UAV & UAS Jobs
UAV and UAS are the terms defense, government and aerospace employers use for drones, and their job titles follow suit. These roles cover the whole unmanned aircraft system: flying it, building it, maintaining it and defending against it. Below are the latest UAV and UAS jobs from companies hiring now.
- Roles open
- 395
Get notified of new matches.
Why UAV and UAS jobs read differently
"Drone" is what most people search for, but defense primes, government agencies and aerospace companies write their job titles in the language of the programme: UAV, UAS, sUAS for small systems, or Group 1 to Group 5 for the Department of Defense size classes. A UAS operator posting at a defense contractor and a drone pilot posting at a survey firm can describe very similar flying, while the clearance, platform training and documentation around the work are quite different.
The listings above cover the full unmanned aircraft system, not just the person on the controls. Alongside UAS operator and pilot roles you will find maintenance technicians and field service representatives who keep fleets airworthy, test engineers running flight test campaigns, engineers designing airframes, avionics and datalinks, and a fast-growing group of counter-UAS jobs built around detecting and defeating hostile drones. Many of these roles sit with defense and government customers, so expect security clearance requirements on a good share of them. For commercial flying in the US, start with the Part 107 jobs that ask for an FAA remote pilot certificate.
Questions, answered
- What is the difference between a UAV and a UAS?
- A UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) is the aircraft itself. A UAS (unmanned aircraft system) is the whole system around it: the aircraft, the ground control station, the datalink and the crew. Job titles use both, and most employers treat them as interchangeable.
- What kinds of UAS jobs are there?
- UAS operators and pilots, sensor operators, maintenance and field service technicians, flight test engineers, systems and integration engineers, and counter-UAS specialists who detect and defeat hostile drones. Instructor and program management roles are common too.
- Do UAV operator jobs require a security clearance?
- Many defense and government UAS roles do, often at the Secret level or above, which usually means US citizenship. Commercial UAV jobs in inspection, mapping or delivery generally do not. Each listing states its requirements.
- What certification do I need for a UAS operator job?
- For commercial flying in the US, an FAA Part 107 remote pilot certificate. Defense roles often accept or require military UAS qualifications instead, and some ask for training on a specific platform. Outside the US, the national equivalent applies.