Pilot Job Description Templates
Free pilot job description templates for charter, ag, corporate, and helicopter operators, with FAA certificate, medical, and FLSA fields. Download DOCX.
Pilot Job Description Templates
5 templates for small aviation operators, with FAA and FLSA fields. Download as DOCX.
Most pilot templates online give you one generic airline-flavored duties list, which is exactly wrong for the businesses that actually hire pilots. The pilot most small operators need is a commercial pilot, not an airline pilot, and the hire comes with FAA certificate, medical, drug-testing, and overtime-classification details that no generic template addresses. Get those right and you screen better and stay compliant from day one.
At FirstHR, we build templates for the operators making this hire: charter companies, ag-aviation businesses, corporate flight departments, and helicopter operators. The five below are built around real operation types, each with the FAA and FLSA fields generic templates leave out. Pick the one that matches your operation, fill in the brackets, and post, and the guide to writing a job description covers the fundamentals.
What Does a Pilot Do?
A pilot operates and navigates aircraft safely and in compliance with regulations: flight planning, weather, weight and balance, preflight inspection, flying the aircraft, communicating with air traffic control, and maintaining records. The specifics depend on the operation. Most non-airline pilots map to commercial pilots (SOC 53-2012) in federal data.
For the employer writing the posting, the defining fact is that the pilot you are hiring is shaped by your operation, charter, ag, corporate, or helicopter, and its certificate and compliance requirements. The five templates split by operation so the document matches the real role.
Commercial vs Airline, and By Operation
The first distinction is commercial versus airline. Airline pilots fly scheduled carriers and are a large-enterprise hire; commercial pilots fly charter, cargo, tour, agricultural, corporate, and aerial work, and these are overwhelmingly small-business employers. For a small operator, the hire is a commercial pilot.
| Operation | Typical FAR part | Typical certificate / medical |
|---|---|---|
| Charter / air taxi | Part 135 | Commercial or ATP; Second/First-class |
| Agricultural | Part 137 | Commercial; Second-class |
| Corporate | Part 91 / 91K | Commercial or ATP; class per operation |
| Helicopter (tour/utility) | Part 91 / 135 | Commercial (rotorcraft); Second-class |
| Airline (not ICP) | Part 121 | ATP; First-class |
Drone pilots (Part 107) and flight instructors (CFI) are distinct roles with their own certificates and search intent, and are best served by their own job descriptions rather than this commercial-pilot hub.
Pilot Duties and Responsibilities
Across operations, pilot duties cluster into preflight and planning, flight operations, compliance and records, and safety. The specifics differ by operation, but these areas hold for any pilot role.
A strong posting grounds these in your specifics: your operation type, your aircraft, the certificates and hours required, and your reporting line. For a structured way to scope any role before posting, the guide to defining job responsibilities walks through the process.
Which Template Should You Use?
Pick the template by your operation type. Each carries the certificate, medical, and compliance fields specific to that kind of flying. Use this guide to choose.
5 Free Pilot Job Description Templates
Download all five as a single Word document or copy individual templates. Each follows the same structure: operation summary, key responsibilities, certificate and medical requirements, a compliance note, reporting line, and compensation, with an EEO statement. Fill in the brackets and post.
Template 1: Commercial Pilot (Small Operator)
The core template for charter, cargo, tour, or aerial-work operators. Commercial certificate and Second-class medical.
Template 2: Charter / Part 135 Pilot
For Part 135 charter operators: duty-time limits, named management structure, drug testing, and records review.
Template 3: Agricultural / Crop Duster Pilot
For Part 137 aerial applicators: low-altitude work, pesticide handling, and applicator licensing.
Template 4: Corporate Pilot (Part 91)
For company flight departments under Part 91: flying executives and staff in company aircraft.
Template 5: Helicopter Pilot
For tour, utility, news, or aerial-work operators flying helicopters, often in demanding environments.
FAA Certificates and Medical Classes
The certificate and medical class your operation requires are the most important fields in a pilot job description. Spell them out so applicants self-select. The tables below summarize the common requirements.
| Certificate | Used for |
|---|---|
| Commercial Pilot | Paid charter, cargo, tour, ag, corporate flying |
| Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) | Airline operations and many Part 135 PIC roles |
| CFI / CFII / MEI | Flight instruction (separate role) |
| Part 107 Remote Pilot | Commercial drone operations (separate role) |
| Medical class | Required for |
|---|---|
| First-class | ATP and airline pilot-in-command duties |
| Second-class | Commercial: charter, cargo, crop dusting, tours |
| Third-class | Private, student, and CFI acting as PIC |
State the certificate, ratings, medical class, minimum hours, and any type ratings your operation requires. Requirements come directly from FAA regulations, so confirm the current rules for your operation.
FAA and DOT Drug and Alcohol Testing
This is a compliance area generic templates ignore, and it is mandatory for many operations.
