Drone Pilot (Contractor)

About Sitemark

Sitemark is the AI and robotics platform for building and operating renewable energy. The world's leading Owners, EPCs, and O&M companies use Sitemark.

What problem are we solving and why is this important to solve:

The world is building one of the largest infrastructure shifts in history — and it needs better tools to get it done. Renewable energy projects are growing in scale, complexity, and urgency, but the teams responsible for building and operating them are stretched thin — buried in repetitive work, disconnected systems, and running out of time. That's why we built Sitemark: AI and robotics take the repetitive load off these teams, from the field to the office, so their time goes to what matters — and sites get built faster and perform better.

The team you'll join:

You will join an extremely talented team of incredibly passionate, high-energy people. We go the extra mile while having the best time of our lives. We are expanding our US field capability and building a vetted network of independent pilots engaged directly for work in their region, backed by an experienced, multinational team and a platform trusted across the solar industry. Joining puts you at the center of that network, with the opportunity to work on operations across the US. This is an open call for that network, not a single opening.

How we operate:

• We care deeply about our customers and the problems we solve for them.
• We move fast, keep things simple, and focus on what matters.
• We keep our quality bar high by staying lean and hiring only the best.

Tasks

What you'll do:

This is hands-on work for pilots who love being in the field. You run your own drone operation and Sitemark brings you the missions: you will fly real solar sites across the US, work with the equipment you know best, and see your data go straight into the reports the largest solar owners rely on to build and run their plants. You will not be a number in a queue. You join a vetted network and work directly with an experienced, multinational team that matches missions to your region, your gear, and your schedule. Take on more, grow into higher-value surveys and construction work, and build a steady stream of assignments as a trusted part of the network. When you accept a mission, we give you a clear brief, an agreed scope, and a rate confirmed in writing before you fly, and the detailed flight and delivery standards are covered in onboarding and your contractor agreement so you always know exactly what each mission needs.

Equipment and Positioning You Provide

Sitemark does not supply, ship, rent, or reimburse equipment. What you bring determines the work you can take on, so tell us plainly what you have: we would rather match you to the right missions than send you to a site with the wrong tools.

• A commercially maintained sUAS with a radiometric thermal sensor and high-resolution RGB. Dual-camera platforms are strongly recommended.
• Your aircraft and payload must be on Sitemark's compatible hardware list, which is organized by data product: https://support.sitemark.com/en/articles/4240592-what-drone-hardware-is-compatible-with-sitemark. If your sensor is not listed, ask before assuming; do not plan a mission around unlisted equipment without written confirmation.
• Enough batteries, charging, storage, and field power to complete large sites in a single mobilization.
• A computer capable of offloading and reviewing large datasets in the field. Single missions commonly produce hundreds of gigabytes.
• Reliable high-bandwidth internet for uploading. Remote sites, hotel Wi-Fi, and data caps are not accepted reasons for a missed window.
• Reliable transportation, standard site PPE, and environmental measurement tools such as an irradiance meter and anemometer.
• Survey-grade positioning where a mission calls for it, such as a GNSS base station, a CORS network subscription, or an NTRIP subscription for RTK/PPK corrections. Survey-grade capability significantly expands the missions and rates available to you.

Requirements

• Current FAA Part 107 certificate in good standing with a clean enforcement history.
• Documented commercial UAS experience, with two or more years operating in the field.
• Experience with automated mission planning over large, repetitive sites.
• Working knowledge of thermal imaging: radiometric capture, emissivity, thermal focus, palette and span, and the conditions that produce a usable dataset.
• Strong data management habits and 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 your region, including early departures and multi-day mobilizations.
• Commercial UAS liability insurance, minimum $1,000,000 per occurrence, with a COI naming Sitemark and the asset owner as additional insured.
• Authorized to work in the US as an independent contractor, able to complete a W-9 Form, and able to pass a background check and client site screening.

Nice to have:

• utility-scale solar PV; IEC TS 62446-3 familiarity; Level I or II Thermography certification; RTK/PPK and GNSS survey experience; photogrammetry and GIS proficiency; OSHA 10/30; multiple aircraft in fleet; bilingual English/Spanish.

Onboarding

Onboarding is one of the perks of joining. When you come on board, we give you our onboarding and online training program free of charge, delivered remotely so you can complete it from anywhere, once, before your first paid assignment. You will learn how to fly solar the Sitemark way: our capture standards by mission type, deliverable specifications and naming conventions, flight configurations and parameters, the upload workflow and quality review, field QC expectations, site conduct and safety, and invoicing. It is practical, solar-specific expertise you carry into every mission you fly with us.

Pilots who complete training and pass a qualification review are added to the active roster for their region.

Compensation and Work Assignments

• Rate is negotiated per mission and agreed in writing before you accept, accounting for site size and capacity, complexity, sensor requirements, mobilization, on-site duration, and turnaround urgency. Travel and per diem are addressed within the rate unless the brief says otherwise.
• You are paid for missions you fly and deliver.
• Payment is issued against your invoice following acceptance of the dataset, on the terms in the Independent Contractor Agreement.
• Every pilot signs the same standing Independent Contractor Agreement covering the working relationship, confidentiality, data ownership, insurance, and performance standards. Missions are scoped and priced under it. It is not negotiated per pilot.
• You are responsible for your own taxes, equipment maintenance and airworthiness, and regulatory compliance. No withholding is performed.
• Captured data is the property of Sitemark and its clients and may not be retained, reused, published, or distributed without written permission.

If this sounds like the right fit for you, we would like to hear from you. Send your application over and our team will review it. If your experience, equipment, and territory line up with what we need, someone will be in touch to talk through next steps.