Department: Department of the Interior
Location(s): Salt Lake City, Utah, Seattle, Washington, Phoenix, Arizona, Los Angeles, California, San Francisco, California, Denver, Colorado, Washington, District of Columbia, Miami, Florida, Atlanta, Georgia, Chicago, Illinois, Indianapolis, Indiana, New Orleans, Louisiana, Boston, Massachusetts, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Kansas City, Missouri, Albuquerque, New Mexico, New York, New York, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Portland, Oregon, Austin, Texas
Salary Range: $131841 - $171396 Per Year
Job Summary: This position is an Airplane Flight Instructor (Lead Plane Pilot), GS-2181-13 working for the US Wildland Fire Service Location negotiable: You must be physically located within 50 miles of a DOI facility. One or more positions may be filled from applications received under this announcement in the advertised office.
Major Duties:
Qualifications: In order to qualify for this position, you must possess the Minimum Qualification requirements listed below: Selective Placement Factors (SPFs): This position requires a special qualification that has been determined to be essential to perform the duties and will be used as a screen out element. SPF #1: Prior direct support of aviation wildland fire operations or on-the-line firefighting: This experience must be clearly documented in your resume with specific to and from dates, description of work performed, and hours worked per week in order to be considered. This is an administrative position in an organization having a firefighting mission and is in an established career path. Prior firefighting experience, as gained by substantial service in a primary firefighter position or equivalent experience outside the Federal government, is a MANDATORY PREREQUISITE. SPF #2: 100 hours turbine-powered (turbo prop) airplane. This will be verified with a logbook that will be requested at a later date. Minimum Eligibility Requirements: CERTIFICATES AND RATINGS: Must possess a current Commercial Pilot Certificate OR an FAA Airline Transport Pilot Certificate with a rating of: Multi-engine land; and instrument rating AND must have an FAA Flight Instructor Certificate OR the military equivalent rating. MEDICAL REQUIREMENTS: Pilot positions must possess a current first or second-class medical certificate in accordance with FAA regulations.GS-13 FLIGHT HOURS: Some flight hours may be waived provided the candidate demonstrates the skills, knowledge and abilities to perform the duties of the position safely. See the OPM website for more information - Aircraft Operation Series 2181 Total Flight Time:1500 hours Pilot-In-Command: 250 hours Night Flying: 75 hours Flying Time, Last 12 Months: 100 hours Multi-engine Airplane: 500 hours. Instrument: 75 hours Instructor Time: 500 hours Specialized Experience: In order to be rated as qualified for this position, we must be able to determine that you meet the minimum qualification requirements - please be sure to include this information in your resume. No assumptions will be made about your experience. Failure to provide required information on resume could result in ineligibility for consideration. To qualify for the GS-13 grade level, 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to GS-12 is required. Examples of work experience include, but are not limited to: experience in wildland fire principles, risk management techniques, and standard operating procedures while conducting Lead plane missions during fire operations; experience in the areas of aircraft control, tactics, aerial supervision, and retardant/suppressant applications; experience in training plan development and instructional techniques used in formal aviation training and one-on-one training conducted during on-going fire operations. Merit Promotion candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements by 05/15/2026. Eligibility and Qualification Requirements: Applicants must meet both eligibility and qualification requirements for the position of interest by the closing date of the Job Announcement. Specifically, i. Area of Consideration. ii. Time-in-grade (TIG) requirements as specified in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F. iii. Time after competitive appointment as specified in 5 CFR 330.502.iv. Qualification requirements outlined in OPM's Qualifications Standards for General Schedule Positions. Secondary Firefighter Retirement Coverage - This is a secondary/administrative firefighter position under the special retirement provisions of 5 U.S.C. 8336(c) (CSRS) and 5 U.S.C. 8412(d) (FERS). While secondary positions are not subject to the maximum entry age policy, the selectee must have prior service in a primary position (3 years of service in primary/rigorous position(s)) and meet the transfer requirement for movement from a primary to secondary position to be eligible for special retirement coverage. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure this office has enough information to determine your retirement status to ensure you do not lose benefits (normally through submission of your SF-50). YOU MUST LET US KNOW IF YOU ARE CURRENTLY IN A PRIMARY POSITION.
How to Apply: Review the appointment eligibility criteria in the application preview linked below. The eligibility section of the application allows you to choose how you wish to be considered for this vacancy announcement. You will ONLY be considered for the eligibilities that you select "yes" to and submit the required supporting documentation, as listed in the Required Documents section or the application text. You may qualify for more than one eligibility, so please choose carefully. If you respond that you do not meet any of the eligibility criteria, you will not be considered for this position under this announcement. To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package. See required documents section. Click 'Apply' to create an account or log in to your existing USAJOBS account. Follow the prompts to complete the assessment questionnaire and upload required documents. To preview the assessment questionnaire, click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12936990. Please ensure you check the acknowledgement checkbox then click the Submit Application button to submit your application. Applications must be received by 05/15/2026, 11:59pm Eastern Time to receive consideration. Check application status by logging into your USAJOBS account, in Applications tab, click the position title you applied to for the status. For information on what each Application Status means, visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/. NOTE: INSUFFICIENT OR INCOMPLETE INFORMATION FROM AN APPLICANT COULD RESULT IN AN INELIGIBLE RATING. If you are unable to apply online, you must request an alternative application which is available from the Human Resources Office. Please refer to the contact information listed at the bottom of the announcement. Applicants who apply under this job opportunity announcement agree to have their application, associated documents and applicable personal information shared with other Bureaus/Offices within the Department of the Interior (DOI) who have vacancies within the same occupational series, grade, full performance level and in the same geographic location(s), including within the same metro/commuting area. Applying to this announcement does not replace the need to apply to other job opportunity announcements for which you wish to receive consideration.
Application Deadline: 2026-05-15