UAS Instructor: Commercial Drone Training in Leeds

Location: Hybrid/Remote depending on home location – Leeds LS1, with travel to specialist training sites across the UK

Salary: Up to £42,000 per year

Contract: Full-time, Permanent

This isn't just another drone instructor role. If you want to spend every day delivering the same classroom course from the same slide deck, this probably isn't the role for you. At COPTRZ, our instructors work across commercial drone training, advanced flight operations, specialist aircraft, BVLOS, surveying, mapping, technical handovers and bespoke customer programmes. One week you could be delivering an RPC-L1. The next, helping a commercial client understand a new aircraft platform, delivering specialist CPD, supporting an advanced operational exercise or helping us develop the next generation of UAS training.

We're looking for someone who wants to become one of the best commercial UAS instructors in the industry and we'll invest in helping you get there.

What you'll actually be doing

• Delivering CAA-regulated UAS training, including A2 CofC, GVC and RPC programmes
• Delivering ground school, flight training, examinations and practical flight assessments
• Coaching pilots in flight planning, operational decision-making and safe UAS operations
• Delivering advanced CPD and specialist commercial training
• Supporting training involving BVLOS and more complex UAS operations
• Carrying out customer handovers and technical training on commercial drone platforms
• Delivering courses in areas such as mapping, surveying, automated flight and data capture
• Running webinars, online training and customer workshops
• Helping develop new course content, training assets and practical exercises
• Working directly with commercial, public-sector and specialist customers
• Helping us continually improve how professional drone pilots are trained

This is a role where you'll be expected to bring ideas, challenge how things are done and help shape the future of the COPTRZ Training Academy.

Who we're looking for

You don't necessarily need to arrive as a fully qualified instructor. We're more interested in finding someone with credible real-world UAS experience, strong technical knowledge and the ability to engage and develop other people. You may currently be:

• A UAS instructor or assessor
• A military or emergency-services UAS operator
• A surveyor or technical operator using drones professionally
• An experienced remote pilot looking to move into training
• A trainer from another technical industry with strong UAS experience

What matters is that you understand drones beyond simply flying them and have the ambition to develop into a highly capable professional instructor.

Experience that would really stand out

• BVLOS operational experience, civilian or military
• CAA A2 CofC, GVC or RPC-L1
• Teaching or assessing qualifications such as Level 3 AET
• Commercial UAS operational experience
• Experience with DJI and other enterprise drone platforms
• Mapping, photogrammetry or surveying workflows
• Automated and mission-planned flight
• Specialist sensors and payloads
• Experience training customers or colleagues on technical equipment

Don't tick every box? If you already have strong UAS or training experience but haven't yet collected every qualification, we can help you get there. Depending on your existing experience, COPTRZ can support and fund qualifications including:

• A2 CofC
• GVC
• RPC-L1
• Teaching qualifications
• Specialist manufacturer and platform training

We want to develop instructors for the long term, not simply recruit someone to fill a classroom.

Where this role can take you

We've created a structured progression route for our UAS instructors, allowing you to increase your technical capability, responsibility and earning potential as you develop. There are opportunities to progress into specialist areas including:

• Advanced commercial UAS operations
• BVLOS training and assessment
• Specialist platform training
• Surveying and mapping
• Technical product handovers
• Instructor standardisation
• Training leadership

Salary is up to £42,000 depending on your existing qualifications, experience and level of instructor capability.

Why COPTRZ?

COPTRZ is one of the UK's leading commercial drone solution and training providers. We work with organisations across industries including construction, surveying, infrastructure, emergency services, public sector and specialist commercial operations. Joining our training team gives you access to something many instructor roles can't offer: variety. You'll work with different aircraft, technologies, customers, operating environments and training requirements while continuing to develop your own capability. You'll also have the opportunity to get involved in the areas shaping the future of the industry, including RPC, BVLOS, advanced UAS operations and specialist commercial applications.

Benefits include:

• Salary up to £42,000
• Company pension
• Westfield Health
• Sick pay
• Employee referral programme
• Funded professional qualifications and specialist training
• Company events and social activities
• Free drinks, breakfast and snacks at our Leeds office

A few things you will need

Because our instructors deliver practical training around the country, you must have:

• A full UK driving licence
• The ability and willingness to travel throughout the UK and even sometimes abroad
• The flexibility to work from our Leeds office, remotely and at external training locations