JOB POSTING — RPAS Pilot (Contract) Company: With A Thought Location: Guelph, Toronto, Ontario (field operations within GTA) Type: Subcontract / Contract, part-time Duration: 2–3 field days across a 2-month window (Months 3–4 of project) Compensation: $120/hr CAD
PROJECT
With A Thought is developing the Fusion Compliance Engine (FCE) — a deterministic sensor integrity system for autonomous aerial platforms. This is a Defence Research (DND IDEaS) funded project. We need a qualified RPAS pilot to execute structured flight test profiles for sensor validation and adversarial scenario testing.
This is not aerial photography or inspection work. This is research-grade flight testing on an open-architecture drone platform.
WHAT YOU'LL DO
- Operate as Pilot-in-Command for 2–4 structured flight sessions (4–6 total flight hours)
- Execute pre-defined flight profiles: banked turns, altitude steps, antenna occlusion patterns, hover station-keeping, and GPS-denied navigation sequences
- Coordinate with ground station operator (PI) who monitors real-time telemetry and FCE output
- Pre-flight equipment checks, sensor array mounting and alignment on airframe, battery management
- Post-flight data transfer and log verification
REQUIREMENTS
Mandatory:
- Active Transport Canada RPAS Advanced Operations Certificate
- Demonstrated experience on PX4 or ArduPilot open-architecture platforms
- Comfortable with MAVLink telemetry and structured flight profiling
- Able to operate from outdoor field sites in the GTA
Strong preference for:
- Experience with Holybro/Pixhawk airframes (X500, Pixhawk 6X)
- Background in academic or defence-adjacent UAS research
- Familiarity with serial sensor integration (GPS, IMU, magnetometer)
Not suitable for:
- Film, photography, or real estate drone operators without open-architecture flight controller experience
PLATFORM
- Holybro X500 V2 quadcopter frame
- Pixhawk 6X flight controller (PX4 firmware)
- Custom sensor array: dual GPS, dual IMU, dual magnetometer, barometer
- NVIDIA Jetson Orin NX companion computer onboard
- All flights conducted within visual line of sight under Advanced RPAS rules
TIMELINE
- Engagement finalized: Month 1 of contract (target: within 2 weeks of award)
- Flight sessions: Months 3–4
- Total commitment: 2–3 field days, flexible scheduling
TO APPLY
To this add.
Include:
- RPAS certificate number and expiry
- Summary of PX4/ArduPilot flight experience (if any)
- Any relevant research or structured flight testing background
With A Thought is a Canadian-owned R&D firm based in Guelph, Ontario. This project is supported by the Department of National Defence Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security (IDEaS) program.
Pay: $80.00-$120.00 per hour
Work Location: In person
