Drone Pilot

Hey - Let's find your next opportunity At Nova Sky Stories, we empower artists and producers to bring awe and wonder to live audiences around the world. As the global leader in drone entertainment, we've been redefining live shows for over a decade-merging cutting edge drone technology with imaginative artistry.

With a veteran team of engineers and creatives, we design and operate lightweight, small, precise, and safe drones that perform in the most demanding environments-urban centers, extreme temperatures, and high winds. The result? Sky Stories that inspire, captivate, and transform the sky into a canvas of imagination.

Headquartered in the U.S. with teams across Europe and the UAE, Nova Sky Stories works with the world's leading brands, venues, and events. Follow us:

About the job We are seeking a skilled Person Manipulating the Controls (PMTC) to operate our large scale drone light show systems under the authority of a designated Pilot in Command (PIC).

The PMTC is the hands on flight operator responsible for executing launches, monitoring the drone fleet in real time, and responding to aircraft and system behavior throughout the show. While the PIC retains full legal and safety authority, the PMTC plays a critical role in live execution and operational performance.

This role sits at the intersection of aviation, robotics, and live entertainment, supporting synchronized fleets of hundreds to thousands of aircraft at some of the world's most high profile events.

As a PMTC, you will be responsible for:

• Serve as a pilot responsible for flying shows and ensuring compliance with all relevant regulations, guidelines, and best practices. Prioritize the safety of spectators, crew members, and surrounding airspace.
• Operate Nova's drone fleet during live shows as the Person Manipulating the Controls. Execute launches, holds, aborts, and recoveries under the direction of the PIC. Monitor aircraft health, telemetry, GNSS, and communications during flight.
• Operate Nova's ground control systems, networking, and flight software. Load, verify, and execute flight plans and show content. Respond in real time to system alerts, aircraft faults, or degraded conditions.
• Help lead load in and load out of the entire airfield and pilot system setup. Conduct pre flight checks on drones, batteries, ground infrastructure, and control systems. Assist with post flight inspections, logging, and maintenance reporting.
• Coordinate closely with ground crew, technical staff, and event organizers to communicate flight plans, timing cues, and any other operational considerations prior, during, and after shows.
• Supply continuous feedback and evaluation of performance metrics to identify areas of improvement and optimization.
• Fly large scale drone light shows: drones using our system.
• Assist with drone repairs.

Required Qualifications

• Proficient in interpreting several incoming streams of data and managing time critical activities. Able to stay focused and decisive during high pressure live operations.
• Basic understanding of engineering/electronics/software engineering to perform basic maintenance and troubleshooting on drones.
• Excellent English communication skills, both written and verbal. Proactive communication is highly valued.

It's a plus if you have:

• Experience flying large fleets or synchronized UAS systems.
• Background in aviation, robotics, or live technical production.
• Familiarity with regulatory frameworks (FAA, EASA, GCAA, etc.).
• Experience working in touring or event based operations.
• Willing to travel up to several weekends per month, to various states/countries, and remain there for 2 3 nights and support a show. Opportunities may exist for extended periods, in the case of drone residencies.
• Willing to lift loads up to 20kg/44lb, work outdoors, and set up equipment.

What Defines You

• Highly reliable, organized, and execution focused.
• Calm under pressure and effective in an onsite operating environment.
• A clear, proactive communicator who escalates issues early and appropriately.
• Team oriented, humble, and eager to learn.
• Motivated by operational excellence, consistency, and continuous improvement.
• Interested in growing into increased production ownership over time.

If you're ready to play a key role in supporting the operational backbone of a company redefining storytelling in the sky, we'd love to hear from you. Apply now to help keep Nova Sky Stories flying high.

Nova Sky Stories - Boulder, Colorado, United States - 2 months ago

Manager, Business Development Nova is seeking a highly versatile Manager, Business Development to help lead our global growth. As a small, nimble team, we are looking for someone who thrives in ambiguity and can operate across strategic sales, geographic expansion, and financial and strategic analysis to support major company decisions. This role sits at the center of Nova's growth efforts. You'll be part of a small internal "swat team," constantly identifying, prioritizing, and executing on the most critical opportunities to scale the business globally.

As a Manager, Business Development, you will be responsible for:

• Lead strategic sales efforts and form high impact partnerships.
• Manage and coordinate cross functional growth initiatives.
• Support global expansion, including entering new countries, managing projects, and supporting local hiring efforts.
• Conduct financial and strategic analysis to inform major growth and investment decisions.
• Take ownership of ambiguous, high impact projects and drive them from concept through execution.
• Travel to key events to assess competitive dynamics and engage with influential stakeholders.

If you're the right fit for this role, you probably already get it: this is a high growth, "do whatever it takes to help the company win" position with significant responsibility and exposure. You'll need to have:

• Experience in business development, sales, and/or finance at a high growth company.
• Strong analytical and problem solving skills, with the ability to turn insights into action.
• Comfort operating in a fast paced, resource constrained environment.
• Ability to travel up to 50% of the time.

It's a plus if you have:

• MBA or advanced business degree.
• Experience in a capital expenditure based technology business (as opposed to purely software or services).
• Experience in the entertainment industry.

3D Cinema 4D Expert / Drone Show Designer Nova Sky Stories Utrecht team is a passionate group of people with a hands on approach collaborating closely to keep improving and bring awe to live audiences. As part of Nova Sky Stories we work together with other Nova designers and colleagues around the world, sharing creativity, technical knowledge and the passion for storytelling.

We are seeking a talented and imaginative Drone Sky Show Designer to contribute their expertise in designing and orchestrating captivating drone light shows. As an integral member of our team, you'll collaborate with skilled professionals to bring imaginative concepts to life through drone displays that astonish and inspire audiences. Your creative flair, combined with your experience in 3D design, will shape unforgettable experiences for our audiences.

As a Drone Sky Show Designer, you will be responsible for:

• Ideate and conceptualize innovative 3D graphics, animations, and visual narratives.
• Collaborate with cross functional teams to generate concept sketches, designs, and prototypes.
• Develop expressive 3D animations that convey a wide range of emotions.
• Work on the creation of drone shows, from the initial concept to designing and animating show elements and scenes.
• Demonstrate ownership of your work and actively contribute creative ideas to enhance our offerings and processes.
• Collaborate with our creative team to expand animation capacity by recruiting and managing external resources.

You'll need to have:

• 3+ years of experience in 3D asset creation using Maxon Cinema 4D.
• Proficiency in Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects and other digital art production tools.
• Ability to craft low poly assets and experience working with MoGraph tools.

How to be successful in this role:

• Enthusiastic about the creative potential of drone technology.
• Effective communication skills to articulate ideas and collaborate within teams.
• Strong interpersonal skills with a team oriented approach.
• Capacity to manage priorities, multitask, and meet deadlines in a dynamic environment.
• Having an efficient and structured workflow.
• Strong drive to experiment and innovate.
• Quick learner with agility in adapting design approaches.
• Results oriented, "can do" attitude with a focus on creative solutions.
• Ability to provide and receive constructive, creative feedback across teams.
• Willingness to collaborate closely with team members, clients, and external partners.

Venue Planning Coordinator As a Venue Planning Coordinator you will support drone show planning by evaluating potential venues, conducting preliminary technical assessments, and developing initial site and flight maps. You will serve as a critical link between Sales and Operations . click apply for full job details