Aviation Safety Inspector (Airworthiness) Maintenance - CTAP/ICTAP

Clarification from the agency

Open only to surplus & displaced individuals eligible under the Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and VEOA eligibles.

As an Aviation Safety Inspector (Airworthiness) Maintenance, your duties will include but are not limited to the following:

• Lead or conduct surveillance and inspections of diverse types of fixed and rotary-wing aircraft and ancillary equipment to ensure maintenance and safety compliance with contract requirements.
• Serve as the Zone Manager, responsible for planning, supervising, and coordinating a team of inspectors to evaluate the DOI fleet aircraft, contractor aircraft and cooperating federal, state, and local agency aviation operations.
• Coordinate review of vendor records and reports of aircraft and ancillary equipment and facilities.
• Serve as the point-of-contact for coordinating with other Wildland Fire Service authorized inspectors, the U.S. Forest Service and applicable DOI Bureau personnel to conduct the required inspections.
• Identify and resolve technical problems related to safety and adequacy of operations, operation policy/procedures, qualifications and proficiency of pilots, training deficiencies, suitability of aircraft for missions performed, efficient utilization of equipment, technical condition of aircraft and special equipment, and proper upkeep of flight logs and maintenance records.
• Independently conduct periodic scheduled and unscheduled inspections to determine the contractor's continued compliance with the requirements of the contract.
• Physical Demands: The employee spends a significant amount of time in the field conducting aircraft and ancillary equipment maintenance inspections, performing spot investigations, and providing technical support in accident/incident investigations. Inspection work requires considerable standing, bending, climbing on aircraft and ladders, walking, stooping, and reaching into confined spaces.
• Working Conditions: Work in the field may involve exposure to fumes such as jet fuel, diesel, and aviation lubricants; exposure to loud noise; and exposure to outside elements such as rain, snow, extreme heat and cold. Ear protection is required when working in and around loud noises. The employee is required to travel in light aircraft, automobiles, or on commercial airlines to perform work in the field. Extensive travel is required and may occur at different times throughout the year.

Conditions of employment

• Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
• Suitability for Federal employment, as determined by background investigation.
• Direct Deposit Required.
• You will be required to submit to a drug test and receive a negative drug test result prior to appointment. In addition, this position is subject to random testing for illegal drug use.
• This position requires the incumbent to operate a government (or private) motor vehicle as part of their official duties. Selectee must hold and maintain a valid state driver's license throughout their employment in this position.
• A condition of employment for accepting this position, you MAY be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest will be evaluated.
• Individuals assigned male at birth after 12-31-59 must be registered for the Selective Service. To verify registration visit www.SSS.gov.
• You must be 18 years of age or older to be assigned to a hazardous position.
• Selectees will be expected to travel in (not pilot) a small single-engine aircraft.
• You may be required to work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and shift work.
• You may be required to travel overnight away from home several nights per month. You must obtain a government charge card for travel purposes.
• You may be required to complete training and obtain/maintain a government charge card with travel and/or purchase authority.

Qualifications

In order to qualify for this position you must possess the Minimum Qualification requirements listed below.

To receive credit for experience, your resume MUST state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience. Failure to adequately provide information needed to determine number of hours worked in each position may result in that time not being credited when evaluating qualifying experience. For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the full and/or part-time hours requirement as the service dates will be reflected.

Minimum Qualification Requirements:

To qualify for this position, you must meet ALL requirements listed within each section: (A) General Requirements, (B) Medical Requirements, (C) General Aviation Requirements, (D) Selective Factors, and (E) Specialized Experience.

(A) General Requirements for All Positions:

1. Not more than two separate incidents involving Federal aviation regulations violations in the last 5 years;
2. Valid State driver's license;
3. Fluency in the English language;
4. No chemical dependencies or drug abuse that could interfere with job performance; and
5. High school diploma or equivalent.

(B) Medical Requirements for All Positions:
Applicants must be physically able to perform the duties of the Aviation Safety Inspector position in a safe and efficient manner, and must meet all of the following requirements:

1. Have good distant vision in each eye and be able to read printed materials the size of typewritten characters (glasses and contact lenses permitted) without strain;
2. Have the ability to hear the conversational voice (hearing aid permitted);
3. Not have any physical condition that would cause them to be a hazard to themselves or others or that would interfere with their ability to fly as passengers in a variety of aircraft.

