Drone Trainer (Jacksonville, FL - Travel Required)

Drone Trainer

Company: Apellix

Location: Jacksonville, FL / Travel Required

Employment Type: Full-Time

About Apellix

Apellix designs and manufactures advanced aerial robotic systems that perform industrial cleaning and painting on structures such as windows, ships, storage tanks, bridges, and buildings. Our drones replace traditional scaffolding, rope-access work, and manual spray operations — making industrial maintenance safer, faster, and more cost-effective.

Position Summary

The Drone Trainer is responsible for training Apellix operators that purchase an Apellix drone, supporting the sales process through live flight demonstrations, and representing Apellix in the field and live demonstrations. This role blends hands-on instruction, online curriculum development, customer-facing demos, tradeshow representation (when there are live demos), and special-project flight operations. The ideal candidate is a skilled drone pilot, a confident communicator, and an effective teacher who is comfortable shifting between hands-on training, a customer or job site, a tradeshow floor, and a controller.

Key Responsibilities

Hands-On Training

• Lead the in-person, hands-on portion of training for customers operating Apellix cleaning and painting drones.
• Coach new pilots on flight fundamentals, system operation, safety procedures, and real-world application techniques.
• Ensure safe operating environments, and adapt instruction to varied skill levels.

Online Training & Curriculum Development

• Coordinate pilot access to Apellix Academy, our in-house remote training.
• Design, build, and expand online training modules — including written content, video lessons, assessments, and supporting materials.
• Update existing modules to reflect product changes, new use cases, and customer feedback.

Sales Demos

• Conduct live drone demonstrations for prospective customers, serving as both pilot and presenter.
• Articulate the value proposition of Apellix systems and tailor demos to the customer's industry, and operational needs.
• Partner closely with the sales team to support the pipeline and convert opportunities.

Tradeshow Live Flight Demos

• Represent Apellix at industry tradeshows, conferences, and customer events when the tradeshow has a live demo component.
• Engage with attendees, deliver booth demonstrations, and communicate technical and commercial information about the product line.
• Collect market intelligence and customer feedback to share with internal teams.

Special Projects

• Serve as the pilot of record on special projects requiring an experienced operator — including marketing content shoots and proof-of-concept jobs.
• Support cross-functional initiatives where flight expertise is needed.

Required Qualifications

• FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate.
• Demonstrated experience as a drone pilot, ideally with industrial, inspection, or specialty applications.
• Strong public speaking and presentation skills; comfortable demonstrating technology to technical and non-technical audiences.
• Prior experience training, teaching, or coaching others.
• Excellent written communication skills for developing training content.
• Willingness to travel (domestic and potentially international) for training, tradeshows, and projects.
• Ability to work outdoors and at industrial sites, including picking up objects that weight up to 50lbs.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with tethered drones, spray systems, or industrial coatings/cleaning operations.
• Background in industrial painting, pressure washing, or facility maintenance industries.
• Experience producing training videos or e-learning content (LMS platforms, video editing, screen capture).
• Sales engineering or technical sales experience.

What We Offer

• 401(k)
• The chance to work on first-of-its-kind aerial robotic technology.
• A varied, hands-on role with high visibility across the company.
• Travel and customer exposure across multiple industries.
• Federal holidays