{"name":"The Market for AV & Drone Operators Work (live data, 12 Sep 2026 to 9 Oct 2026)","question":"Who hires for AV & Drone Operators work, what does it pay, how much competition is there for each opening and who may apply?","source":"The public job boards of the robot training employers and programs this site tracks, read every day. Apply clicks are made on RobotTraining.jobs; full descriptions come from the employers whose boards publish them.","publisher":"RobotTraining.jobs","url":"https://robottraining.jobs/research/av-and-drone-operator-market","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/","citation":"RobotTraining.jobs (2026). The Market for AV & Drone Operators Work (live data, 12 Sep 2026 to 9 Oct 2026). https://robottraining.jobs/research/av-and-drone-operator-market (accessed 10 Oct 2026)","frozen_at":null,"report":"av-and-drone-operator-market","method":1,"edition":null,"window":{"from":"2026-09-12","to":"2026-10-09","days":28},"computedAt":"2026-10-10T22:21:06.714Z","summary":"On 9 Oct 2026, 351 roles in AV & Drone Operators were open on 23 employers (TSMG listed 77.5%); their median advertised rate was $35/hr, 35% above the $26/hr of all robot training work.","stats":[{"id":"open","value":"351","label":"open roles on 9 Oct 2026","figure":"work-platforms"},{"id":"median-pay","value":"$35/hr","label":"median advertised rate (all robot training work: $26/hr)","figure":"work-pay"},{"id":"lead-share","value":"77%","label":"of open roles at TSMG, the largest of 23 employers","figure":"work-platforms"}],"findings":[{"id":"open-roles-trend","figure":"work-open-roles-weekly","text":"Between the week of 14 Sep 2026 and the week of 28 Sep 2026, open roles in AV & Drone Operators on the employers tracked since 14 Sep 2026 went down 0.7%, from about 304 to 302, against -0.8% for all robot training work on the same employers."},{"id":"who-lists-it","figure":"work-platforms","text":"23 employers listed the 351 open roles in AV & Drone Operators; TSMG held 77.5% and the three largest 83.5% (HHI 6,043, highly concentrated, against 4,114 for all robot training work)."},{"id":"pay","figure":"work-pay","text":"32 of the 351 open roles in AV & Drone Operators (9.1%) stated an hourly rate, with a median of $35/hr (middle half $27 to $35), 35% above the $26/hr of all robot training work."},{"id":"who-may-apply","figure":"work-countries","text":"0.0% of the 351 open roles in AV & Drone Operators accepted applicants from any country, against 0.8% of all robot training roles; of the 20 countries compared, residents of the United States (116), Japan (32) and Germany (22) could apply to the most, and residents of 5 of the countries (among them Argentina and India) to the fewest (0 each)."},{"id":"asked-for","figure":"work-asked-for","text":"97.2% of the 351 open roles in AV & Drone Operators name a robot or vehicle in their title, 3 robots and vehicles in all; Cars and robotaxis (288), Drones and aircraft (40) and Trucks (35) were named most."},{"id":"listing-flow","figure":"work-listing-flow","text":"Over the 28 days from 12 Sep 2026 to 9 Oct 2026, employers listed 41 new roles in AV & Drone Operators and removed 25, and a removed role had been listed for a median of 91 days (27 across all robot training work)."