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Aviation Safety Inspector (AW-ACV)(PAI)

Department of Transportation
Federal Aviation Administration
Office of Air Carrier Safety Assurance, Air Carrier Division B, DFW CMO, SWCM60

Summary

The Principal Avionics Inspector (PAI) is responsible for recommending new and amended 14 CFR for the development and implementation of standards, programs, and procedures for FAA field personnel and the public governing all matters to air carrier avionics safety issues.

The duty location for this position will be either Clermontville, OH or Irving, TX

Overview

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Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
01/21/2026 to 02/10/2026
Salary
$107,446 to - $139,684 per year

The salary range is base pay only. Locality pay will be added upon selection and determination of duty location.

Pay scale & grade
FG 14
Locations
1 vacancy in the following locations:
Clermontville, OH
Irving, TX
Telework eligible
Yes—Situational telework may be permitted in accordance with agency policy.
Travel Required
25% or less - The job may require up to 25% travel.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Excepted
Promotion potential
NA
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Bargaining unit status
Yes - This position is represented by PASS: Flight Standards Services.
Announcement number
AAL-AVS-26-AKWL-97019
Control number
854953100

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

Open to current permanent FAA employees in AVS/AMA 200

Duties

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Receives administrative direction from management in terms of broadly defined missions or functions. Independently plans, designs, and carries out programs, projects, studies, or other work. Provides policy assistance to field level Aviation Safety Inspectors (ASIs) on difficult or complex policy interpretations.

Advises other inspectors of major changes in the operation of the aircraft; standardizes procedures and judgments used by inspectors to evaluate the operation of the aircraft; evaluates new training methods and equipment for initial certification; serves on national boards that determine the minimum equipment necessary to operate a particular type of aircraft safely; and serves on boards that evaluate incidents, accidents, complaints, and other serious problems relating to the aircraft. Develops plans to resolve problems.

Performs regulatory surveillance of air carrier activities, exercises certificate authority over a major air carrier with very extensive and complex avionics. Analyzes flight involving large fleets of turbojet aircraft engaged in large-scale passenger and freight service; or evaluates maintenance activities and complete aircraft overhaul facilities which are equipped and staffed to handle the latest and most sophisticated turbojet aircraft and associated systems. This level includes responsibility for national and international prominent carriers who operate the largest, most advanced fleets of turbojet aircraft in the industry.

Exercises certificate authority and safety responsibility over a complex of broad and varied major air carriers in terms of size and complexity of aircraft fleet employed, scope and technical complexity of operations, management sophistication, industry leadership, and public impact.

Evaluate flight avionics programs for organizations which utilize complex aircraft, systems, and equipment. Exercises originality to resolve unique problems.

Plans and directs the use of time and resources to accomplish organizational objectives. Defines, organizes, and uses resources to accomplish work activities within established schedules, analyzes program requirements and accomplishments, and makes or directs adjustments as necessary to address organizational needs.

Provides guidance to field level staff to solve difficult technical issues. Resolves problems with the intervention of management or a more experienced technical specialist. Develop plans, techniques, and policies to address current and anticipated problems and issues. Works with management to solve problems.

Occasionally represents the agency as a point of contact for policy development, inspection activities or as a technical trainer/instructor delivering formal training.

Provides staff assistance and serves as advisor to the manager on all matters pertaining to assigned tasking. Assists Safety Assurance ASIs, aviation safety technicians, and others on queries that are technical or guidance related.

Assists in the preparation of highly technical and high priority correspondence to the aviation industry, other governmental agencies, members of Congress, and the general public. Assures that correspondence is properly coordinated, technically and grammatically accurate, clear and concise, and that it reflects the philosophy, policies, and objectives of the Branch, Division, Service, and the FAA.

Performs other duties as required.

Requirements

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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 is designated as Moderate Risk; a background investigation may be needed.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet the Office of Personnel Management Qualification Standards:

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.

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, with or without a reasonable accommodation.The minimum medical requirements include the following requirements:

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

In addition, applicants for positions that require participation in the operation of the aircraft must:

  1. Possess a valid second – class medical certificate in accordance with FAA regulations; and
  2. Pass recurrent medical examinations as prescribed by the FAA.

Applicants not requiring valid second-class medical certificates who are tentatively selected will be required to:

  1. Provide documentation from a board-certified physician certifying that they meet the minimal medical requirements; or
  2. Individuals who do not meet the minimum medical requirements but who are otherwise qualified will receive an individualized assessment to determine whether they can perform the essential functions of the position.

When the predominant work involves air carrier avionics, applicants for Aviation Safety Inspector (Airworthiness) positions must meet all of the following requirements.

  1. Aircraft avionics experience involving the maintenance, repair, and troubleshooting of installed avionics systems on aircraft.
  2. Avionics maintenance experience on aircraft of more than 12,500 pounds maximum certificated takeoff weight.
  3. Aircraft avionics work experience (which could include supervision or auditing) in a repair station; air carrier repair facility; military repair facility; or local, state, or Federal governmental agency within the last 3 years.

To qualify for this position, you must demonstrate in your application that you possess at least one year of experience equivalent to FV-I, FG/GS-13 grade 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 defined as: Assisting, conducting or performing various technical functions related to certification, surveillance, investigation and compliance recommendation of avionics activities on FAR Part 121 air carriers/air operators.

Note: Recency of specialized experience is waived for employees currently in the 1825 series.

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

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

Errors or omissions may impact your rating or may result in you not being considered for the job.

Education

Education is not qualifying for this position and may not be substituted for experience.

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 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 choose 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. Your answers may be adjusted by a Human Resources 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.

Eligible applicants meeting the minimum qualifications will be placed in alphabetical order and referred to the selecting official for consideration.

In-grade/Downgrade applications will be accepted.

If the Agency decides to interview any qualified employee on the selection list, then all on the list who are qualified must be interviewed. If the selection list is shortened to a best qualified list through a comparative process, then the best qualified list shall be considered to be the selection list.

Links to Important Information: Locality Pay, COLA

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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.

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