Job titles of the future: Delivery drone air traffic controller

The moment Trevor Wischnewsky heard that drones were delivering pizza and sushi around his Texas neighborhood, his mind was made up. “It was super fascinating,” he says. “I just immediately wanted to be a part of it.” Wischnewsky is now an RPIC, or “remote pilot in command,” at a company called FlyTrex. An RPIC is like an air traffic controller. But instead of airplanes, this new class of aviators tend to fleets of hexa­copter drones that ferry cargo to homes and businesses within a three-mile radius. Not only does he ensure the safe passage of FlyTrex’s parcels, but Wischnewsky coordinates traffic with a growing swarm of delivery drones dotting the skies over Dallas from competitors like Zipline, Amazon, and Alphabet’s Wing. Here’s what it takes to land the gig.

When he applied to FlyTrex, Wischnewsky was in training to become a commercial pilot and flight instructor, and he was already certified by the Federal Aviation Administration as a drone pilot. …