IM Officer / Drone Pilot
Position Circumstances
- Career Category: Engineering
- Schedule:Full-time
- Salary: Negotiable + Other Benefits + Based on Experience
The position is for Remote Sensing
Reporting to : Head of Dog Projects
Technical Line to: ISM & IMC
Working day : Monday to Friday
Purpose of the role:
APOPO, HDP and CMAC are running a structured Operational Field Evaluation (OFE) of the WINGTRA drone system across Non-Technical Survey (NTS), Technical Survey (TS) and Clearance in Cambodia. In the coming year, a second full sensor set (SURVEY61, INSPECT and LiDAR) is being added so that both of APOPO’s WingtraRAY drones can fly at the same time with different sensor configurations, roughly doubling data collection within the OFE period.
The IMO-DP is APOPO’s second drone pilot and is the position that makes dual-drone operations possible. Flying is the core of the role: planning and executing safe, compliant, survey-grade missions with the full WINGTRA sensor suite (RGB, high-resolution INSPECT, multispectral and LiDAR), then making sure the data is correctly processed, quality-checked and delivered into LIMIS, APOPO’s Location Intelligence and Management Information System, and onward to HDP’s Ghost MIS. The post-holder works alongside APOPO’s first Remote Sensing IMO, APOPO’s Cambodia Mine Action Program and the CMAC IM Team, delivering processed data for detailed interpretation. Candidates who also bring analytical skills (LiDAR, multispectral, spatial and image analysis) will be able to contribute directly to SHA refinement, vegetation analysis and the OFE evaluation findings.
Duties & Responsibilities:
- Flight Operations & Drone Piloting (primary focus)
- Plan and fly WingtraRAY missions using WingtraApp PRO (3D flight planning, terrain following, offline operation) in support of NTS, TS, Clearance, Cluster Munition Technical Survey (CMTS) prioritisation and Testing & Training Area activities.
- Operate the full sensor suite and select the right configuration for each survey objective.
- SURVEY61 RGB (61 MP): orthomosaics and RGB point clouds for SHA boundary mapping and terrain visualisation
- INSPECT: millimetre-GSD imagery for detailed, high-precision mapping of specific areas
- RedEdge-P multispectral: vegetation indices, soil condition and canopy health mapping
- LiDAR: dense point clouds, DTM and DSM, including ground detail under vegetation canopy
- Set flight parameters (altitude, GSD, overlap, timing and light conditions) to meet accuracy and coverage requirements, and re-fly where QC shows gaps or defects.
- Fly simultaneous dual-drone operations with the second flight team, coordinating airspace deconfliction, sensor allocation, battery logistics and mission sequencing.
- Set up and operate WingtraGROUND GNSS base stations, ground control and check points to achieve survey-grade (approx. 3 cm) absolute accuracy through PPK processing.
- Carry out site assessments, pre- and post-flight checklists, weather and airspace checks and emergency procedures, and select launch and landing sites with full regard to hazardous and suspected hazardous areas.
- Comply with Cambodian civil aviation regulations, CMAC procedures, Cambodian Mine Action Standards and APOPO Standard Operating Procedures at all times.
- Keep complete flight logs, battery cycle records and incident or near-miss reports.
- Flight Tasking, Permissions & Field Coordination
- Receive and schedule aerial survey requests through the LIMIS flight request front end (self-service portal) used by CMAC and, over time, other mine action operators in Cambodia, prioritizing with the GIMC, ISM and Head of Dogs Program Manager.
- Coordinate with Field Supervisors and Team Leaders on site access, safety briefings and how flights fit around survey and clearance teams on the ground.
- Work together with the CMAC IMO-DP on the job, helping build national capacity and co-ownership of the remote sensing service model.
- Data Processing, Quality Control & LIMIS Integration
- Run geotaged processing and produce first-level products: orthomosaics, DSM/DTM, point clouds and multispectral reflectance maps, using WingtraHub/PPK OS, LiDAR OS, LiDAR360 and ArcGIS Pro.
- Quality-check every dataset for coverage, positional accuracy against check points, image quality and completeness, and decide on re-flights.
- Store and publish outputs following APOPO’s remote sensing data standards (file structure, naming, metadata, versioning and backups), and integrate them into LIMIS and ArcGIS Online so they flow through to HDP’s Ghost MIS.
- Hand processed data to APOPO’s IM team for advanced interpretation, and give HDP and CMAC access to raw flight data and processed outputs as required.
- Drone, Sensor & Field Equipment Management
- Act as custodian of assigned WINGTRA drones, payloads, batteries, GNSS base stations, Heavy Flyer kits, spare parts and the field processing laptop.
- Carry out routine inspections, firmware and software updates, sensor calibration and first-line maintenance and troubleshooting, and manage WingtraCARE claims and spare-part use.
- Keep the asset register, maintenance and readiness logs up to date and integrated with LIMIS track-and-trace records.
- OFE Evaluation, Reporting & Lessons Learned
- Record the operational metrics needed for the OFE evaluation, including area flown, flight and set-up time, sensor performance by terrain and vegetation type, downtime and inputs for cost-per-hectare analysis.
- Contribute to comparative findings across sensor types and to the final evaluation report comparing drone-supported survey with traditional methods.
- Produce mission maps and visuals for operational planning, HDP reporting and donor visibility.
- Record lessons learned and propose updates to flight SOPs, checklists and user guides.
- Analytical Support (secondary, according to skill set)
- Where the post-holder has the relevant skills, support the APOPO IM Team with:
- LiDAR ground classification and terrain modelling in vegetated areas
- Multispectral vegetation analysis (e.g. NDVI, NDRE) for access planning and vegetation clearance needs
- Image interpretation and feature extraction to support SHA refinement and CMTS prioritisation
- Spatial and track-and-trace vector analysis linking drone outputs with operational data
- Dashboards and analytical products in ArcGIS Online and LIMIS.
Benefits:
- Allowance – Annual Bonus / 13th Month Salary
- Allowance – Mobile/Internet
- Allowance – Transportation
- Insurance – Private Health
- Paid Leave - Maternity / Paternity
- Paid Leave – Annual
- Paid Leave – Family (maternity/paternity/elder care)
- Policy – Provident Fund / (NSSF)
Expected Profile of Candidates
Languages:
- Khmer - Fluent
- English - Good is preferred
Qualifications:
- Bachelor's Degree in or Diploma in Geomatics, Surveying, GIS, Remote Sensing, Geography, Engineering or a related field, or equivalent professional experience in drone survey operations. is preferred
Work History:
- At least 2 years’ hands-on experience flying drones for survey or mapping, with a verifiable flight log. for 2 years is preferred
Skills & Knowledge:
General & Technical Skills
- Fluency in written and spoken English; Khmer is an asset.
- Experience with fixed-wing or VTOL mapping drones (WingtraOne or WingtraRAY is ideal) and mission planning software.
- A solid grasp of photogrammetric survey principles: GSD, overlap, GCPs, PPK/RTK, GNSS base stations and coordinate reference systems.
- Experience processing drone data (e.g. WingtraHub, Pix4D, Agisoft Metashape) and working in ArcGIS Pro.
- A strong safety culture, with experience of pre-flight risk assessment and emergency procedures.
- Experience maintaining and troubleshooting drones, sensors and GNSS equipment in the field.
- Disciplined data management (file structures, metadata, backups) and attention to detail.
Soft Skills
- Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to work independently in field environments and collaboratively within multidisciplinary teams.
- Strong cross-cultural communication skills.
