Delta Air Lines is one of the largest and oldest U.S. airlines. Many people might be wondering how to get a job at Delta Air Lines because of the benefits, travel opportunities, and professional experience it offers. Working at Delta Air Lines could be a major boost for your career in the airline industry, especially if you’re a pilot or flight attendant. However, there are plenty of other career opportunities in this company, as well.
Delta Air Lines earned numerous workplace accolades in 2025, including a spot on Fortune‘s 100 Best Companies to Work For® list, which verifies Delta as a great place to work.1 Not only that, over 5,000 Indeed reviews from Delta’s current and former employees report that working at Delta Air Lines earns an overall 4.2 out of 5 stars—noting company culture as well as pay and benefits are top reasons they love(d) working at Delta Air Lines.2
Keep reading if you’d like to work in a world-renowned industry, make an impact on people’s lives, and enjoy complimentary flights. In this article, we outline Delta Air Lines’ jobs and how to apply for them.
Delta Air Lines: Company Background
Delta Air Lines was originally founded in 1925 by Huff Daland in Macon, GA.3 Originally, the company was named Huff Daland Dusters, a crop dusting operation and the first commercial agricultural flying company. In 1928, the company was renamed Delta Air Lines and, in 1929, began flying its first human passengers across the Mississippi Delta (hence the name). This makes Delta one of the oldest airlines in American history.
Now, Delta Air Lines has been rated the top airline in the country by the Wall Street Journal. The company currently serves over 200 million customers with 5,000 daily flights to over 290 countries spanning six continents (as of September 2025).4,5
How Hard Is It to Land a Job at Delta Air Lines?
Getting a job at Delta Air Lines can be very hard, depending on who you may know and what your experience in the industry is. It is a Fortune 500 company, so it can be just as difficult to get a job at Delta as at any other major company.5 This means that anyone who wants to land a job at Delta Air Lines needs to outshine the highly qualified competition.
How to Apply for a Job at Delta Air Lines
- Create your profile. To apply for a job at Delta Air Lines, the first thing you need to do is to create your profile on the Careers section of its website.6 You can do this by uploading your CV manually or syncing your LinkedIn profile to the platform.
- Fill out an application form. Then, you’ll need to fill out your Delta Air Lines application form with general information about yourself, your motivation to join the company, and answer questions related to the particular job you’re applying for.
- Prepare for an aptitude test. Depending on the job you’re applying for, Delta Air Lines may also conduct an aptitude test to evaluate your communication, math, and interpersonal skills.
- Confirm your interview schedule. If you pass the initial admission process, you’ll then have to confirm your schedule for an interview once Delta Air Lines’ HR recruiter contacts you. In this interview, you’ll reveal more details about your career and motivations, and you can ask questions about the job post.
- Get onboarded. Once you pass each step of the application process and receive a job offer, you’ll begin the onboarding process.
What’s It Like to Work at Delta Air Lines?
Delta is considered one of the largest airline companies in the world. A Delta Air Lines employee can enjoy the flight benefits offered by this company that operates in a large number of countries. It’s a company with offices around the country and recognition for its exceptional customer service and elite flight service.
Company Culture
Delta Air Lines’ culture is based on honesty, respect, integrity, and perseverance. Its core company values include care, integrity, resilience, and servant leadership. As a leading service company, it has rules of the road that help define its culture. As a Delta employee, you’ll have the privilege of receiving the company’s cultural kindness and the responsibility of contributing to it.
Work-Life Balance
The work-life balance is a bit challenging for Delta Air Lines employees, especially for in-flight service staff, flight attendants, and pilots. It received a C grade in Comparably’s survey of 478 Delta Air Lines employees for work-life balance.7
Flight Benefits
On a positive note, one of the highlights of working at Delta Air Lines is the travel benefits it offers. All company employees, and even their families, can enjoy free or discounted travel to all destinations where the company operates.
Delta Air Lines Benefits
- Travel and perks. Delta Air Lines employees can enjoy travel benefits through their travel pass privileges. Employees can fly to any destination where Delta Air Lines operates around the world. They can also get a Delta Vacations benefit and discounts on other airlines.
- Compensation and benefits. The compensation and benefits package includes base salary, profit sharing, 401(k), and health and welfare programs.
- Growth and development. Delta Air Lines promotes the personal and professional development of its employees, offering resource groups, mentoring programs, and upward mobility.
- Delta wellness programs. Delta Air Lines’ wellness programs focus on the physical and mental health of employees. They include holistic resources for health, financial wellness, and personal and work responsibilities.
Delta Air Lines Career Opportunities: Job Titles and Descriptions
Delta Air Lines jobs are varied, ranging from specific aviation-related jobs to technology-related jobs, such as software engineers. All of these roles help make Delta Air Lines the company it is today, to offer its employees significant career advancement.
Cloud Architect
- Median Salary: $191,000/year8
- Benefits: Travel and perks, compensation, growth, wellness
- Required Experience: 7 years of experience in software development in Java
- Required Education: N/A
A cloud architect at Delta Air Lines works in the IT department to manage business optimizations and solutions using the cloud. In this role, professionals work on technical projects with the help of multidisciplinary teams to innovate business needs.