}],"figures":[{"id":"work-open-roles-weekly","title":"Open roles, week by week","question":"Is the number of open roles in AV & Drone Operators rising or falling?","series":true,"columns":[{"key":"week","label":"Week","unit":"text"},{"key":"panel","label":"Open roles (fixed panel)","unit":"count","bar":true},{"key":"index","label":"Index","unit":"decimal","decimals":1},{"key":"market","label":"All robot training work (index)","unit":"decimal","decimals":1,"secondary":true},{"key":"all","label":"All tracked employers","unit":"count","secondary":true}],"rows":[{"key":"2026-09-14","axis":"14 Sep","thin":false,"cells":{"week":"14 to 20 Sep","panel":304,"index":100,"market":100,"all":304}},{"key":"2026-09-21","axis":"21 Sep","thin":false,"cells":{"week":"21 to 27 Sep","panel":307,"index":100.9,"market":97.9,"all":328}},{"key":"2026-09-28","axis":"28 Sep","thin":false,"cells":{"week":"28 Sep to 4 Oct","panel":302,"index":99.3,"market":99.2,"all":328}}],"sample":"Average open roles in AV & Drone Operators over each week's days, on the 38 employers tracked since 14 Sep 2026 (the fixed panel; 10 of them list this work), 14 Sep 2026 to 4 Oct 2026.","notes":["The index is the panel's open roles against the week of 14 Sep 2026 (100), beside the same index for all robot training work on the same employers.","Reliable Robotics (first tracked 21 Sep 2026), Bot Auto (first tracked 21 Sep 2026), Gatik (first tracked 21 Sep 2026), ISEE (first tracked 21 Sep 2026), Zipline (first tracked 21 Sep 2026), Neros (first tracked 21 Sep 2026), Allen Control Systems (first tracked 21 Sep 2026), Anduril Industries (first tracked 22 Sep 2026) and Shield AI (first tracked 23 Sep 2026) list this work but were added to the dataset later, so they are left out of the panel and counted only in the last column: an employer's arrival never reads as growth.","Weeks with fewer than 10 open roles on the panel, or cut by the span, are marked."]},{"id":"work-listing-flow","title":"Listings added and removed","question":"How fast do roles in AV & Drone Operators turn over, and is the stock growing on the same employers?","columns":[{"key":"group","label":"Work","unit":"text"},{"key":"start","label":"Open on 12 Sep 2026","unit":"count"},{"key":"end","label":"Open on 9 Oct 2026, same employers","unit":"count"},{"key":"change","label":"Change","unit":"percent","signed":true,"bar":true},{"key":"new","label":"New listings","unit":"count"},{"key":"removed","label":"Removed","unit":"count","secondary":true},{"key":"days","label":"Median days listed","unit":"days","secondary":true}],"rows":[{"key":"av-drone-operator","href":"/roles/av-drone-operator","thin":true,"cells":{"group":"AV & Drone Operators","start":0,"end":0,"change":null,"new":41,"removed":25,"days":91.4}},{"key":"all","thin":true,"cells":{"group":"All robot training work","start":0,"end":0,"change":null,"new":103,"removed":109,"days":27.2}}],"sample":"Roles listed from 12 Sep 2026 to 9 Oct 2026: 376 in AV & Drone Operators, 854 across all robot training work.","notes":["Change compares the roles open on the first and the last day of the window on the employers tracked when it opened, so an employer added during the window does not read as growth.","A new listing first appeared in the window on an employer already tracked before that week; an employer's first week (its back catalogue) is not counted.","Median days listed runs from a removed role's listing date to its last sighting, for removed roles with a known listing date (at least 10; 25 here)."]