Occidental Petroleum

Occidental Petroleum

UAS Team Lead

Houston, Texas, USA · Senior

Sponsorship not specifiedDetected 5 days ago
Machine LearningIncident ResponseSAPOperations ManagementProcurementPerformance ManagementEMI/EMCSensorsResearchGISLeadershipCommunicationProblem SolvingMentoringOSHAPipeline Integrity

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odds of building a lasting career here

31Risky
Cap-exempt (no lottery)0
Sponsors this role58
Entry-level history0
PERM / green-card track0
Lottery odds40
Fits your clock70

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About the role

  • Oxy produces, markets and transports oil and natural gas to maximize value and provide resources fundamental to life. The company leverages its global leadership in carbon management to advance lower-carbon technologies and products. Headquartered in Houston, Oxy primarily operates in the United States, Middle East and North Africa. To learn more, visit Oxy
  • Oxy strives to attract and retain talented employees by investing in their professional development and providing rewarding opportunities for personal growth. Our goal is to meet the highest employer standards by ensuring the health and safety of our employees, protecting the environment and positively impacting our communities where we do business.

Responsibilities

  • Develop, maintain, and enforce UAS-specific Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), Emergency Response Procedures (ERPs), and Mission Risk Assessments (MRAs) for all operation types.
  • Improve upon and support pre-mission hazard identification and risk mitigation processes, including airspace conflict analysis, weather assessment, electromagnetic interference evaluation, and site-specific hazard reviews.
  • Maintain thorough incident investigation protocols; lead or delegate root cause analysis and corrective action implementation for any UAS-related incident, near-miss, or equipment loss.
  • Own the full lifecycle management of the UAS fleet, including sensor packages and associated payloads.
  • Develop and enforce scheduled preventive maintenance programs, component lifecycle tracking (motor hours, prop cycles, battery charge cycles), and mandatory inspection intervals for each platform class.
  • Manage payload inventory including RGB cameras, lighting kits, radiometric thermal imagers, LiDAR scanners, methane/gas detection sensors
  • Manage secure transport, storage, and readiness of equipment for rapid field deployment including cases, charging infrastructure, and environmental storage requirements.
  • Maintain insurance documentation and records for all airframes; interface with risk management and aviation as needed.
  • Establish a mentorship and career progression pathway for junior pilots to advance to mission-lead and senior pilot roles.
  • Identify and manage approved external training providers and recurrency programs to supplement internal capability development.

Requirements

  • Bachelors degree in engineering, Aviation, UAS, MIS, or related technical discipline
  • Minimum of 5 years experience in UAS operations, aviation, industrial inspections, or related technical fields
  • Minimum of 2 years experience leading UAS programs, technical teams, industrial inspections
  • Working knowledge of FAA regulations, flight safety, and operational risk management.
  • Experience managing UAS equipment, maintenance, flight operations, and personnel
  • Conduct regular proficiency evaluations, standardization flights, and documented check for all pilots
  • Current FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate
  • Demonstrated experience opting UAS platforms in industrial or safety-critical environments
  • Strong leadership, communication, organizational, and technical problem solving skills

Skills

  • Oxy produces, markets and transports oil and natural gas to maximize value and provide resources fundamental to life.
  • The company leverages its global leadership in carbon management to advance lower-carbon technologies and products.
  • Headquartered in Houston, Oxy primarily operates in the United States, Middle East and North Africa.
  • To learn more, visit Oxy

Compensation

  • Develop and administer a structured internal pilot proficiency program encompassing initial qualification, platform type ratings, mission category endorsements, and annual recurrency requirements.

Benefits

  • Ensure pilots and crew maintain current certifications, medical fitness (where applicable), and substance abuse compliance per company policy.
  • Recruit, hire, onboard, and manage a team of FAA Part 107-certified UAS pilots and mission specialists, ensuring adequate coverage for operational demand across multiple simultaneous campaigns.
  • Foster a culture of continuous learning, safety-first decision-making, and operational excellence across the entire UAS team.

Company info

  • Leader ensures all UAS operations are executed to the standards and procedure set forth by Oxy and result in safe, efficient, and compliant day to day operations.
  • This individual manages a team of certified pilots and mission specialists, maintains a multi-platform fleet of UAS infrastructure, drives capability development, interfaces with internal stakeholders and is responsible for the end-to-end delivery of actionable inspection data and analytical products to operations, asset integrity, and engineering teams.
  • The UAS Operations Team Leader is responsible for the leadership, daily management, and continuous advancement of the organization's internal unmanned aircraft systems (UAS/drone) program.
  • This role serves as the primary technical authority and operational leader for all drone-based activities supporting Oxo's oil and gas operations including, facility and well pad imaging, pipeline and midstream infrastructure inspections, drone based compliance inspections, electrical transmission and distribution asset imaging and inspections, offshore inspections, and related industrial inspection programs.
  • Core Responsibilities:
  • Safety and Compliance
  • Serve as the primary safety authority for all UAS operations, establishing and enforcing a comprehensive Safety Management System (SMS) aligned with company HSE and Aviation policies and industry best practices.
  • Ensure full compliance with FAA Part 107 regulations, BVLOS waivers, COAs, and any applicable international aviation authority requirements for cross-border or offshore operations.
  • Enforce strict adherence to Process Safety Management (PSM) and OSHA regulations when operating in and around hazardous energy environments (refineries, compressor stations, tank farms, gas plants).
  • Fleet and Asset Management
  • Establish procurement, maintenance, and end-of-life procedures
  • Work with management to establish routine refreshes of critical equipment to ensure fleet and mission readiness
  • Oversee firmware and software updates across the fleet, evaluating and validating changes in a controlled test environment prior to operational deployment.
  • Pilot Management and Training
  • Develop and administer a structured internal pilot proficiency program encompassing initial qualification, platform type ratings, mission category endorsements, and annual recurrency requirements.
  • Conduct regular proficiency evaluations, standardization flights, and documented check for all pilots; maintain individual pilot training records and currency logs.
  • Ensure training programs exists and are available for fleet pilots and staff pilots
  • Train pilots and data technicians on data collection protocols, payload operation, sensor calibration, etc.

Visa & Work Authorization

  • ability status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, citizenship status or any other basis as protected by federal, state, or local law
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This listing is sourced directly from Occidental Petroleum's careers page and normalized into a canonical job model.