Build testing enrollment and the policy acknowledgment into your hiring and onboarding so it is handled before the pilot starts flying. This is general information, not legal advice.
FLSA: Are Pilots Exempt?
Pilot overtime classification is more nuanced than the title suggests, and it catches small operators out.
Do not assume a corporate or helicopter pilot is automatically exempt. For the underlying rules, the exempt vs non-exempt guide and the Fair Labor Standards Act guide explain the tests. This is general information, not legal advice; confirm with an aviation employment attorney.
Pilot Pay
Pay depends heavily on the type of flying, and the commercial-versus-airline gap is large.
Since a small operator is almost always hiring a commercial pilot, the commercial figure is the relevant benchmark, though pay varies widely by operation, aircraft, and experience, and ag and seasonal work is often structured per acre or per season. Use current local market data for your operation and region.
Hiring Your First Pilot
A large airline has compliance, HR, and training departments for these requirements. A small charter, ag, corporate, or helicopter operator hiring its first pilot manages the certificate verification, testing, records, and classification itself. Here are the three realities that matter most.
After You Hire: Onboarding a Pilot
A pilot hire has more onboarding steps than a typical role, because of the FAA and DOT requirements. Send the offer letter with the classification and pay, collect the signed offer, and complete Form I-9 and tax forms as part of the new hire paperwork.
Then handle the aviation-specific steps: verify the certificate, ratings, and medical, complete any pre-employment records review, enroll the pilot in the drug-and-alcohol program and capture the policy acknowledgment, and store training and currency records, keeping signed onboarding documents in one place. The offer letter template covers the terms, and the onboarding checklist gives you a repeatable process.
FirstHR helps you manage this: e-signature for offer letters and policy acknowledgments such as the drug-and-alcohol and rest policies, document management to store certificates, medical certificates, training and currency records, and records-review documentation, onboarding task workflows and an AI onboarding wizard to sequence verification and training, training modules for required orientation, and an HRIS with an org chart that maps the management structure Part 135 requires. Because pricing is flat rather than per seat, adding pilots and crew as you grow does not raise the cost. FirstHR does not run payroll, conduct drug testing, or provide legal advice, so pair it with your testing consortium, payroll provider, and an aviation attorney. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a pilot do?
A pilot operates and navigates aircraft to transport passengers or cargo, perform aerial work, or provide other flight services, safely and in compliance with regulations. The core duties include flight planning, checking weather, calculating weight and balance and fuel, conducting preflight inspections, operating the aircraft, communicating with air traffic control, managing the flight to a safe landing, and maintaining logbooks and records. Beyond those fundamentals, the specifics depend heavily on the type of operation. A charter pilot flies on-demand passenger or cargo trips under Part 135, an agricultural pilot performs low-altitude aerial application, a corporate pilot flies company aircraft for business travel, and a helicopter pilot operates rotorcraft for tours, utility, news, or emergency work. In federal data, most non-airline pilots fall under commercial pilots (SOC 53-2012), while airline pilots who fly for scheduled carriers are a separate category. For hiring, the most important step is matching the job description to your specific operation and the certificates it requires. The templates on this page cover the main small-operator pilot roles.
What is the difference between a commercial pilot and an airline pilot?
The distinction matters for hiring because the two work in very different settings. An airline pilot flies for a scheduled passenger or cargo carrier, holds an Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) certificate, and works for what is almost always a large enterprise; federal data shows the vast majority of airline pilots are employed by scheduled air transportation. A commercial pilot holds a Commercial Pilot certificate, which is the certificate required to be paid for flying, and works in non-airline operations like charter, cargo, tours, agricultural application, corporate flight departments, and aerial work, which are overwhelmingly small businesses. In fact, the largest single employer of commercial pilots is nonscheduled (charter) air transportation, followed by flight schools and air ambulance services. Pay differs accordingly: the commercial-pilot median is well below the airline-pilot median. For a small aviation operator, the hire is almost always a commercial pilot, so the job description should be written around your operation and certificate requirements rather than generic airline framing. The templates on this page are built for that commercial, small-operator reality.
What certificates and medical does a pilot need?
It depends on the operation, and getting this right in the job description saves time. The certificate establishes what the pilot is qualified and authorized to do: a Commercial Pilot certificate is required to be paid for most charter, cargo, tour, agricultural, and corporate flying, while an Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) certificate is required for airline operations and for pilot-in-command roles in many Part 135 and larger operations. Flight instructors need a CFI certificate, and commercial drone pilots need a Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate. The FAA medical certificate has three classes tied to the role: a First-class medical is required for ATP and airline pilot-in-command duties, a Second-class medical is required for commercial operations such as charter, cargo, crop dusting, tours, and carrying passengers or cargo for hire, and a Third-class medical covers private and student flying and a flight instructor acting as pilot in command. Specify the certificate, ratings, and medical class your operation requires in the posting, along with any minimum flight hours and type ratings, so applicants self-select accurately. The certificate and medical tables on this page summarize the requirements by role.
