STEM Instructor (Drones & Flight Simulation)

STEM Instructor (Drones, Flight & Engineering Challenges) — After School, Jersey City Flight & Aerospace Academy Jersey City, NJ

• Part-time
• $22-35/hr At Flight & Aerospace Academy, we turn curious kids into capable young pilots and engineers.

Students start with us as early as age 6 in Flight Lab, discovering aviation through games, simulators, and drone challenges. By the time they're teenagers, they're building their own drones, earning real FAA credentials, and training toward a Private Pilot License with our partner flight school. The Role in a nutshell We don't teach kids to fly. We design games that get them hooked on flying, and the learning sneaks in through the side door. We're hiring an after-school instructor to run small-group sessions (4-5 kids, ages 6-10+) on our flight simulator and indoor drone course. Your job is to design and run challenges, races, and missions where kids compete, level up, and walk out three feet taller than when they walked in. If you've ever watched a 7-year-old pump their fist because they buttered the landing, or a 9-year-old refuse to leave the lab because she's this close to beating her brother's drone course time, you already know what we're building. What you'll actually do You'll run two 90-minute Flight Lab blocks per afternoon, Monday through Friday (3:45-5:15 PM and 5:15-6:45 PM). Small pods of 4-5 kids rotate through stations, and you run the show. The core of the job is designing fun challenges.

Things like:

Who can pull off the smoothest landing on the simulator? Who can recover fastest from a simulated engine failure? Drone obstacle course time trials. Who's holding the lab record this week? Storm-condition landing missions. Night flight challenges. Precision hover contests. Engineering build-offs using Arduino, simple circuits, and our drone parts. You'll work within our curriculum framework but the challenges, themes, and competitive twists are yours to invent. We want instructors who think in games, not lectures. You'll spend most sessions on flight. Simulator and drone time is the main event. For students who show up ready for more, you'll mix in light engineering and robotics challenges (Arduino basics, simple builds, intro CAD on Tinkercad). Engineering is a bonus track, not the headline. You'll also: Track student progress and award skill points so kids can see themselves leveling up Refresh the challenge rotation regularly so nothing gets stale Greet parents at pickup and share quick wins from the session Help keep our lab safe, clean, organized, and ready for the next group You should have: Real experience working with kids ages 6-10 (after-school, camp, classroom, tutoring, scouts, sports, anything where you've held a small group's attention) A games-and-competition mindset. You think in challenges, leaderboards, side quests, and "okay, now try it with one hand" The energy to run the same activity four times in a row and make it feel fresh each time Comfort being the adult in the room: setting expectations, redirecting, keeping it safe without killing the fun Reliability. Parents pay for consistency, and we need someone who shows up Bonus, not required: Background in robotics, engineering, aviation, or general STEM Arduino, RC, drone, or flight simulator experience Currently studying education, engineering, or a related field We will train you on every piece of tech in the building. We're hiring for who you are with kids first. The rest we teach. The schedule Monday through Friday afternoons, 3:45-6:45 PM (flexible based on your schedule) 10-15 hours per week to start, with room to grow into summer camp (June 22 - August 14, 2026, M-F 9 AM-3 PM) and additional ongoing programs Start date: flexible, ideally May 2026 What you get $20-30/hr based on experience Paid training on our flight Cessna simulator and drone systems Free simulator access during off-hours (yes, you can practice flying) A real say in what we build. Your challenge ideas don't go in a suggestion box. They go on the schedule. Clear path to summer camp instructor and additional paid hours as we grow A professional reference and real portfolio material if you're heading into education, engineering, or aviation A small, hands-on team where the work is fun, the kids are great, and nobody's bored A few non-negotiables Background check required (standard for working with minors in NJ) Must be authorized to work in the US Must be able to be physically present in Jersey City for after-school hours Closed-toe shoes, comfortable clothes. You'll be on your feet, on the floor, and occasionally chasing a drone. Where this role can go We launched in January 2026 and we're already at 30 students. We're growing fast, and we'd rather grow the people we already have than constantly hire new ones. This is a part-time instructor role today. If you show up, do the work, and bring real ideas to the table, there's a clear path to more. That could mean lead instructor, summer camp director, curriculum lead, or stepping into the business side ; marketing, school partnerships, operations, program design. We're a small team building something real, and the people who help us build it will grow with it. We're looking for someone who wants to be here a while, not someone passing through between gigs. How to apply Send us a short note about why this role caught your eye, and describe one challenge or game you'd design for a group of 8-year-olds learning to fly. No formal cover letter needed. We read every application. Apply via Indeed or email hello@flightaerospace.academy Flight & Aerospace Academy

• 118 Ferry Street, Jersey City, NJ 07307
• flightaerospace.academy
• @flightaerospaceacademy

Pay:

$22.00 - $35.00 per hour

Work Location:

In person