Field Test Operator- Excavator

Position: Field Test Operator - Excavator

Location: Open

Travel: 100%

About Blue River

 We’re Blue River, a team of innovators driven to create intelligent machinery that solves monumental problems for our customers. We empower our customers-farmers, construction crews, and foresters - to implement safer and more sustainable solutions, driving increased profitability and reducing reliance on scarce labor. We believe that focusing on the small stuff,  pixel-by-pixel and task-by-task  leads to big gains. With our partners at John Deere, we have the ability to bring innovative computer vision, machine learning, robotics, and product management solutions to scale production, maximizing their potential impact.

Our people are at the heart of what we do. Through cross-discipline collaboration, this mission-driven and daring team is eager to define the new frontier of mobile robotics. We are always asking hard questions, rapidly iterating, and getting our boots in the field and on-site to figure it out. We won’t give up until we’ve made a tangible and positive impact on the planet. 

Summary

We’re developing the next generation of smart construction equipment, and we want the people who know excavators best helping us get it right. As our Field Test Operator, you’ll run a John Deere excavator outfitted with cameras and sensors at a test site, working alongside our field and engineering teams to test new machine technology in real digging conditions.

This isn’t a typical production seat. The goal isn’t to move the most dirt. It’s to do each task safely, smoothly, and consistently, and to tell our engineers what you’re seeing and why you run the machine the way you do. Your experience and feedback will directly shape how this equipment is designed, and you’ll get in early on the technology side of the industry. You don’t need a tech background. You need to know excavators inside and out, put safety first every day, communicate clearly, and be curious about where the industry is headed.

Other responsibilities could include serving as the in-cab safety operator during early technology testing, helping prep the test site and move machines, mentoring new operators as the team grows, and giving feedback on controls, attachments, and tooling. If the work calls for it, we’ll support you in earning additional certifications, such as an FAA Part 107 drone license.

The Field Test Operator reports to a Field Operations Manager or Field Test Site Manager, and takes day-to-day direction from the excavator program lead and engineering team during testing. The contract term is 12 months, with the possibility of extending or transitioning to full time. Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.  

Job Responsibilities

• Run a John Deere excavator through planned tasks from startup to shutdown, including digging, swinging, dumping, loading, trenching, and grading, following the data collection plan for each session
• Repeat the same task smoothly and consistently, run after run, so the data we collect is clean and reliable
• Talk through your work as you operate: what you see, what you plan to do next, and why you chose a certain bucket angle, approach, swing path, dig depth, or machine position
• Follow session procedures, including run naming, data logging steps, stop criteria, and incident reporting
• Write short notes after each session on what happened, what changed, and what you recommend next
• Perform daily walkarounds, routine preventive maintenance, and basic troubleshooting on the machine, including a check before each session that cameras and sensors are clean and recording
• Help engineers sort out whether a problem came from the machine, the site conditions, the plan, the sensors, or the test setup

Required Experience and Skills

• 3+ years of hands-on production experience operating excavators on real job sites
• Skills beyond truck loading, including trenching, bulk excavation, benching, grading, slope work, spoil placement, and working around utilities and obstacles in different soils
• A strong safety record and mature jobsite judgment around machine stability, blind spots, people on the ground, utilities, and changing ground conditions, with no risky shortcuts
• Mechanical aptitude, including a working understanding of hydraulics and machine limits, and comfort working around sensors, cameras, wiring, and computers mounted on the machine
• Comfortable using a tablet or laptop for checklists, digital work instructions, and simple data entry
• Clear communicator and steady teammate who can explain what you’re doing and why, out loud and in short written notes, and who carries themselves professionally on our site and customer sites
• Valid driver’s license, and willing to work outdoors and adjust your schedule when testing calls for it
• Willing to show your skills in a hands-on operating evaluation and to provide references who can speak to your safety record, such as a superintendent, foreman, safety lead, or project manager

Nice-to-Have Experience and Skills

• 5+ years of production excavator experience across a range of job types and site conditions
• Experience across multiple excavator brands and sizes, such as Deere, Caterpillar, Komatsu, Volvo, or Hitachi
• Experience on other earthmoving equipment, such as dozers, wheel loaders, rollers, or skid steers
• GPS/GNSS grade control systems, such as Trimble, Topcon, or Leica
• Time as a foreman, trainer, union instructor, equipment evaluator, or new-hire mentor
• NCCER Heavy Equipment Operator credentials, IUOE journeyman status, or equivalent documented training
• Experience with remote operation, machine automation features, prototype equipment, or field R&D testing
• Additional safety training, such as OSHA-30 or heavy-civil safety programs

Tools, equipment, and PPE are provided by the employer, and employer reimburses for all job required travel-related expenses. If you don’t already have an OSHA-10 card, we’ll provide the training after hire. 

Compensation is hourly: $46.00 - $68.00 per hour, depending on experience

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to communicate verbally, including listening and speaking. This position requires sitting in an equipment cab for extended periods, along with standing, walking, bending, kneeling, stooping, crouching, crawling, and climbing on and off equipment, often outdoors in cold and hot weather with dust, noise, and vibration. The employee must frequently lift and/or move items over 25 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move items over 50 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus. We are committed to building a diverse team and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds.