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Featured Jobs
Drone Pilot Operator
Drone Pilot OperatorA fantastic opportunity for a STEM Graduate or experienced Drone Pilot to work for a technology company developing cutting-edge imaging systems. Having grown rapidly, they are looking to bring on a Drone Pilot to work within their technical and customer support team. This team operates advanced drone systems in live customer environments, supports onboarding, and contributes to product...
RedTech Recruitment Ltd
Cambridge
Drone Operator
ROV/Drone OperatorFrom £35,000 per annum + Car allowanceBirmingham - UK Travel RequiredPermanent- 37 hours per weekAre you a hands-on technician with a passion for ROVs, drone tech, and site-based inspections? We're working with a well-established manufacturer in the Midlands who supply specialist liquid storage solutions to a wide range of sectors across the UK. As part of their continued growth,...
Pertemps Birmingham Industrial
Birmingham
Drone Pilot Operator
Drone Pilot OperatorA fantastic opportunity for a STEM Graduate or experienced Drone Pilot to work for a technology company developing cutting-edge imaging systems. Having grown rapidly, they are looking to bring on a Drone Pilot to work within their technical and customer support team. This team operates advanced drone systems in live customer environments, supports onboarding, and contributes to product...
REDTECH RECRUIT
Cambridge
Drone Pilot Operator - Graduate
Drone Pilot OperatorA fantastic opportunity for a STEM Graduate or experienced Drone Pilot to work for a technology company developing cutting-edge imaging systems. Having grown rapidly, they are looking to bring on a Drone Pilot to work within their technical and customer support team. This team operates advanced drone systems in live customer environments, supports onboarding, and contributes to product...
RedTech Recruitment Careers
Cambridge
Drone Operator
ROV/Drone OperatorFrom £35,000 per annum + Car allowanceBirmingham - UK Travel RequiredPermanent- 37 hours per weekAre you a hands-on technician with a passion for ROVs, drone tech, and site-based inspections? We're working with a well-established manufacturer in the Midlands who supply specialist liquid storage solutions to a wide range of sectors across the UK. As part of their continued growth,...
Pertemps Birmingham Industrial Careers
Birmingham
Drone Operator
ROV/Drone OperatorFrom £35,000 per annum + Car allowanceBirmingham - UK Travel RequiredPermanent- 37 hours per weekAre you a hands-on technician with a passion for ROVs, drone tech, and site-based inspections? We're working with a well-established manufacturer in the Midlands who supply specialist liquid storage solutions to a wide range of sectors across the UK. As part of their continued growth,...
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are no longer just military assets—they're transforming agriculture, infrastructure inspection, logistics, filmmaking, and public safety. As commercial drone operations scale in the UK, the demand for skilled UAV professionals is rising sharply across engineering, flight operations, data analysis, and autonomous systems.
Welcome to the UAV Jobs Skills Radar 2026—your annual guide to the tools, platforms, certifications, and technologies that are shaping UAV careers in the UK. Whether you're a drone pilot, systems engineer, or AI developer working on autonomous navigation, this radar shows you what to focus on to remain in-demand.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), commonly known as drones, are transforming industries in the UK—from surveying, inspection, and agriculture to emergency services, logistics, and defence. As the sector evolves, so too does the demand for skilled UAV professionals: pilots, systems engineers, data analysts, AI specialists, and regulatory experts.
Yet many of the best UAV jobs—especially in R&D, government contracts, and specialist commercial operations—are never advertised publicly. They’re often filled through trusted networks, working group referrals, pilot programmes, and specialist community engagement.
In this guide, you’ll discover how to access hidden UAV jobs in the UK by engaging with professional bodies like the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS), APRIL (UK), and regional drone networks. You’ll learn how to use directories, CPD events, special interest groups (SIGs), and industry clusters to position yourself at the forefront of opportunity—before roles are even published.
Being made redundant from a role in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drone technology can be disheartening—especially in such a cutting-edge and evolving sector. But with the growing adoption of UAVs in defence, surveying, logistics, agriculture, inspection, and emergency response, your skills remain in demand.
Whether you're a drone pilot, UAV systems engineer, geospatial analyst, flight software developer, or mechanical integrator, this guide will help you bounce back stronger after redundancy.
Why last year’s pay survey already misleads UK drone professionals
Ask a BVLOS Pilot stitching flight plans over the Irish Sea, a Drone Data Analyst crunching multispectral crop imagery, or an Avionics Engineer debugging quad‑rotor ESCs at midnight: “Am I earning what I deserve?” The honest answer drifts faster than a geofence breach. Since early 2024 the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) introduced sandbox corridors for beyond‑visual‑line‑of‑sight operations, Network Rail signed a multi‑million‑pound inspection contract, & the UK’s Future Flight Challenge pumped an extra £105 million into autonomous‑air‑mobility trials. Each shock nudges salary bands.
A salary guide printed in 2024 is already a fossil — blind to the surge in middle‑mile drone logistics, the Highlands’ offshore wind survey boom, or the police drones standard now mandating dual‑thermal payloads. To replace guesswork with evidence, UAVJobs.co.uk has distilled a transparent three‑factor formula. Plug in your discipline, UK region & seniority; you’ll see a realistic 2025 baseline — no stale averages, no fuzzy “competitive” labels. This article unpacks the formula, spotlights six forces inflating UAV pay, & sets out five practical moves to boost your market value inside ninety days.
Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), commonly known as drones, are revolutionising industries—from agriculture and infrastructure to emergency response and environmental monitoring. But as UAVs become more advanced, so does the need to clearly explain what they do, how they work, and why they matter to people outside the engineering world.
Whether you're applying for a UAV pilot role, drone software engineer position, regulatory consultant, or operations manager, your ability to present UAV technology and applications to non-technical audiences is a skill that UK employers are increasingly testing in interviews.
This guide will help you structure your presentation, simplify technical content, design clear visuals, and confidently respond to common stakeholder questions—so you can stand out in interviews and lead effectively on the job.
Bookmark this guide – refreshed every quarter – so you always know who’s really growing their drone and unmanned‑aviation teams.
A new CAA sandbox for BVLOS flights, the Future Flight Challenge’s £300 million tranche and booming demand for aerial data are driving a record year for UK UAV hiring in 2025. Employers need platform engineers, flight‑control software developers, remote‑pilots, payload specialists, geospatial analysts, U‑space safety experts & regulatory consultants right now.
Below are 50 organisations that have posted UK‑based UAV vacancies or announced head‑count growth during the past eight weeks. They’re grouped into five quick‑scan categories. For each company you’ll find:
Main UK hub
Example live or recent vacancy
Why it’s worth a look – technology focus, culture, mission
Search any employer on UAVJobs.co.uk to see live adverts, or set up a free alert so brand‑new openings land straight in your inbox.
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