveys and construction work. Each accepted mission has a clear brief, agreed scope, and rate confirmed in writing before the flight; detailed flight and delivery standards are provided during onboarding and in the contractor agreement. Pilots must supply and maintain compatible commercial drone equipment and related field tools. Sitemark does not supply, ship, rent, or reimburse equipment. Missions are paid upon flying and delivering the work, with payment issued against an invoice following dataset acceptance under the Independent Contractor Agreement. Rates are negotiated per mission, and travel and per diem are included in the rate unless the mission brief states otherwise. Pilots are responsible for their own taxes, equipment maintenance and airworthiness, and regulatory compliance. Captured data belongs to Sitemark and its clients and cannot be retained, reused, published, or distributed without written permission. Remote, free onboarding and online training are provided once before the first paid assignment. Training covers Sitemark’s capture standards, deliverable specifications and naming conventions, flight configurations and parameters, upload workflow and quality review, field quality control, site conduct and safety, and invoicing. Pilots who complete training and pass a qualification review are added to the active roster for their region.

Requirements

Current FAA Part 107 certificate in good standing with a clean enforcement history.
At least two years of documented commercial UAS field experience.
Experience with automated mission planning over large, repetitive sites.
Working knowledge of thermal imaging, including radiometric capture, emissivity, thermal focus, palette and span, and conditions for collecting usable data.
Strong data management habits, including the ability to verify geotags and preserve positioning metadata.
Ability to execute a technical brief precisely and flag problems rather than improvise.
Professional conduct on active industrial sites with live electrical infrastructure.
Willingness to travel within the region, including early departures and multi-day mobilizations.
Commercial UAS liability insurance of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence, with a certificate of insurance naming Sitemark and the asset owner as additional insured.
Authorization to work in the US as an independent contractor, ability to complete a W-9 form, and ability to pass a background check and client site screening.
Provide and maintain compatible commercial sUAS equipment with radiometric thermal and high-resolution RGB sensors, adequate batteries, charging, storage and field power, a computer capable of handling large datasets, reliable high-bandwidth internet, reliable transportation, standard site PPE, and environmental measurement tools such as an irradiance meter and anemometer.

Nice To Haves

Experience with utility-scale solar PV.
Familiarity with IEC TS 62446-3.
Level I or II Thermography certification.
RTK/PPK and GNSS survey experience.
Photogrammetry and GIS proficiency.
OSHA 10/30 certification.
Multiple aircraft in fleet.
Bilingual English/Spanish.
Survey-grade positioning capability, such as a GNSS base station, CORS network subscription, or NTRIP subscription for RTK/PPK corrections; this can expand available missions and rates.
Dual-camera platform.

Responsibilities

Operate an independent drone operation and fly assigned missions at solar sites across the US.
Execute mission briefs and technical requirements precisely, and flag problems rather than improvising.
Capture and deliver datasets that meet Sitemark’s standards and specifications.
Manage, offload, review, and upload large datasets within required windows, verifying geotags and preserving positioning metadata.
Follow site conduct and safety requirements while working at active industrial sites with live electrical infrastructure.
Travel within the pilot’s region, including for early departures and multi-day mobilizations, as needed for accepted missions.
Maintain equipment airworthiness and comply with applicable regulations.
Invoice for completed missions and comply with the Independent Contractor Agreement and data ownership restrictions.