Are pilots required to undergo drug and alcohol testing?
For many operations, yes. FAA and DOT drug and alcohol testing is mandatory for operators holding the relevant certificates, including those authorized under Part 135 charter and Part 121 airline rules, as well as certain air-tour operations, and the program must be in place before operations begin. The covered safety-sensitive functions explicitly include flight-crew and flight-instruction duties, so pilots and instructors in these operations are subject to pre-employment, random, reasonable-suspicion, and post-accident testing, with minimum random rates set annually. There is a meaningful accommodation for small operators: an operator that is not a Part 121 airline and has 50 or fewer covered employees may use a single trained supervisor to make reasonable-cause determinations, rather than maintaining a larger compliance structure. Part 91 private and corporate operations that are not for hire generally are not subject to the same FAA testing program, though other rules may apply. Because the requirements depend on your certificate and operation type, confirm your specific obligations with the FAA guidance and an aviation compliance professional, and build the testing enrollment and acknowledgment into your hiring and onboarding process.
Are pilots exempt or non-exempt under the FLSA?
It is genuinely nuanced and depends on the operation and pay. Airline pilots are generally exempt from overtime under a specific Fair Labor Standards Act provision covering employees of air carriers subject to the Railway Labor Act, and the Department of Labor has indicated that air-taxi and commuter pilots of certificated carriers engaged in interstate operations can fall under the same provision. However, other pilots, such as corporate jet and helicopter pilots, are evaluated under the standard white-collar exemption tests, and the Department of Labor's longstanding position is that pilots generally do not qualify for the professional exemption, because their primary duty is piloting rather than work requiring advanced academic knowledge. A DOL opinion letter found civilian helicopter pilots non-exempt on that basis. Some pilots may still be exempt as highly compensated employees if they earn above that threshold while performing non-manual work, and courts have not always agreed with the DOL, so the determination is fact- and compensation-specific. The practical point for a small operator is not to assume a corporate or helicopter pilot is automatically exempt: classify by the actual operation, duties, and pay, and confirm with an aviation employment attorney.
How much does a pilot make?
Pay depends heavily on the type of flying. In federal data for May 2024, airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers had a median annual wage of $226,600, with the lowest 10 percent under $98,560, reflecting the large scheduled carriers that employ most airline pilots. Commercial pilots, who fly charter, cargo, tour, agricultural, corporate, and aerial-work operations, had a median of $122,670, with the lowest 10 percent under $59,330. Since a small aviation operator is almost always hiring a commercial pilot, the commercial figure is the relevant benchmark, though actual pay varies widely by operation, aircraft, experience, and region, and ag and seasonal work is often structured per acre or per season rather than as a flat salary. There is no dedicated federal occupation code for drone pilots, so their pay comes from third-party estimates and runs lower. Use the commercial-pilot benchmark as a starting reference, adjust for your operation type and the certificates and hours you require, and confirm against current local market data.
When should a small aviation operator hire its first pilot?
A small operator typically hires its first pilot, beyond the owner-operator, when flight demand exceeds what the owner or existing crew can safely handle, or when launching an operation that requires dedicated pilots, such as a new Part 135 charter or Part 137 ag business. The signals are practical: turning away flights, owner fatigue or duty-time pressure, or the need to operate while the owner handles the business. Because the first pilot hire carries real FAA and DOT compliance obligations, certificate and medical verification, a records review, drug-and-alcohol-program enrollment, and, for Part 135, a named management structure, it is worth setting up a repeatable process from the start rather than improvising. When you do hire, be clear in the posting about the operation type, the certificates and medical class required, minimum hours, and the compliance expectations, so candidates self-select and you reduce screening time. The commercial and charter templates on this page give you a ready starting point that already includes the certificate, medical, and compliance fields generic templates omit.
What about drone pilots and flight instructors?
Both are related but distinct enough to warrant their own treatment. A commercial drone or UAV pilot operates unmanned aircraft for survey, inspection, construction, real-estate, or agricultural work, and needs an FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate rather than a traditional pilot certificate and FAA medical; drone operations also involve airspace authorization rather than the same drug-testing rules, unless flown under Part 121 or 135. A flight instructor (CFI) teaches student pilots at a flight school or FBO, needs a CFI certificate (with CFII or MEI for instrument and multi-engine instruction), and works under Part 61 or 141, with flight instruction itself being a covered safety-sensitive function for drug-testing purposes in certificated operations. Because these roles have different certificates, search intent, and hiring contexts, they are best served by dedicated job descriptions rather than folded into a general pilot template. This page focuses on commercial pilots for small aviation operators; drone-pilot and flight-instructor descriptions are handled separately so each can carry the right certificate and compliance detail.