Drone Jobs in Washington
Washington State has two drone markets a few hours apart. Seattle hosts big delivery-drone and defence-autonomy engineering programmes, while Bingen in the Columbia River Gorge has built and flown military unmanned aircraft for decades. The listings below cover Washington employers hiring now.
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Washington is a state of two drone clusters. Seattle accounts for most of the openings, driven by a retail giant’s delivery-drone division and a defence-autonomy company’s aircraft engineering centre, which together hire structures, propulsion, flight controls, perception, power electronics and product staff. Public-safety drone makers and autonomy start-ups add software and R&D technician roles across the city and the Eastside.
The other cluster is easy to miss. Bingen, on the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge, has been building military unmanned aircraft since the 1990s, and the manufacturer there — along with neighbouring suppliers and autonomy start-ups — hires systems, software, GNC and propulsion engineers, composite and repair technicians, product managers and flight test engineers, often with relocation assistance. Agriculture and air-base field roles in eastern Washington complete a market that is overwhelmingly technical.
Browse drone jobs in Seattle, the state’s busiest market, or explore related categories — drone engineer jobs, drone manufacturing jobs and drone technician jobs — or see all drone jobs in the US.
Questions, answered
- Where are the drone jobs in Washington State?
- Mostly Seattle and the Eastside, where delivery-drone and defence-autonomy employers run large engineering teams. The second hub is Bingen, a small town in the Columbia River Gorge that is home to a long-established military UAS manufacturer and its suppliers.
- What kind of work is in Bingen and the Columbia River Gorge?
- Design, build and flight test of tactical unmanned aircraft: systems, software, GNC and propulsion engineers, flight sciences, manufacturing repair technicians, composite technicians and flight test engineers. Several roles offer relocation assistance because the town is small.
- Do I need a Part 107 licence for drone jobs in Washington?
- For commercial flying, yes. Most of the state’s posted drone jobs are engineering and manufacturing roles that do not require it, although defence programmes may ask for US citizenship or a clearance.
- Are there drone jobs in eastern Washington?
- A few. Agricultural field-sensing internships and air-base field engineering roles turn up east of the Cascades, though the market there is much smaller than Seattle or the Gorge.