},{"id":"work-platforms","title":"Who lists it","question":"Which employers list roles in AV & Drone Operators, and what does each advertise?","columns":[{"key":"group","label":"Employer","unit":"text"},{"key":"open","label":"Open roles","unit":"count"},{"key":"share","label":"Share of open roles","unit":"percent","bar":true},{"key":"stated","label":"Stating an hourly rate","unit":"percent","secondary":true},{"key":"median","label":"Median per hour","unit":"usd"}],"rows":[{"key":"tsmg","href":"/platforms/tsmg","cells":{"group":"TSMG","open":272,"share":77.5,"stated":0,"median":null}},{"key":"gatik","href":"/platforms/gatik","cells":{"group":"Gatik","open":12,"share":3.4,"stated":50,"median":null}},{"key":"aurora","href":"/platforms/aurora","cells":{"group":"Aurora Innovation","open":9,"share":2.6,"stated":100,"median":35}},{"key":"anduril-industries","href":"/platforms/anduril-industries","cells":{"group":"Anduril Industries","open":7,"share":2,"stated":0,"median":null}},{"key":"isee","href":"/platforms/isee","cells":{"group":"ISEE","open":6,"share":1.7,"stated":0,"median":null}},{"key":"zipline","href":"/platforms/zipline","cells":{"group":"Zipline","open":6,"share":1.7,"stated":50,"median":null}},{"key":"kodiak","href":"/platforms/kodiak","cells":{"group":"Kodiak AI","open":5,"share":1.4,"stated":100,"median":null}},{"key":"nuro","href":"/platforms/nuro","cells":{"group":"Nuro","open":5,"share":1.4,"stated":100,"median":null}},{"key":"waabi","href":"/platforms/waabi","cells":{"group":"Waabi","open":5,"share":1.4,"stated":20,"median":null}},{"key":"pyka","href":"/platforms/pyka","cells":{"group":"Pyka","open":3,"share":0.9,"stated":33.3,"median":null}},{"key":"shield-ai","href":"/platforms/shield-ai","cells":{"group":"Shield AI","open":3,"share":0.9,"stated":33.3,"median":null}},{"key":"wayve","href":"/platforms/wayve","cells":{"group":"Wayve","open":3,"share":0.9,"stated":0,"median":null}},{"key":"bot-auto","href":"/platforms/bot-auto","cells":{"group":"Bot Auto","open":2,"share":0.6,"stated":0,"median":null}},{"key":"may-mobility","href":"/platforms/may-mobility","cells":{"group":"May Mobility","open":2,"share":0.6,"stated":0,"median":null}},{"key":"neros","href":"/platforms/neros","cells":{"group":"Neros","open":2,"share":0.6,"stated":0,"median":null}},{"key":"waymo","href":"/platforms/waymo","cells":{"group":"Waymo","open":2,"share":0.6,"stated":0,"median":null}},{"key":"allen-control-systems","href":"/platforms/allen-control-systems","cells":{"group":"Allen Control Systems","open":1,"share":0.3,"stated":0,"median":null}},{"key":"avride","href":"/platforms/avride","cells":{"group":"Avride","open":1,"share":0.3,"stated":100,"median":null}},{"key":"motional","href":"/platforms/motional","cells":{"group":"Motional","open":1,"share":0.3,"stated":0,"median":null}},{"key":"reliable-robotics","href":"/platforms/reliable-robotics","cells":{"group":"Reliable Robotics","open":1,"share":0.3,"stated":0,"median":null}},{"key":"skyways","href":"/platforms/skyways","cells":{"group":"Skyways","open":1,"share":0.3,"stated":0,"median":null}},{"key":"torc","href":"/platforms/torc","cells":{"group":"Torc Robotics","open":1,"share":0.3,"stated":0,"median":null}},{"key":"wing","href":"/platforms/wing","cells":{"group":"Wing","open":1,"share":0.3,"stated":0,"median":null}}],"sample":"351 roles in AV & Drone Operators open at the end of 9 Oct 2026, by the employer that lists them: HHI 6,043 (highly concentrated), against 4,114 for all robot training work.","notes":["HHI: the sum of every employer's squared percentage share of the open roles, 0 to 10,000; under 1,500 is unconcentrated, 1,500 to 2,500 moderately and above 2,500 highly concentrated (US merger-guideline thresholds).","Shares are of listings, not of people hired or money paid: an employer posting one role per city or country weighs more here than its hiring may.","A median needs at least 8 roles stating an hourly rate."]