How to hire an aircraft pilot

Aircraft pilot hiring summary. Here are some key points about hiring aircraft pilots in the United States:

In the United States, the median cost per hire an aircraft pilot is $1,633.
It takes between 36 and 42 days to fill the average role in the US.
Human Resources use 15% of their expenses on recruitment on average.
On average, it takes around 12 weeks for a new aircraft pilot to become settled and show total productivity levels at work.

How to hire an aircraft pilot, step by step

To hire an aircraft pilot, you need to identify the specific skills and experience you want in a candidate, allocate a budget for the position, and advertise the job opening to attract potential candidates. To hire an aircraft pilot, you should follow these steps:

Here's a step-by-step aircraft pilot hiring guide:

Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
Step 3: Make a budget
Step 4: Write an aircraft pilot job description
Step 5: Post your job
Step 6: Interview candidates
Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new aircraft pilot
Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does an aircraft pilot do?

An aircraft pilot handles the operations and maintenance of an aircraft. They are responsible for the safety of the aircraft, the passengers, and the crew. An aircraft pilot must have the required flight time experience, the necessary licenses, and a complete understanding of all airline safety protocols. This position also requires organizational skills, discipline, communication skills, and the ability to work well under pressure.

Learn more about the specifics of what an aircraft pilot does

Post an aircraft pilot job for free, promote it for a fee

Identify your hiring needs

Before you start hiring an aircraft pilot, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

Determine employee vs contractor status

Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

An aircraft pilot's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, aircraft pilots from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

This list presents aircraft pilot salaries for various positions.

Type of Aircraft Pilot	Description	Hourly rate
Aircraft Pilot	Airline and commercial pilots fly and navigate airplanes, helicopters, and other aircraft. Airline pilots fly for airlines that transport people and cargo on a fixed schedule... Show more	$34-58
Aviator	An aviator, also known as a pilot, operates aircraft for commercial or private use. Although their duties vary upon their company or industry of employment, it usually entails performing regular inspections before and after every flight, coordinating with staff, maintaining an active communication line with air traffic controller, determining routes and schedules, analyzing flight plans, and monitoring the weather conditions... Show more	$36-58
Pilot Instructor	The key role of a Pilot Instructor is to teach students procedures and techniques about how to fly aircraft. They offer instruction for both on the ground and in the sky, prepare lesson plans, and assess and monitor students performance.	$28-63

Create an ideal candidate profile
Common skills:
- FAA
- Airspace
- Mission Planning
- UAS
- Army Aviation
- Combat
- Aircraft Maintenance
- Patrol
- PIC
- Flight Training
- Instructor Pilot
- Aircrew Training
- UAV
- Airlift
Check all skills
Responsibilities:
- Serve as a professional pilot managing a flight crew and ensuring safe transportation of VIP's internationally.
- Conduct academic and flight training for USAF and international pilots in air-to-air combat tactics.
- Plan, brief, execute and debrief air combat training missions.
- Assist with all aspects of administration, logistics and equipment inventory, ensuring successful financial execution.
- Coordinate with AATD and USMA to assist with visits to the UK.
More aircraft pilot duties

Make a budget

Including a salary range in the aircraft pilot job description is a good way to get more applicants. An aircraft pilot salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

For example, the average salary for an aircraft pilot in Wisconsin may be lower than in New Jersey, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level aircraft pilot. Additionally, an aircraft pilot with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

Average aircraft pilot salary

$94,207yearly

$45.29 hourly rate

Entry-level aircraft pilot salary

$72,000 yearly salary

Updated December 26, 2025

Average aircraft pilot salary by state

Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	California	$99,118	$48
2	New York	$98,764	$47
3	Alaska	$98,056	$47
4	Florida	$91,787	$44
5	Missouri	$88,867	$43
6	Oregon	$85,390	$41
7	Wisconsin	$74,218	$36

Average aircraft pilot salary by company

Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
1	Michels	$99,560	$47.87
2	My Florida Regional Mls	$91,641	$44.06
3	Army National Guard	$85,345	$41.03	9
4	Us Army Reserves	$84,998	$40.86
5	Alaska State Library	$80,517	$38.71
6	State Of Florida	$41,381	$19.89	45
7	Florida Department of Transportation	$40,438	$19.44

Writing an aircraft pilot job description
A good aircraft pilot job description should include a few things:
- Summary of the role
- List of responsibilities
- Required skills and experience
Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of an aircraft pilot job description:
Aircraft pilot job description example
Matternet is seeking an accomplished engineering leader to lead Matternet's Aircraft team. Through a combination of leading, coaching, and mentoring a multidisciplinary team, and rolling up your sleeves to dive into the details, you will help support our current generation aircraft through sustaining initiatives, while architecting and driving execution on the next generation of Matternet's autonomous delivery drone.
You will:

+ Lead a multidisciplinary team spanning Hardware, Software, and Systems Engineering.

