Flight Operations Technician

Urban Sky is a venture-backed aerospace startup on a mission to pioneer humanity’s routine, easy access to the stratosphere and the value locked within it. We design, build, operate, and sell stratospheric balloon systems. The data we collect supports a wide range of applications, from real-time wildfire monitoring to urban mapping. Our technology is also employed by government customers including the Department of War (DoW), NASA, and others.

Urban Sky sends flight vehicles to the stratosphere on a weekly basis.

Our team consists of engineers, makers, developers, and doers who believe in the power of human potential when passion meets utility within a small, supportive team. At Urban Sky we strive to create a team culture grounded in candor, inclusion, respect and empowerment.

We aim to build the next chapter of stratospheric history in Denver and Texas and are seeking self-starting, open-minded, and hard-working team members.

The Flight Operations Technician is a field-based operational role responsible for the execution of Urban Sky's stratospheric balloon missions, from mission preparation and launch through tracking, recovery, and return of flight hardware.

Flight Operations is the final operational handoff of work performed across Urban Sky. Our team is responsible for translating that work into successful missions in the real world, often far from headquarters and without immediate support. Mission focus, sound field judgment, adaptability, personal accountability, and a strong drive toward mission success are fundamental to this role.

This is not a conventional 9-to-5 position. Flight Operations Technicians may travel extensively throughout the United States and internationally, deploy with limited notice, work consecutive days, weekends, and irregular schedules, and spend long days driving or operating in the field. Mission days of 12-16 hours can occur. Deployments may range from several days to several weeks.

We are looking for people who find that environment motivating rather than burdensome.

• Support the team wherever needed. Flight Operations is a small team. Successful operators take ownership beyond their individual assignment, communicate early, help teammates, and remain focused on the success of the overall mission.
• Own mission execution. Help plan, prepare, launch, track, recover, and close out stratospheric balloon missions with a strong sense of personal responsibility for mission success.
• Operate effectively in the field. Work independently and within a small team across remote, rural, austere, and unfamiliar environments where immediate organizational support may not always be available.
• Exercise independent field judgment. Continuously evaluate terrain, weather, roads, waterways, power lines, livestock, vehicle limitations, fatigue, public safety, and other changing conditions. Know when to continue, modify, relocate, delay, or discontinue an operation.
• Prepare beyond the checklist. Anticipate communications limitations, weather, vehicle and fuel requirements, food and water, equipment needs, access routes, recovery contingencies, and other logistical requirements before deployment.
• Launch and recover flight systems. Safely execute balloon and payload preparation, launch, chase, recovery, documentation, and return of flight hardware in accordance with procedures and mission‑specific engineering direction.
• Solve problems with limited support. Develop the technical knowledge and operational judgment necessary to troubleshoot flight systems, vehicles, equipment, logistics, and changing mission conditions without depending on someone at headquarters to solve every problem.
• Operate vehicles extensively. Safely operate full‑size and…