},{"id":"work-pay","title":"What it pays","question":"What do roles in AV & Drone Operators advertise per hour, against robot training work as a whole?","columns":[{"key":"group","label":"Work","unit":"text"},{"key":"median","label":"Median per hour","unit":"usd","bar":true},{"key":"p25","label":"25th percentile","unit":"usd"},{"key":"p75","label":"75th percentile","unit":"usd"},{"key":"stated","label":"Stating an hourly rate","unit":"percent"},{"key":"priced","label":"Roles stating pay","unit":"count","secondary":true}],"rows":[{"key":"av-drone-operator","href":"/roles/av-drone-operator","thin":false,"cells":{"group":"AV & Drone Operators","median":35,"p25":27,"p75":35,"stated":9.1,"priced":32}},{"key":"all","thin":false,"cells":{"group":"All robot training work","median":26,"p25":22,"p75":32,"stated":14.6,"priced":109}}],"sample":"Roles open on 9 Oct 2026: 351 in AV & Drone Operators, 32 of them stating an hourly rate; 745 across all robot training work.","notes":["Pay is the hourly figure the posting advertises (the middle of a stated range). The middle half runs from the 25th to the 75th percentile.","Roles paid per task or per project, or that state no figure, do not state an hourly rate. A median needs at least 8 roles stating one."]},{"id":"work-pay-bands","title":"How its rates are distributed","question":"What share of roles in AV & Drone Operators pay $50 an hour or more?","columns":[{"key":"group","label":"Advertised rate","unit":"text"},{"key":"roles","label":"Open roles","unit":"count"},{"key":"share","label":"Share of priced roles","unit":"percent","bar":true},{"key":"cumulative","label":"This rate or less","unit":"percent","secondary":true},{"key":"all","label":"All robot training work","unit":"percent"}],"rows":[{"key":"under-15","cells":{"group":"Under $15/hr","roles":0,"share":0,"cumulative":0,"all":13.8}},{"key":"15-25","cells":{"group":"$15 to $25/hr","roles":0,"share":0,"cumulative":0,"all":25.7}},{"key":"25-35","cells":{"group":"$25 to $35/hr","roles":24,"share":75,"cumulative":75,"all":49.5}},{"key":"35-50","cells":{"group":"$35 to $50/hr","roles":8,"share":25,"cumulative":100,"all":9.2}},{"key":"50-75","cells":{"group":"$50 to $75/hr","roles":0,"share":0,"cumulative":100,"all":1.8}},{"key":"75-100","cells":{"group":"$75 to $100/hr","roles":0,"share":0,"cumulative":100,"all":0}},{"key":"100-150","cells":{"group":"$100 to $150/hr","roles":0,"share":0,"cumulative":100,"all":0}},{"key":"150-plus","cells":{"group":"$150/hr or more","roles":0,"share":0,"cumulative":100,"all":0}}],"sample":"32 roles in AV & Drone Operators open on 9 Oct 2026 that state an hourly rate, against 109 across all robot training work.","notes":["Each role counts once, at the middle of its advertised range. The bands are those of the pay-transparency report."]},{"id":"work-demand","title":"Applicant demand per open role","question":"Do roles in AV & Drone Operators draw more or fewer applicants per opening than the average robot training role?","columns":[{"key":"group","label":"Roles","unit":"text"},{"key":"rate","label":"Clicks per role a week","unit":"decimal","decimals":2,"bar":true},{"key":"index","label":"Index","unit":"index","decimals":2},{"key":"clicks","label":"Clicks","unit":"count","secondary":true},{"key":"open","label":"Avg open roles","unit":"count","secondary":true}],"rows":[{"key":"av-drone-operator","href":"/roles/av-drone-operator","thin":true,"cells":{"group":"AV & Drone Operators","rate":0.01,"index":0.16,"clicks":14,"open":317}},{"key":"all","thin":false,"cells":{"group":"All robot training work","rate":0.07,"index":1,"clicks":187,"open":667}},{"key":"pay-stated","thin":true,"cells":{"group":"Its roles stating an hourly rate","rate":0.06,"index":0.9,"clicks":7,"open":28}},{"key":"pay-not-stated","thin":true,"cells":{"group":"Its roles stating no hourly