Aerospace Engineer (Mechanical Systems) Job

Vacancy No. ANM-AIR-25-2312297-95484 Department Federal Aviation Administration
Salary $94,544.00 to $146,571.00 Grade J to J
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 6/27/2025 Close Date 7/7/2025
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Status Candidates
Locations:
Lakewood, CADenver, CODes Moines, WA


Summary

The Senior Aerospace Engineer (Mechanical Systems) position is located within the Compliance & Airworthiness Division, AIR-700.

This job is open to

Clarification from the agency

Open to current permanent FAA employees

Duties

The Senior Aerospace Engineer (Mechanical Systems) position applies regulations and policy in managing the certification and continued operational safety of aeronautical products and is responsible for organizing, planning, conducting and successfully completing type certification/type validation projects; and oversight of compliance and safety systems; for supporting continued operational safety activities of aircraft, aircraft engines, propellers, or appliances in accordance with Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR), hereafter called aviation products. The incumbent provides input and support to the section manager to improve the efficiency and efficacy of the section including assignment of work, job performance, leadership of section engineers. The input and support include support manager and employee communications where the manager is stationed at separate duty location than the employee.

Technical Expertise:
The incumbent plans and accomplishes highly complex and challenging projects/programs under the minimal direction of a manager. The incumbent applies experience and comprehensive knowledge of engineering principles, theories, and concepts applicable to aerospace engineering as well as an understanding of new technologies and methodologies to solve complex problems and develop improved processes for the organization. The incumbent supports the Section Manager in the alignment of section resources, activities, and stakeholders with AIR objectives; develops section personnel and resources consistent with AIR’s future needs; and fosters a work environment and culture that emphasizes employee engagement, risk-based decision-making, innovation, collaboration, communication, accountability, diversity and inclusion throughout the Section.

The incumbent assures compliance of aircraft and products with the appropriate requirements of 14 CFR and with foreign certification authority regulations governed by bilateral agreements.

Provides required briefings and/or technical presentations within the FAA and to manufacturers, professional organizations and to foreign certification authorities.

Supports Section Manager in Direct Report Supervision:
Provides input into monitoring and evaluating performance. Works to prepare employees for future opportunities across the division, with focus on continuity of operations and long-term organizational success. Coaches, mentors, and develops employees to perform current work and support career progression for the future. Ensures employees have technical skills to accomplish their assigned tasks. Is a role model to less knowledgeable or less experienced engineers and distributes tasking in accordance with management-defined criteria.

Support Section Manager in Developing a Team Environment:
Monitors organizational health and regularly seeks input and feedback from employees. Provides the feedback to the section manager. Supports the establishment and enhancement of practices to encourage diversity and inclusion, communication, collaboration, and innovation in the resolution of issues. Communicates and regularly reinforces connectivity between section employee activities and the broader AlR mission. Supports the section manager in the definition and assignment of accountability for key internal performance objectives. Provides feedback to the section manager for engagement with personnel in monitoring key performance indicators and making adjustments necessary to achieve key performance objectives. Works with employees to identify resource needs and advocates for resources on behalf of the team.

Stakeholder Collaboration:
Establishes and maintains effective communications within AIR. Partners with other AIR organizations to accomplish work. Represents FAA at aviation events, industry conferences, and other civil aviation authority meetings on topics pertinent to the Section.

Performs other related duties as assigned.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • US Citizenship is required.
  • Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
  • Must submit an SF50 (See Required Documents).
  • This position has a positive education requirement. Transcript(s) required.
  • Employee will report to an FAA facility.

Qualifications

Basic Requirements: Successful completion of a full four-year professional engineering curriculum leading to a bachelor's or higher degree in engineering in an accredited college or university. To be acceptable the curriculum must: (1) be in a school of engineering with at least one curriculum accredited by the ABET as a professional engineering curriculum; or (2) include differential and integral calculus and courses (more advanced than first-year physics and chemistry) in five of the following seven areas of engineering science or physics: (a) statics, dynamics; (b) strength of materials (stress-strain relationships); (c) fluid mechanics, hydraulics; (d) thermodynamics; (e) electrical fields and circuits; (f) nature and properties of materials (relating particle and aggregate structure to properties); (g) any other comparable area of fundamental engineering science or physics, such as optics, heat transfer, soil mechanics, or electronics; OR,

ALTERNATIVE REQUIREMENTS: Combination of education and experience -- college-level education, training, and/or technical experience that furnished (1) a thorough knowledge of the physical and mathematical sciences underlying professional engineering, and (2) a good understanding, both theoretical and practical, of the engineering sciences and techniques and their applications to one of the branches of engineering. The adequacy of such background must be demonstrated by one of the following:

  • Professional registration: Current registration as a professional engineer by any State, the District of Columbia, Guam, or Puerto Rico;
  • Written Test: Evidence of having successfully passed the Engineer-in-Training (EIT) examination, or the written test required for professional registration, which is administered by the Boards of Engineering Examiners in the various States, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico;
  • Specified academic courses: Successful completion of at least 60 semester hours of courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences and in engineering that included the courses specified in the basic requirements. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of a professional engineering curriculum as described in paragraph A;
  • Related curriculum: - Successful completion of a curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree in engineering technology or in an appropriate professional field, e.g., physics, chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics, hydrology, or geology, may be accepted in lieu of a degree in engineering, provided the applicant has had at least 1 year of professional engineering experience acquired under professional engineering supervision and guidance.

http://main.opm.gov/qualifications/Standards/IORs/gs0800/0800.htm,For more information on the alternate methods, please refer to the OPM Qualification Standards for Engineering at:

Specialized Experience for J-Band: In addition to the basic/alternative qualification requirements identified above, all applicants must demonstrate one year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade (FV-I or FG/GS-13). Specialized experience is experience which has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position and that is typically in or directly related to work of the position to be filled.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE for this position is:

  • Experience in certification or conducting safety evaluations of aircraft mechanical systems.

Applicants should include examples of specialized experience in their work history.

Qualifications must be met by the closing date of this vacancy announcement.

Please ensure you answer all questions and follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may impact your rating or may result in you not being considered for the job.

Education

This position has a positive education requirement: Applicants must submit a copy of their college or university transcripts(s) and certificates by the closing date of announcement to verify qualifications. If selected, an official transcript will be required prior to appointment. You may upload these documents with your application in USAJOBS or fax it to fax number provided in the announcement (please include announcement number on each page).

Failure to do so will result in loss of consideration.

Schools must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Accreditation may be verified at the following website: www.ed.gov/accreditation.

Foreign education must be evaluated by a private professional organization specializing in interpretation of foreign education credentials or an accredited U.S. educational institution in terms of equivalence to a degree acquired at an American college or university. A copy of the evaluation results must be included, otherwise your foreign education will not be considered.

This position has a minimum education requirement as specified in the Qualifications Required section. College/University transcript(s), or applicable documentation, described in the Qualifications Required section must be submitted by the closing date of this announcement to show the requirements are met; Failure to do so will result in loss of consideration. Please see Important Information Regarding Education under the Required Documents section.

Preview Job Questionnaire

Make sure your resume includes detailed information to support your qualifications and answers to the job questionnaire.

Additional 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

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 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.

Moderate Risk (5). This position requires completion and favorable adjudication of a background investigation prior to appointment, unless a waiver is obtained. Subject to a 5-year period reinvestigation.

This position is in AIR-773. This announcement may be used to fill future vacancies in any other of the AIR-700 offices in the advertised Duty Locations. Duty station will determine locality pay.

This is not a bargaining unit position.

Links to Important Information: Locality Pay, COLA

Benefits

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

Review our benefits

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.



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.

Required Documents

Current Federal employee (including a 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.

Applicants must apply on-line. Faxed, mailed or e-mailed applications cannot be accepted. Additional documents to supplement your application (i.e.; transcripts, SF-50, or veteran's documents) may be uploaded in USAJOBS or faxed to (206) 231-4150 on or before the closing date of this announcement. Include your name & the announcement number on each of your faxed pages.



This position has a positive education requirement; college transcripts are required for ALL candidates newly appointed to the FAA in the 0800 (Engineering) series.

College transcripts must be submitted from current FAA employees applying for internal vacancies if they have never held a position in the 0800 (Engineering) series with the FAA.

College transcripts are not required from current FAA employees who are currently occupying an 0800 (Engineering) series.

If selected, official transcripts are required prior to employment.

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/.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

How to Apply

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.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR WORK EXPERIENCE AND/OR EDUCATION, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE OR EDUCATION.

We strongly encourage applicants to utilize the USAJOBS resume builder in the creation of resumes.

Please ensure EACH work history includes ALL of the following information:

  • Job Title (include series and grade if Federal Job)

  • Duties (be specific in describing your duties)

  • Employer's name and address

  • Supervisor name and phone number

  • Start and end dates including month and year (e.g. June 2007 to April 2008)

  • Full-time or part-time status (include hours worked per week)

  • Salary (optional)


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.

Agency contact information

Heather Ashby
Phone
1 (206) 231-4044
Fax
1 (206) 231-4150
Email
heather.m.ashby@faa.gov
Address
Federal Aviation Administration
ANM Regional HR Services Branch
2200 S. 216th St.
AHF-N210
Des Moines, WA 98198
US

Next steps

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.


Note: We cannot accept applications on behalf of Federal Agencies. Application instructions are listed within the Job Description.


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