(C) General Aviation Maintenance Requirements:
In addition to the above, applicants must also possess the general aviation maintenance minimum qualification requirements:

1. Experience involving the maintenance and repair of airframes, power plants, and aircraft systems with responsibility for certifying airworthiness.
2. Maintenance experience with aircraft 12,500 pounds or less maximum certificated takeoff weight.
3. Aircraft maintenance experience in a repair station; air carrier or airline repair facility; military repair facility; or local, state or Federal governmental agency.
4. Aircraft maintenance work experience within the last 3 years.
5. FAA Mechanic Certificate with airframe and power plant ratings.

(D) Selective Factors:

1. Must possess a current FAA Mechanic Certificate with Airframe and Powerplant Ratings (A&P) with Inspection Authorization (IA) certifications.

(E) Specialized Experience:
To qualify for the GS-12, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service. Specialized experience is experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. You must meet ALL specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience:

1. Performing the inspection, maintenance and repair of airframes, powerplants and aircraft systems with responsibility of certifying airworthiness;
2. Performing maintenance inspections of diverse types of rotary wing aircraft and ancillary equipment to ensure quality of maintenance and safety compliance with Federal Aviation Regulations; and
3. Advising management and teammates on a wide range of aviation subjects.
4. Must have 3 years of documented experience within the last 6 years actively maintaining and repairing certificated aircraft as a FAA certificated A&P mechanic in a CFR 14 part 145, part 135, or part 91 aviation operation, or for a local, state, or federal agency, in addition to any military repair facility experience. - OR - Must have documented experience serving as an authorized aircraft inspector for a state or federal government agency responsible for issuing approval or disapproval documentation (carding) for FAA certificated small aircraft (12,500 lbs. or below).

To qualify for the GS-13, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-12 grade level in the Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service. Specialized experience is experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. You must meet ALL specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience:

1. Performing the inspection, maintenance and repair of airframes, powerplants and aircraft systems with responsibility of certifying airworthiness;
2. Providing oversight of maintenance inspections of diverse types of rotary wing and fixed wing aircraft and ancillary equipment to ensure quality of maintenance and safety compliance with Federal Aviation Regulations;
3. Advising management and teammates on a wide range of aviation subjects; and
4. Possesses at least 3 seasons experience maintaining and inspecting aircraft in an austere field environment (field environment is defined as: on-site aircraft maintenance conducted away from main base of operations in terrain such as mountainous, desert, forest, rural, remote or other unimproved areas, in support of resource aircraft operations).
5. Must have 3 years of documented experience within the last 6 years actively maintaining and repairing certificated aircraft as a FAA certificated A&P mechanic in a CFR 14 part 145, part 135, or part 91 aviation operation, or for a local, state, or federal agency, in addition to any military repair facility experience. - OR - Must have documented experience serving as an authorized aircraft inspector for a state or federal government agency responsible for issuing approval or disapproval documentation (carding) for FAA certificated small aircraft (12,500 lbs. or below).

Note: You are required to provide documentation in your resume that you meet all of the requirements outlined above and experience claimed in your application. Failure to provide support in your resume that you meet the requirements outlined above and claimed experience may result in disqualification from consideration for this position.

Volunteer Experience: Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

How you will be evaluated

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

***Probationary Period Information continued...
Under applicable law, the employment of an individual serving a probationary or trial period automatically terminates when that period ends unless the agency affirmatively certifies, in writing, that the individual's employment should continue and that their appointment should be finalized. In the absence of agency action to affirmatively certify continued employment beyond the probationary or trial period, such appointments are terminated. Upon completion of your [probationary period -OR- trial period] your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.
***End of Probationary Period Information

Resumes must not exceed two single-sided pages and resumes longer than two pages will not be accepted. The minimum font size is 10-point for all body text. Headers may be slightly larger but must remain legible. All resumes must maintain a minimum 0.5-inch margins on all sides to ensure readability and prevent excessive content compression. Including supplemental pages or attachments disguised as resume extensions are prohibited and will not be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications.

