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Item
Detail
Position title
GIS and Drone Journeyman
Employer
SpatialGIS, LLC
Position type
Paid, entry-level, structured learn-and-earn position inside the SpatialGIS workforce development program
Program length
12 months, delivered in four gated phases
Schedule
Part-time track (up to 20 hours a week) for enrolled students; full-time track (40 hours a week) for recent graduates and career changers
Locations
Fayetteville, NC (headquarters and the SpatialGIS Lab at Fayetteville State University, Bronco Midtown);
Reports to
CEO/Geospatial Lead, who serves as mentor of record. Flight operations report to the Chief Pilot
Credentials earned in role
FAA Remote Pilot Certificate with a small unmanned aircraft systems rating (14 CFR Part 107), then Esri GIS Fundamentals Foundation and Esri ArcGIS Pro Foundation
Certification cost
Exam fees, training subscriptions, software licenses and aircraft time paid by SpatialGIS
Experience required
None. Prior GIS or flight experience is not expected
Field work
About 30% of time outdoors on flight and data collection missions
Compensation
Hourly rate to be set by Human Resources before posting, with a step increase at each credential
Citizenship
U.S. citizenship required for federal task assignments
Position summary
The GIS and Drone Journeyman learns geospatial work from the aircraft to the finished map. In 12 months the Journeyman moves from no GIS or flight experience to an FAA-certificated remote pilot and Esri-certified GIS technician with supervised delivery work for federal, state and local government missions.
SpatialGIS delivers geospatial intelligence, GIS analytics, cloud engineering, AI and machine learning to defense, intelligence and civilian agencies. We are an Esri Silver Partner, we fly under 14 CFR Part 107, and our past performance includes geospatial intelligence support for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and GIS support for FEMA and the Federal Protective Service. The Journeyman trains inside that delivery environment and works to the same flight safety, data quality and documentation standards as our analysts and pilots.
This position is built for college students, recent graduates, veterans, military spouses and career changers who are new to the field. It is a paid job with a defined curriculum, a named mentor, protected study time, supervised flight time and four gates that measure real skill. It is not a classroom course and it is not an unstructured internship.
A Journeyman who completes the program leaves with:
Three industry-recognized credentials: FAA Remote Pilot Certificate, Esri GIS Fundamentals Foundation and Esri ArcGIS Pro Foundation
A pilot logbook of supervised and pilot-in-command flight hours across mapping and inspection missions
A documented record of on-the-job learning hours and related technical instruction hours
A portfolio of maps, web applications, orthomosaics, elevation models, accuracy reports and a defended capstone project
Working knowledge of the aviation, data and security rules that govern public sector geospatial work
A competency record signed by the mentor of record at each gate
Program structure
The program runs 12 months in four phases, and each phase ends at a gate the Journeyman must clear to advance.
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Each diamond is a gate. The Journeyman advances only when the mentor of record, and the Chief Pilot for flight items, sign the evidence for that gate.
Phase 1: Foundations, months 1 to 3
Completes SpatialGIS onboarding, security awareness training and Controlled Unclassified Information handling training.
Learns GIS fundamentals and ArcGIS Pro: data models, coordinate systems, symbology, editing and layouts.
Completes Part 107 ground school and logs simulator hours on every maneuver.
Joins live missions as visual observer and crew member.
Clears Gate 1 by earning the FAA Remote Pilot Certificate and passing the simulator checkride.
Phase 2: Fly and map, months 4 to 6
Flies as pilot at the controls under direct supervision and plans mapping missions.
Sets ground control, processes imagery and writes accuracy reports.
Designs geodatabases and completes first spatial analyses.
Begins the public sector rotation with state and local work packages.
Clears Gate 2 by passing Esri GIS Fundamentals Foundation, logging 20 supervised flights and delivering an accepted orthomosaic.
Phase 3: Deliver, months 7 to 9
Contributes supervised work packages on federal, state and local efforts.
Publishes web maps, dashboards and