First Officer
- Median Salary: $182,000/year9
- Benefits: Travel and perks, compensation, growth, wellness
- Required Experience: All aeronautical experience requirements for an airline transport pilot, 1,500 flight hours of total documented flight time, 1,000 hours of fixed-wing turbine flight time
- Required Education: High school diploma or GED equivalent and a graduate of a four-year degree program from an accredited college or university
First officers are professional pilots with aviation skills, safety training, and customer orientation. Delta Air Lines’ team of professional pilots is highly qualified in terms of education and experience. All pilots are required to hold the FAA Commercial Pilot Certificate-Single Engine and FAA Commercial Pilot Multi-Engine.
Data Scientist
- Median Salary: $150,000/year10
- Benefits: Travel and perks, compensation, growth, wellness
- Required Experience: 1+ years of experience in data science, advanced analytics, or business intelligence
- Required Education: Master’s Degree in Data Science, or a combination of education and experience
A data scientist at Delta Air Lines is responsible for processing information on aircraft mechanical performance. They develop machine learning models to obtain solutions based on risk metrics. They also implement predictive maintenance and aircraft performance alerts.
DevOps Engineer
- Median Salary: $134,000/year11
- Benefits: Travel and perks, compensation, growth, wellness
- Required Experience: Hands-on experience with cloud infrastructures like AWS or OpenShift
- Required Education: Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science
A Delta DevOps engineer develops API code and delivers other tech services. To ensure the security of the production environment, they automate systems and configure integrations with other IT and development teams.
AI Software Engineer
- Median Salary: $130,000/year12
- Benefits: Travel and perks, compensation, growth, wellness
- Required Experience: 3+ years of experience in software engineering, 1+ years of work/educational experience in artificial intelligence/machine learning
- Required Education: N/A
An AI software engineer at Delta Air Lines refines the airline’s operations and improves the digital customer experience. As part of the IT department, they focus their efforts on driving the use of AI techniques, such as machine learning, deep learning, and reinforcement learning, to improve customer service.
Aircraft Maintenance Technician
- Median Salary: $82,000/year13
- Benefits: Travel and perks, compensation, growth, wellness
- Required Experience: 1 year of full-time work experience
- Required Education: High school diploma or the equivalent, FAA Airframe and Power Plant license
An aircraft maintenance technician is responsible for keeping Delta Air Lines’ fleet of aircraft in good condition and working to ensure safety. They maintain engines and other aircraft components and systems to meet FAA and Delta Air Lines specifications.
Flight Attendant
- Median Salary: $73,000/year14
- Benefits: Travel and perks, compensation, growth, wellness
- Required Experience: 1+ years of experience in jobs with responsibilities similar to those of a flight attendant
- Required Education: High school diploma or GED
Delta Air Lines’ flight attendants are enthusiastic and proactive professionals who care about customer service. Flight attendants are there to solve problems and focus on good in-flight service. They also ensure the safety and comfort of passengers.
All salary information has been verified on Glassdoor as of September 2025 and is subject to change. Please visit the Delta Air Lines Careers page for the most up-to-date job descriptions and information.
What Does It Take to Get a Job at Delta Air Lines?
It takes a mix of good education, impressive skills, technical experience, and probably a decent referral to get a job at Delta Air Lines. Specifically for tech roles, you’ll need to demonstrate some level of mastery in different programming and tech software.
Working for a leading aviation company is a great option to consider for your career path. If you think aviation is right for you or if you are attracted to the growth and travel benefits this company offers, you can apply for a job at Delta Air Lines.
How to Get a Job at Delta Air Lines FAQ
Yes, Delta Air Lines employees receive free flight benefits and may also have access to flights if seats are available after all tickets have been sold.
The requirements to work for Delta Air Lines depend on the position you’re applying for. An important requirement for any job is a high school degree or GED, in addition to the ability to work in the U.S., and English fluency. Other requirements depend on the type of job, such as special additional pilot requirements.
Salaries depend heavily on the type of job you have. Delta Air Lines employee salaries have been listed by job title on Glassdoor.15 Take a look and see what the average salary ranges are for Delta employees.
The hiring process at Delta Air Lines can take a few weeks after the application submission. If the applicant is called for a job interview, the company may take a couple of weeks to answer. You should note that Delta Air Lines’ pilot selection is done through Delta Propel, so the process is different.
Sources:
1 https://news.delta.com/delta-earns-no-15-spot-fortune-100-best-companies-work-forr-list
2 https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Delta-Air-Lines/reviews
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3 https://news.delta.com/deltas-history-dusting-crops-connecting-world
4 https://news.delta.com/wall-street-journal-names-delta-top-us-airline-fourth-consecutive-year
5 https://fortune.com/company/delta-air-lines/
6 https://delta.avature.net/en_US/careers#/
7 https://www.comparably.com/companies/delta-air-lines/work-life-balance
9 https://www.glassdoor.com/Salary/Delta-Air-Lines-First-Officer-Salaries-E197_D_KO16,29.htm
10 https://www.glassdoor.com/Salary/Delta-Air-Lines-Data-Scientist-Salaries-E197_D_KO16,30.htm
12 https://www.glassdoor.com/Salary/Delta-Air-Lines-AI-Engineer-Salaries-E197_D_KO16,27.htm
15 https://www.glassdoor.com/Salary/Delta-Air-Lines-Salaries-E197.htm
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