Flight Operations Specialist (Contract)

Pyka is looking for a flight operations specialist to support the development and commercial deployments of its advanced autonomous aircraft. You will execute customer facing operations at different locations across Brazil and train and support our customers as they operate the aircraft. This is your opportunity to test, evaluate and deploy the aircraft of the future.

This role is based in Brazil and you will be expected to support customer sites primarily in the state of Mato Grosso.

This is a multidisciplinary role that interacts with internal and external organizations, so written and verbal communication skills are critical. You will be instrumental in ensuring the standardization of aircraft ground and flight operations and procedures, instructional techniques, as well as informing the evolution of the product itself. This role will be a 6 month contract with a possibility of renewal.

About Pyka

Pyka’s goal is to provide society with a new form of safe, clean, and cost-effective transportation enabled by autonomous electric aviation.

To get there, we’re taking a different approach than most. We're applying our technologies to every industry where autonomous electric aircraft can be useful, starting with the highest value and most dangerous jobs. In doing so, we're building game-changing products manufactured at scale, while perfecting the safety, reliability, and capabilities of our autonomy engine and electric propulsion systems. 

We design, develop and manufacture an ecosystem of technologies including proprietary flight control software, avionics, high power density motors, motor controllers, batteries, and custom carbon-fiber composite airframes.

Today, we supply autonomous electric aircraft for cargo transport and crop protection to real-world customers across four separate continents and have secured industry-first regulatory approvals from the FAA. 

Our cargo aircraft enables remote connectivity, enhances express delivery networks, and ensures fast and reliable shipping of critical supplies to areas in need. Our crop protection aircraft offers agricultural services providers and farmers an autonomous tool to make aerial application safer, more precise, and less harmful to surrounding environments. Both vehicles are highly economical to operate, easy to deploy, and significantly reduce C02 emissions in their respective industries. 

What you work on at Pyka makes people’s lives better now and brings the future of electric aviation one step closer each day.

Responsibilities

• Work alongside Pyka Deployed Flight Test Engineers to support flight testing, customer training and product support
  
  
• Guarantee continuous operations at customer sites by identifying, troubleshooting and fixing any arising issues, with the remote help of Pyka’s engineering teams
  
  
• Provide detailed technical feedback to operations and engineering teams to improve Pyka’s product for customer deployment
  
  
• Fly and test new hardware and software features
  
  
• Conduct diverse fleet site maintenance activities, involving the aircraft itself and ground infrastructure
  
  
• Serve as Pilot In Command or Ground Control Operator of experimental / developmental unmanned aircraft
  
  
• Recommend new features, improvements, design changes, etc. to the design team
  
  
• Participate in ground and flight test events
  
  
• Manage complex logistics in support of flight operations
  
  

Preferred Qualifications

• 1-3 years of experience flying fixed wing UAVs / model aircraft or large multirotors
  
  
• Fluent in English and Portuguese (Required)
  
  
• Experience with ground control and mission planning software 
  
  
• 1–5 years of experience working with and troubleshooting mechanical and electrical systems
  
  
• Basic high voltage safety knowledge and comfortable working on 120 VDC, 20 ~ 30 kW systems
  
  
• Knowledge of aircraft systems, maintenance, and manuals
  
  
• Independent and motivated, able to self-direct and manage time
  
  
• Extreme thoroughness and attention to detail
  
  
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
  
  
• Willingness to work in Mato Grosso and spend several weeks working independently
  
  
• Familiarity with linux, command line usage, git