VP Aviation & Chief Pilot

At a glance: Lead AIRmarket's Flight Operations team as VP Aviation and Chief Pilot. Based in Edmonton, AB and reporting to the CEO, this role is an integral part of the leadership team. We are seeking a crewed-aviation pilot (commercial or higher) to build and scale routine BVLOS drone operations. Compensation starts at $100,000 CAD, with a target start date of December 1, 2026.

Leads our Flight Operations team and makes routine, scheduled BVLOS drone operations an everyday reality in Canada. This is a hands‑on leadership role for an experienced aviator who wants to be front and centre with the team every day.

You will sit on AIRmarket's leadership team, report to the CEO, and be the single point of accountability for Flight Operations. You will lead the people, run the schedule, set the safety and maintenance standard, and fly when the schedule needs you. Flight Operations delivers flight services to our customers and supports our technology team as we develop and prove new RTM services.

Building and leading the team is the heart of the job: hiring, training, scheduling and developing the pilots and crew who keep operations flying. The team currently has four pilots and is growing.

This role carries a dual mandate, serving as both the Chief Pilot and the Person Accountable for Maintenance (PAM) with Transport Canada.

Employment type
:
Full-time, Permanent

Location
:
Edmonton area, Alberta (on-site)

Reports to
: CEO & Founder

Compensation
:
Salary based on experience. Salary range: $100,000+ CAD.

We believe drones will become a routine part of how communities stay safe and how critical infrastructure is looked after: flown on a schedule, beyond visual line of sight, safely integrated with crewed aviation. AIRmarket's flight operations combine automated drone-in-a-box systems with longer-range BVLOS aircraft, supported by our RPAS Traffic Management (RTM) and airspace surveillance services.

Our RTM services are built to support the regulatory approvals that let BVLOS operations grow in Canada, for us and for our customers.

The Flight Operations team's objective is to lead by example and show how safe, routine BVLOS operations are delivered, with a focus on public safety and industrial asset monitoring. You will lead that team and set that standard.

• Be present and visible with the Flight Operations team, leading from the front on daily operations.
• Serve on the leadership team as the single point of accountability for Flight Operations: safety, delivery, people and budget.
• Set the department's plan, operating rhythm and measures, and report results to the CEO.

• Act as the company's technical aviation authority and its named Chief Pilot with Transport Canada.
• Own the Flight Operations Manual: author, maintain, revise and control every version.
• Maintain all checklists, standard operating procedures, emergency procedures and site assessment processes.
• Own the training program: pilot onboarding, initial and recurrent training, currency, and complete training records.
• Ensure the team conforms to every SFOC and its conditions, and to the requirements of our RPAS Operator Certificate. Interface with Transport Canada and NAV CANADA to gain the approvals and airspace authorizations our operations need.
• Work directly with regulators to manage, renew and upgrade our SFOCs and to manage our RPAS Operator Certificate, keeping all required documentation audit-ready.
• Apply the JARUS SORA methodology to build and maintain our SFOC applications: concept of operations, ground and air risk assessment, and the operational safety objectives and mitigations, kept current as operations change.
• Run the Safety Management System: hazard reporting, risk assessments, occurrence investigations and corrective actions.
• Ensure flight logs, telemetry, defects, occurrences and maintenance are recorded, and aircraft airworthiness is coordinated with maintenance.

• Hire, qualify, mentor and manage the pilots and ground crew.
• Own the crew schedule: coverage, duty-time limits, leave and backfill, so planned operations are always crewed.

• Fly operational and test missions as Pilot in Command when the schedule needs it.
• Act as Flight Operations' liaison with the technology team: take its flight testing requirements for our RTM services and turn them into planned, crewed, compliant test flights.
• Bring…