rate","rate":0.01,"index":0.09,"clicks":7,"open":289}},{"key":"limited","thin":true,"cells":{"group":"Its roles limited by country","rate":0.01,"index":0.15,"clicks":13,"open":315}}],"sample":"Apply clicks on a specific role on RobotTraining.jobs, from 12 Sep 2026 to 9 Oct 2026: 14 on roles in AV & Drone Operators, against the days those roles were open.","notes":["Clicks per role a week = apply clicks / (open role-days / 7). Index 1.00 is the rate of every role on the site.","Rows with fewer than 30 clicks or 3 roles open on an average day are marked as a small sample.","Apply clicks measure interest among visitors to RobotTraining.jobs, who see roles open in their country and recent, priced roles first. Clicks are never split by employer."]},{"id":"work-demand-by-age","title":"Applicant demand by listing age","question":"Do newer roles in AV & Drone Operators draw more applicants than older ones?","columns":[{"key":"group","label":"Listing age","unit":"text"},{"key":"rate","label":"Clicks per role a week","unit":"decimal","decimals":2,"bar":true},{"key":"index","label":"Index (this work = 1)","unit":"index","decimals":2},{"key":"clicks","label":"Clicks","unit":"count","secondary":true},{"key":"open","label":"Avg open roles","unit":"count","secondary":true}],"rows":[{"key":"in-window","thin":true,"cells":{"group":"Listed during the window","rate":0.12,"index":11.28,"clicks":3,"open":6}},{"key":"0-4","thin":true,"cells":{"group":"Listed up to 4 weeks before it","rate":0.04,"index":3.33,"clicks":5,"open":34}},{"key":"4-12","thin":true,"cells":{"group":"Listed 4 to 12 weeks before it","rate":0.01,"index":0.87,"clicks":3,"open":78}},{"key":"12-plus","thin":true,"cells":{"group":"Listed more than 12 weeks before it","rate":0,"index":0.34,"clicks":3,"open":198}}],"sample":"Apply clicks on roles in AV & Drone Operators, from 12 Sep 2026 to 9 Oct 2026, by when each role was listed relative to the window's first day (12 Sep 2026).","notes":["Listing date: the date the job board gives for the posting, or else the first day the role appeared in the feed. A role that arrived with an employer's back catalogue and gives no date has none.","The index divides each row's rate by the rate of all roles in this kind of work, so it reads within the kind.","Rows with fewer than 30 clicks or 3 roles open on an average day are marked as a small sample."]},{"id":"work-location-rules","title":"Who may apply: location rules","question":"Can people apply to roles in AV & Drone Operators from anywhere?","columns":[{"key":"group","label":"Location rule","unit":"text"},{"key":"roles","label":"Open roles","unit":"count"},{"key":"share","label":"Share of its open roles","unit":"percent","bar":true},{"key":"all","label":"All robot training work","unit":"percent"}],"rows":[{"key":"global","cells":{"group":"Open worldwide","roles":0,"share":0,"all":0.8}},{"key":"exclude","cells":{"group":"Worldwide except listed countries","roles":0,"share":0,"all":0}},{"key":"include","cells":{"group":"Only listed countries","roles":351,"share":100,"all":99.2}},{"key":"unknown","cells":{"group":"No rule stated","roles":0,"share":0,"all":0}}],"sample":"351 roles in AV & Drone Operators open at the end of 9 Oct 2026, against 745 across all robot training work.","notes":["The rule is read from each posting's location text and, where the posting is silent, from what the employer states about where it hires."]