About the role: 

Skydio is hiring a Aviation Regulatory Specialist/Manager to support regulatory breakthroughs that enable safe and routine autonomous flight, powered by Skydio’s trustworthy autonomy. Over the last year, Skydio achieved multiple, groundbreaking waivers that enable our autonomous drones to fly beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS). This role will build on that success, taking Skydio’s regulatory work--and our products--to new heights. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to push the frontiers of unmanned flight with the strength of category defining technology, working in support of customers ranging from energy utilities to departments of transportation to railroads. The role reports to the Director of Regulatory Affairs and will work closely with our product, engineering, and sales functions.

In particular, this role will concentrate on working with customers, the FAA, and Skydio’s regulatory team to plan and prepare advanced regulatory applications in support of BVLOS operations. This person will need to have a strategic sensibility with a willingness to focus on the technical, tactical--and critical--work necessary to prepare sophisticated regulatory applications. Although focusing on the United States, the role may also support regulatory applications in other countries, including Canada.

How you'll make an impact:

• Responsible for preparing advanced applications to enable Skydio’s customers to operate Skydio drones BVLOS, including remote operations launched and landed in the Skydio Dock. You will be the technical powerhouse drafting applications that unlock the power of Skydio’s autonomous drones to make our world more productive, creative, and safe. 
• Support engagements with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and other stakeholders to unlock Skydio’s autonomous drones for routine, low-friction use by enterprise and public sector customers.
• You will become a trusted resource and guide for our customers and partners pursuing advanced regulatory projects. 
• Develop scalable systems to track and oversee the implementation of regulatory projects. 
• Provide regulatory advice to the product management and engineering teams designed to ensure the safe and scalable use of Skydio’s hardware and software products.
• Support efforts with standards bodies, industry associations, and other stakeholders to develop regulatory standards and approaches that advance our business and the industry.
• Review and advise Skydio’s regulatory and engineering teams on proposed and final rules from the FAA and other regulators. Support the process of developing Skydio’s responses to proposed rules and regulations. 
• Support key product demonstrations, technical validation events and regulatory test plans in coordination with the flight testing and solutions engineering teams. 

What makes you a good fit:

• Strong record of experience working on complex regulatory issues in the aviation or transportation sectors. 
• Intensely motivated to find and implement creative and compelling regulatory solutions that unlock the potential for autonomous drones to make the world more productive, creative, and safe. You can point to examples in your career where you questioned the status quo, proposed new solutions, and successfully worked with regulators and decision makers to bring your vision to life. 
• A willingness to get technical, understand the technology that powers Skydio’s market-leading autonomous drones, and bring that knowledge to bear in developing safety cases, concepts of operations, and other information to support regulatory applications. To that end, an engineering degree or background may be helpful but is not required. Experience with autonomous systems is helpful but not required. 
• Experience leading and developing advanced UAS regulatory projects with the FAA and/or global civil aviation authorities is very valuable, but not required. Along the same lines, experience working with the leading standards bodies (ASTM, RTCA, CTA, etc) on UAS standards is helpful but not required.
• Experience with advanced regulatory processes, such as type certification, is useful but not required. 
• Strong sense of ownership and the ability to operate in a fast-paced environment with competing demands on your time. 
• Obsessive focus on customer success. 
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, including the ability to explain complicated topics--such as autonomy--to regulators and partners.  
• Ability to travel to client sites and attend technical validation events, as required (likely no more than 15-30% of the time).
• A B.A. or B.S. degree (advanced degrees are preferred but not required).

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