Aviation Safety Technician

📍 FAA Flight Standards Duty Locations Nationwide · 🏛 Federal Aviation Administration · 💰 $52,727–$68,549 per year · 🎓 FG 9 · 🧭 Compliance Inspection And Support (1802) · ⏳ Closes Nov 13, 2026 · 2 days left · 🗓 Posted Oct 21, 2026
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About this job

Incumbent serves as a Aviation Safety Technician (AST) in a Flight Standards Office providing technical support to Aviation Safety Inspectors (ASl's) and the public. Performs or assists with a wide range of certification, surveillance, and investigation duties requiring research and evaluation in accordance with current FAA safety directives/orders.

Duties

Tasks are performed following prescribed or established procedures to assist inspectors, investigators, and Flight Standards program officials in their fact-finding or program administration responsibilities and requires basic evaluative judgment. The work performed falls primarily in one of the following categories: (1) Inspections where determinations are based on visual or other specific inspection techniques and are made based on relatively clear-cut considerations such as the presence or absence of required documents or the obvious physical condition of an item or premises. These inspections are governed by specific procedures and serve as bases for action by compliance program officials. Typically, such work includes both initial and follow-up inspections including obtaining samples and performing well-established field tests, if appropriate. (2) Technical support to inspections or investigations such as searching for, gathering, screening, and providing factual information or explanations related to the subject of an inspection or investigation or to the compliance program itself. These tasks are performed following prescribed or established procedures to assist compliance inspectors, investigators, and program officials in their fact finding or program administration responsibilities. The work includes activities such as obtaining background information on subjects of inspections or investigations by means of record searches, structured interviews, automated information retrieval, telephone inquiries, or correspondence; providing information to authorized persons concerning the status of particular investigations; explaining licensing or other requirements, including exceptions or exemptions, to persons or organizations subject to regulations; compiling final investigative reports with necessary exhibits; and maintaining required administrative reports on topics such as manpower, case load, and case status. Work in investigating, inspecting, or advising individuals or organizations subject to Federal laws, regulations, or other mandatory guidelines to assure their understanding and compliance when such work requires considerable evaluative judgment is excluded from this position. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES Technical Administration Provides technical knowledge and support to aviation safety inspectors, the general public, stakeholders, and airmen regarding a wide variety of aviation-related topics. Extracts safety data and information from FAA records to identify trends for items that affect aviation safety and enters technical findings in agency approved databases. This individual will provide technical assistance and/or support with certification, surveillance, investigation, and/or enforcement, examples include, but are not limited to: Certification Support - Provides technical support to ASl's during certification of operators and air agencies. - Reviews airmen certification files, submitted by designees for accuracy. - Reviews inspection authorization files for renewal eligibility. - Conducts Operational Color Vision Tests. - Reviews designee management system to determine renewal eligibility. - Compiles data for technical reports. Surveillance Support - Assists ASI's with surveillance of aviation events. - Assists in drafting and issuing waivers and authorizations. Investigation Support - Drafts Enforcement Investigative Reports (EIR) for review and final approval by an ASI - Acts as the Point of Contact (POC) for safety assets (PPE) related to accident investigations. Enforcement Support: Incumbent will be responsible for enforcement functions including: conducting violations, voluntary disclosure, suspect illegal charters, incidents, navigation and altitude deviation investigations. Other duties may be assigned.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position at the FG-9, you must demonstrate in your application that you possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the FV-E, GS-/FG-8 level. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. Specialized experience is: 1) demonstrated accomplishment in practical technical aviation operations; 2) experience in using computerized database systems; 3) experience in preparing technical reports; and 4) experience in researching, analyzing and providing recommendations. In addition, experience must also include the following: 1) experience in gathering and compiling aviation safety data; 2) experience in assisting in aviation investigations such as complaints, occurrences, incidents, accidents and/or violations. Please ensure you answer all questions and follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may impact rating or may result in not being considered for the job. Applicants should include examples of specialized experience in their work history. Qualifications must be met by the closing date of this vacancy announcement. Security Requirements: Non-critical sensitive (2): This position requires completion & favorable adjudication of a Tier 3 (T3) background investigation prior to appointment, unless a waiver is obtained and approved.

Education

Education may not be substituted for experience at these grade levels.

Requirements

We are not accepting applications from noncitizens.

Evaluations

IMPORTANT: Applicants may be rated on the extent and quality of experience, education, and training relevant to the duties of the position(s). All answers provided in the on-line process must be substantiated. Ensure that your application package/resume supports your responses.

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. Amendment Date: 11/04/2026 Amendment Note: This announcement has been extended.

Applications are handled only on the official announcement. This page is a readable copy of the public announcement data — the official version controls if anything differs.