},{"id":"work-countries","title":"Who may apply: roles open to each country","question":"How many roles in AV & Drone Operators can a resident of each country apply to?","columns":[{"key":"group","label":"Country","unit":"text"},{"key":"roles","label":"Open roles","unit":"count","bar":true},{"key":"share","label":"Share of its open roles","unit":"percent"},{"key":"pay","label":"Median per hour","unit":"usd","secondary":true}],"rows":[{"key":"any","cells":{"group":"Any country (worldwide roles only)","roles":0,"share":0,"pay":null}},{"key":"US","cells":{"group":"United States","roles":116,"share":33,"pay":35}},{"key":"JP","cells":{"group":"Japan","roles":32,"share":9.1,"pay":null}},{"key":"DE","cells":{"group":"Germany","roles":22,"share":6.3,"pay":null}},{"key":"CA","cells":{"group":"Canada","roles":17,"share":4.8,"pay":null}},{"key":"IT","cells":{"group":"Italy","roles":17,"share":4.8,"pay":null}},{"key":"ES","cells":{"group":"Spain","roles":16,"share":4.6,"pay":null}},{"key":"GB","cells":{"group":"United Kingdom","roles":8,"share":2.3,"pay":null}},{"key":"NL","cells":{"group":"Netherlands","roles":8,"share":2.3,"pay":null}},{"key":"FR","cells":{"group":"France","roles":7,"share":2,"pay":null}},{"key":"AU","cells":{"group":"Australia","roles":3,"share":0.9,"pay":null}},{"key":"BR","cells":{"group":"Brazil","roles":1,"share":0.3,"pay":null}},{"key":"CO","cells":{"group":"Colombia","roles":1,"share":0.3,"pay":null}},{"key":"ID","cells":{"group":"Indonesia","roles":1,"share":0.3,"pay":null}},{"key":"MX","cells":{"group":"Mexico","roles":1,"share":0.3,"pay":null}},{"key":"ZA","cells":{"group":"South Africa","roles":1,"share":0.3,"pay":null}},{"key":"AR","cells":{"group":"Argentina","roles":0,"share":0,"pay":null}},{"key":"IN","cells":{"group":"India","roles":0,"share":0,"pay":null}},{"key":"MY","cells":{"group":"Malaysia","roles":0,"share":0,"pay":null}},{"key":"PH","cells":{"group":"Philippines","roles":0,"share":0,"pay":null}},{"key":"PK","cells":{"group":"Pakistan","roles":0,"share":0,"pay":null}}],"sample":"351 roles in AV & Drone Operators open at the end of 9 Oct 2026, for residents of a fixed set of 20 countries.","notes":["A country's count is the roles open worldwide, plus roles whose list names it, plus roles whose exclusion list does not. Roles with no rule stated count for no country.","The 20 countries are the same in every report of this series: those named most often by the location rules of open robot training roles on 9 Oct 2026, either as the only countries accepted or as excluded.","Median pay is over the roles open to that country that state an hourly rate (at least 8)."]},{"id":"work-asked-for","title":"Robots and vehicles the roles work on","question":"Which robots and vehicles do roles in AV & Drone Operators name in their titles?","columns":[{"key":"group","label":"Robot or vehicle","unit":"text"},{"key":"roles","label":"Open roles","unit":"count","bar":true},{"key":"share","label":"Share of its open roles","unit":"percent"},{"key":"pay","label":"Median per hour","unit":"usd","secondary":true},{"key":"platforms","label":"Employers","unit":"count","secondary":true}],"rows":[{"key":"car","cells":{"group":"Cars and robotaxis","roles":288,"share":82.1,"pay":null,"platforms":7}},{"key":"aerial","cells":{"group":"Drones and aircraft","roles":40,"share":11.4,"pay":null,"platforms":10}},{"key":"truck","cells":{"group":"Trucks","roles":35,"share":10,"pay":35,"platforms":7}}],"sample":"341 of the 351 roles in AV & Drone Operators open on 9 Oct 2026 name a robot or vehicle in their title (97.2%); 3 robots and vehicles are named.","notes":["A role counts for a robot or vehicle when its title names it ('Autonomous Vehicle Safety Operator', 'Humanoid Robot Operator'); a title naming two counts for both. The vocabulary is that of the robots and equipment report.","Median pay needs at least 8 roles stating an hourly rate."]}]}