You will be evaluated based on how your application materials reflect the minimum qualification requirements of this position. Once the job opportunity announcement closes, your resume and all supporting documents will be reviewed by HR to determine if you are minimally qualified for the position. If an applicant's resume is incomplete or does not support the requirements for minimum qualifications or specialized experience a rating of "ineligible" or "not qualified" will be applied and no consideration for employment will be granted.

You will be evaluated on the following competencies:

• Aircraft Maintenance - Knowledge of aircraft engines, parts, and systems, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
• Compliance Inspection - Knowledge of the guidelines, regulations, and procedures associated with compliance inquiries, including application of compliance rules and criteria and ability to make appropriate decisions and issue citations, fines, or orders.
• Interpersonal Skills - Shows understanding, friendliness, courtesy, tact, empathy, cooperation, concern, and politeness to others; relates well to different people from varied backgrounds and different situations.
• Technical Competence - Uses knowledge that is acquired through formal training or extensive on the job experience to perform one's job; works with, understands, and evaluates technical information related to the job; advises others on technical issues.

In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires successful completion of an additional assessment, which will be a panel resume review. These assessments measure the critical competencies listed above that are required to successfully perform the job.

*** How You Will Be Evaluated continued in Required Documents Section...

*** How You Will Be Evaluated continued...
Please submit 1) a copy of your most recent performance appraisal/evaluation and 2) a list of any awards (e.g. superior performance awards, special act or achievement awards, quality step increase, etc.) you received in the last 5 years. Any performance appraisal/evaluation and award documentation you provide will be forwarded to the selecting official. The selecting official will review this documentation and give it due weight consideration during the overall selection process.

If you do not have your most recent performance appraisal/evaluation, please submit a statement as to why it is not available. Please indicate if any prior performance appraisals/evaluations were at an acceptable level.

Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) Eligibles: View information about ICTAP eligibility on OPM's Career Transition Resources website. To be considered well qualified under ICTAP, you must be rated at a minimum score of 85.0 for this position. In addition, you must submit the supporting documents listed under the required documents section of this announcement.

Area of Consideration for this position refers to the ICTAP/CTAP hiring authority/eligibility and not the physical location of the position.
*** End of How You Will Be Evaluated

You must submit a complete application package. The following documents are required and must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 10/06/2026.

1) Resumes must show relevant experience and other information.Your resume MUST list your education and/or work experience including (1) the dates that include month/year (mm/yy) of each employment, along with (2) the number of hours worked per week, and (3) work experience duties listed under each job entry. If experience is for a career ladder position, please ensure to clearly show how long you were working in each grade level. Your resume will be used to validate your responses to the assessment tool(s). Failure to provide required information will result in loss of eligibility. No assumptions will be made about your experience and/or education. You are welcome to submit a cover letter.

Resumes must also include name and how to best contact you, including email address and phone number.

• Do not include the following types of information in your resume:

• Classified or government sensitive information

• Social Security Number (SSN)

• Photos of yourself

• Personal information, such as age, gender, religious affiliation, etc.

• Encrypted and digitally signed documents.

In describing your experience, please be clear and specific. Visit the USAJOBS Help Center for more information on What should I include in my federal resume and/or OPM Resume Writing Tips.

In addition to the online application (resume and responses to the questionnaire), you are required to submit the following supplemental documentation as applicable:

2)Documentation for Interagency/Career Transition Assistance Plan consideration if you are a displaced Federal employee within the local commuting area. You must include: 1) Proof you are a displaced Federal employee, e.g., RIF Separation Notice, Notice of Proposed Removal, etc; 2) SF-50s (Notifications of Personnel Action) showing career/conditional tenure competitive status, promotion potential and duty location; and 3) your most recent performance appraisal. To exercise selection priority, displaced or surplus Federal employees must be rated well-qualified or above 85 on the rating criteria for this position.

3) Selective Factors: Documentation that you meet ALL of the Selective Factors outlined in the Qualifications above.

4) Performance Appraisals and Awards:

• All applicants must submit their most recent performance appraisal showing the official rating of record and signed by a supervisor or, if one is unavailable, a statement as to why it is not available (including if any prior performance appraisals/evaluations were at an acceptable level).
• Failure to submit any of the above mentioned required documents will result in loss of consideration due to an incomplete application package. It is your responsibility to ensure all required documents have been submitted

5) Complete ALL required assessments.

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