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Required documents

If you need to submit additional documents to supplement your online application, e.g. transcripts, SF-50, or veterans' documentation, you may upload these documents with your application in USAJOBS. Supplemental documentation can also be faxed to 1 (424) 405-7365 on or before the closing date of this announcement. Please include your name and the vacancy announcement number on each of your faxed pages and redact all Personally Identifiable Information (PII), such as social security number and date of birth. If you are an FAA employee, you MUST provide a copy of your SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action) containing information in Blocks 15, 17, 18, 19, 22, and 24 so it can be used to verify your position title, series, grade, tenure, and organization of record by the closing date of the announcement. You may fax your SF-50 or upload it into the on-line application. If faxing the SF-50, please ensure you include the vacancy announcement number on the faxed copy. If you are an FAA employee, you can access and print your SF-50 from the eOPF system https://eopf.opm.gov/dot/.

What to expect next

Once we receive your complete application, the Human Resources Office will conduct an evaluation of your qualifications. Eligible and qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration. You will be contacted directly if selected for an interview. For instructions on how to check the status of your application, please go to: USAJOBS Help Guide. Important - If you make any changes to your application, you must resubmit it. If you make changes to your application and do not resubmit it, your changes will not be considered part of your application package, and only your previously submitted application will be evaluated. All qualified applicants will be considered regardless of political affiliation, race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, age, disability, or other non-merit factors. DOT provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the agency contact listed in the Agency Contact Information section of this announcement or the hiring manager. An employee with a disability must notify the decision-maker of the accommodation request. Job applicants and employees are required to follow up oral requests in writing. Decisions on granting reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. Additional information on reasonable accommodations procedures or on EEO Programs is available on Office of Civil Rights (ACR) or by contacting the local FAA Civil Rights Office.

Other information

We may use this vacancy to fill other similar vacant positions. Position may be subject to a background investigation. A one-year probationary period may be required. The person selected for this position may be required to file a financial disclosure statement within 30 days of entry on duty. FAA policy limits certain outside employment and financial investments in aviation-related companies. www.faa.gov/jobs/workinghere/financial-disclosure-requirements This position is covered by the Department of Transportation's Drug and Alcohol Testing Program. Any applicant tentatively selected for this position will be subject to pre-employment or pre-appointment drug screening. Persons occupying a "testing designated position (TDP)" will be subject to random drug and/or alcohol testing. As a part of the Federal-Wide Hiring Reform Initiative (streamlining the hiring process), the FAA is committed to eliminating the use of the Knowledge, Skills and Ability (KSA) narratives from the initial application in the hiring process for all announcements. Therefore, as an applicant for this announcement, you are NOT required to provide a narrative response in the text box listed below each KSA. In lieu of providing a KSA narrative response in the text box listed below each KSA, in your work history, please include information that provides specific examples of how you meet the response level or answer you chose for each KSA. Your work history examples should be specific and clearly reflect the highest level of ability. Your KSA answers will be evaluated further to validate whether the level that you selected is appropriate based on the work history and experience you provided. Your answers may be adjusted by a Human Resource Specialist as appropriate. Eligible applicants meeting the minimum qualification requirements and selective factor(s), if applicable, may be further evaluated on the Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSA) listed in the announcement. Based on this evaluation, applicants will be placed in one of the following categories: score order, category grouping, or alphabetical and referred to the selecting official for consideration. In-grade/Downgrade applications will be accepted Current FAA employee: You MUST submit a copy of your most recent (non-award) SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, or equivalent document that verifies tenure (block 24, code 1 or 2). Failure to provide the required documentation by the closing date of this announcement will result in non-consideration for this position. Interview policy: If the Agency decides to interview any qualified employee on the selection list, then all on the list who are qualified must be interviewed. Position will be realigned based on approved reorganization. Links to Important Information: Locality Pay, COLA

Frequently asked questions

How much does this Aviation Safety Technician job pay?

The announcement lists a salary of $52,727–$68,549 per year (FG 9).

When is the last day to apply?

Applications close on Nov 13, 2026 — 2 days from today.

Where is this job located?

This position is located in FAA Flight Standards Duty Locations Nationwide with the Federal Aviation Administration.

How do I apply?

Applications are submitted through the official announcement on USAJobs. Use the Apply button on this page to go to the official posting — this site never takes applications itself.

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Data: USAJobs (U.S. Office of Personnel Management), retrieved 2026-11-11 · Announcement 200-AFX-27-2321899-100934 · Official announcement. FederalJobs is unofficial and is not affiliated with OPM or the agency.
Aviation Safety Technician
Nov 13, 2026 deadlineApply