+ Own aircraft engineering for sustaining support as well as for new developments.

+ Move seamlessly between Flight Management Computer conversations, embedded and electrical decisions, mechanical tradeoffs, and GNC & autonomy challenges.

+ Define and prioritize the Matternet aircraft roadmap in partnership with our leadership team, and contribute to the overall product roadmap.

+ Partner and collaborate with Regulatory, Safety, Manufacturing Operations, Flight Test Operations, Production Operations, Quality, and adjacent groups within Engineering to design, develop, test, manufacture, and operate a highly-reliable, performant, and safe aircraft.

+ Provide technical and strategic input to the aircraft architecture.

+ Balance sustaining engineering initiatives with future R&D efforts.

+ Resolve non-conformances, develop robust processes, and monitor product and team outcomes.

Required:

+ BS/MS in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or other relevant engineering discipline or equivalent experience.

+ Clear and concise written and verbal communication for highly technical and non-technical audiences.

+ A roll-up-the-sleeves approach to technical leadership and deep interest in team motivation.

+ 5+ years of experience in hardware and software product lifecycle including conceptualization, development, integration, test, deployment, and maintenance.

+ 5+ years of engineering management experience leading high performing and agile engineering teams.

+ 10+ years of hands-on experience with onboard software and hardware engineering.

+ Extensive experience architecting complex engineering systems.

Great Additions:

+ Experience with autonomous air, land, or sea-based vehicles or robots.

+ Experience in aviation with type certified aircraft design and knowledge of FAA regulations.

+ Experience developing safety-critical systems (aerospace, automotive, or medical devices) in compliance with certification requirements such as DO-178C or ISO-26262 and presenting technical implementations to regulatory agencies.
Post your job
There are a few common ways to find aircraft pilots for your business:
- Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
- Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
- Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
- Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.
Post your job online:
- Post your aircraft pilot job on Zippia to find and recruit aircraft pilot candidates who meet your exact specifications.
- Use field-specific websites.
- Post a job on free websites.
Interview candidates
Recruiting aircraft pilots requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.
It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.
The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.
Send a job offer and onboard your new aircraft pilot
Once you've selected the best aircraft pilot candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.
It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.
To prepare for the new aircraft pilot first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.
Go through the hiring process checklist
- Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
- Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
- Define job responsibilities and requirements
- Establish budget and timeline
- Determine hiring decision makers for the role
- Write job description
- Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
- Promote the job internally
- Process applications through applicant tracking system
- Review resumes and cover letters
- Shortlist candidates for screening
- Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
- Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
- Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
- Conduct background checks on top candidates
- Check references of top candidates
- Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
- Extend offer to top candidate(s)
- Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
- Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
- Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
- Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)
Sign up to download full list

How much does it cost to hire an aircraft pilot?

Recruiting aircraft pilots involves both the one-time costs of hiring and the ongoing costs of adding a new employee to your team. Your spending during the hiring process will mostly be on things like promoting the job on job boards, reviewing and interviewing candidates, and onboarding the new hire. Ongoing costs will obviously involve the employee's salary, but also may include things like benefits.

You can expect to pay around $94,207 per year for an aircraft pilot, as this is the median yearly salary nationally. This can vary depending on what state or city you're hiring in. If you're hiring for contract work or on a per-project basis, hourly rates for aircraft pilots in the US typically range between $34 and $58 an hour.

Find better aircraft pilots in less time

Post a job on Zippia and hire the best from over 7 million monthly job seekers.

Hiring aircraft pilots FAQs

How much does a good aircraft pilot cost?

What are the duties of an aircraft pilot?

Should I hire an aircraft pilot with no experience?

Search for aircraft pilot jobs

Ready to start hiring?

Updated December 26, 2025

Browse transportation jobs

How to hire an aircraft pilot