Aviation Safety Technician

Aviation Safety Technician

Department: Department of Transportation

Location(s): Des Plaines, Illinois, Garden City, New York, Portland, Oregon

Salary Range: $47738 - $68549 Per Year

Job Summary: Serves as an Aviation Safety Technician in a Flight Standards field office providing technical support to aviation safety inspectors and the public. Performs or assists with a wide range of certification, surveillance, and investigation duties requiring research and evaluation.

Major Duties:

• Provides technical assistance to the public in areas such as certificate requirements for airmen and aircraft. Assists in the replacement of lost or mutilated certificates by verifying airmen and aircraft certificate status. Extracts information from documents in the technical data library such as type certificate data sheets, airworthiness directives, service bulletins, technical standard orders and supplemental type certificates in support of aviation safety inspectors and industry. This support includes certification of air carriers, operators, and air agencies; surveillance of airmen and aircraft; investigation of accidents, incidents and enforcements. Extracts Safety Performance Analysis System (SPAS) data to identify trends for items that affect aviation safety. Provides data to aviation safety inspectors. This includes information from the Vital Information System (VIS) to certificate operators and complete reports; from the Program Tracking and Reporting System (PTRS) to assist in the inspection and surveillance of airmen and air agencies; and from the Enforcement Information System (EIS) to complete investigation reports. Provides support for the office's minimum equipment list (MEL) process. Tracks initial and revision status. Conducts and/or assists with investigations as assigned, such as complaints, occurrences, incidents, accidents and enforcement actions. Gathers information, conducts interviews and drafts correspondence and reports. Assists in drafting and issuance of waivers and authorizations, such as aviation events, parachute jumps, pipeline patrol and banner-towing. Checks all documents for appropriateness and completeness. Researches compliance with Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR), policies and procedures. Assists in conducting onsite surveys, if appropriate. Compiles data for technical reports, such as Air Carrier Aircraft and Engine Utilization Reports, pilot type rating failure reports and pilot-in-command proficiency check failure rate reports. Prepares examiner pass/fail rate reports.

Qualifications: Specialized Experience: To qualify for this position at the FG-8 grade, you must demonstrate in your application that you possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the FG/GS-7 level. Specialized experience may include but is not limited to: demonstrated accomplishment in practical technical aviation operations, computer skills and knowledge of common software applications, analytical skill, interpersonal skills, and communication skills. Typically, preferred candidates will show technical training and/or certification experience applicable to a regulatory aviation environment. To qualify for this position at the FG-9 grade, you must demonstrate in your application that you possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the FG/GS-8 level. Specialized experience may include but not limited to: demonstrated accomplishment in practical technical aviation operations; computer skills and knowledge of common software applications; analytical skill; interpersonal skills; and communication skills; experience in gathering and compiling aviation safety data; experience in analyzing aviation safety information for the purpose of identifying trends; experience in preparing technical reports and documents; and experience in assisting in aviation investigations such as complaints, occurrences, incidents, accidents and/or violations. Typically, preferred candidates will show technical training and/or certification experience applicable to a regulatory aviation environment. Qualifications must be met by the closing date of this vacancy announcement.

How to Apply: Applicants may be required to complete one or multiple assessments as part of the evaluation process. This assessment aims to evaluate the competencies and qualifications essential for the position. You must apply online to receive consideration. Your application must be submitted by 11:59 PM Eastern Time on the Close Date for it to be accepted. If you are applying for positions associated with FAA registers, your application must be submitted at the time a referral list is created in order to receive consideration for positions associated with a register. RESUMES ARE LIMITED TO TWO PAGES. IN DESCRIBING YOUR WORK EXPERIENCE AND/OR EDUCATION, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC AND INCLUDE INFORMATION AS IT RELATES TO THE QUALIFICATIONS AND SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS OF THIS POSITION. Please ensure EACH work history includes ALL of the following information: Job Title (include series and grade if Federal Job) Relevant work experience: should align to the Job Announcement and address all required qualifications and include job title, employer name, start/end dates, number of hours worked per week. Education, certification or licensure: If required, education should include school/institution name, completion date, degree type and GPA. Determining length of General or Specialized Experience is dependent on the above information and failure to provide ALL of this information may result in a finding of ineligible. You may upload completed documents to your USAJOBS Account. This will provide you the opportunity to utilize the uploaded information again when applying for future vacancies. Please see this guide, Document Upload Guide, for more information on uploading and re-using the documents in your applications.

Application Deadline: 2026-04-08