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Supervisory Aerospace Engineer

Department of Transportation
Federal Aviation Administration
Office of Commercial Space Transportation, Office of Operational Safety, Safety Authorization Div

Summary

Serves a Division Manager for the Safety Authorization Division within the Office of Commercial Space Transportation. The division carries out AST's responsibility to ensure public health and safety by licensing commercial space launches and reentries and operation of commercial (non-federal) launch and reentry sites.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
04/11/2026 to 04/15/2026
Salary
$112,283 - $173,980 per year

The salary listed above does not include locality. Locality will be determined based on the duty location of the selectee.

Pay scale & grade
FV K
Locations
1 vacancy in the following locations:
Washington, DC
Cape Canaveral AFS, FL
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
Yes— - Fixed Rate PCS - Permanent Change of Station (Current Federal Employee) - In accordance with applicable FAA Travel regulations, a fixed relocation payment of $5,000 will be paid. Relocation expenses paid are subject to applicable taxes.
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Excepted
Promotion potential
NA
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
Yes
Security clearance
Top Secret
Drug test
Yes
Announcement number
AWA-ASA-26-3157JC-98084
Control number
864770000

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

Open to current permanent FAA employees

Duties

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In support of the license review and issuance, the division is responsible for conducting and coordinating the various components required which includes the environmental compliance documents in accordance with NEPA; airspace integration issues; policy and payload reviews, and coordination with the other divisions in ASA to assure completion of the safety analysis needed for the license issuance and operational use. This division also issues experimental permits for developmental reusable suborbital rockets and safety approvals for launch vehicles, reentry vehicles, safety systems, processes, services, and/or components for commercial launch operations and personnel performing functions related to licensed/permitted launch activities.

Typically directs the work of subordinate employees and/or managers for more than one organizational unit/project/program within a major subdivision. Work usually includes a mixture of routine and complex projects/programs based on the objectives of the major subdivision/LOB/SO.

Managerial duties typically affect employees and managers in more than one organizational unit/project/program, and include: planning; communicating the organization's vision and objectives; setting priorities; assigning tasks and responsibilities; monitoring and evaluating performance; coaching and developing employee capabilities; approving leave; and taking, recommending or approving corrective/disciplinary actions as appropriate.

Contacts are primarily within the organizational unit, major subdivision and the LOB/SO with subordinates, peers, and higher level managers to discuss the status of projects/programs and to plan for the future. Has authority to make commitments for subordinate organizational units, within guidelines. Maintains effective communication with all stakeholders and builds cooperative, ongoing working relationships with them to achieve organizational objectives.

The incumbent will collaborate with all levels of management, including senior level executives and program sponsors/owners to solicit and provide input, coordinate approvals, measure and report progress, and facilitate stakeholder involvement. Defines, plans, and organizes assigned budget, staff, and other resources to accomplish objectives for more than one organizational unit/project/program.

Applies an advanced knowledge of the technical aspects of the appropriate specialization as well as expert knowledge of FAA programs and missions, the commercial space transportation industry, the general principles of launch/reentry safety, and Federal laws, regulations, and policies governing launch/reentry safety. Evaluates new and emerging technologies to ensure public safety. Applies an advanced knowledge of budget, human resource, and other administrative policies and procedures, and an advanced understanding of the objectives of the major subdivision.

Work is typically governed by established policies, procedures, and organizational objectives that frequently leave room for discretion. Resolves all but unique problems without the intervention of higher level management. Regularly called upon to identify problem areas and to develop and recommend new policies and procedures for resolution.

Individual and organizational performance is typically reviewed periodically by higher level management, usually through status reports and organizational performance measures. Has discretion to ensure the alignment of projects/programs with the tactical (short-term) objectives of the major subdivision. Work activities typically impact directly on project/program objectives for more than one organizational unit and for the major subdivision. Work frequently affects the major subdivision's internal and external customers.

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).
  • Designated or Random Drug Testing required.
  • This position has a positive education requirement. Transcript(s) required.

Qualifications

IN ADDITION TO MEETING THE BASIC EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS BELOW:

To qualify for this position, you must demonstrate in your application that you possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the FV-J, FG/GS-14 level. This experience is typically related to the line of work of the position to be filled and which has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been at least equivalent to the next lower level in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE STATEMENT:

Experience with launch vehicles, launch sites, and launch operations, and the ability to define and resolve sensitive issues and complex problems affecting the regulation and licensing of commercial space transportation activities.

Experience with advanced principles, concepts, methods, and techniques utilized in environmental, safety, or regulatory analysis in order to evaluate commercial launch activities with particular emphasis on processes and systems that primarily affect public health and safety.

You should include relevant examples of the specialized experience in your work history. Errors or omissions may impact your rating or may result in you not being considered.

Answer all questions to the best of your ability. DO NOT ASSUME THAT BECAUSE YOU HOLD, OR HAVE HELD THIS POSITION, YOU WILL AUTOMATICALLY BE FOUND ELIGIBLE. You may be asked to provide evidence or documentation that you have this type of experience later in the selection process. Your responses are subject to verification through job interviews, or any other information obtained during the application process. Any exaggeration of your experience or any attempt to conceal information can result in disqualification.

*Applicants who fail to demonstrate possession of any of the above criteria AND who do not provide the required documentation will receive no further consideration for this position.*

Applicants may be asked to verify information on your application for employment with the FAA.

**All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this vacancy announcement.**

Eligible applicants meeting the minimum qualification requirements and/or selective placement factor(s) (SPF) may be further evaluated on the Leadership & Management Dimensions and/or Technical Requirements listed in the announcement. Based on this evaluation, applicants will be placed in one of the following categories: (1) score order; (2) category grouping; or (3) alphabetical; or (4) priority grouping referred to the selecting official for selection consideration.

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.

Basic Requirements:

A. Degree: Engineering. To be acceptable, the program must: (1) lead to a bachelor’s degree in a school of engineering with at least one program accredited by ABET; 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); and (g) any other comparable area of fundamental engineering science or physics, such as optics, heat transfer, soil mechanics, or electronics.

OR

B. 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 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:

1. Professional registration or licensure -- Current registration as an Engineer Intern (EI), Engineer in Training (EIT)1 , or licensure as a Professional Engineer (PE) by any State, the District of Columbia, Guam, or Puerto Rico. Absent other means of qualifying under this standard, those applicants who achieved such registration by means other than written test (e.g., State grandfather or eminence provisions) are eligible only for positions that are within or closely related to the specialty field of their registration. For example, an applicant who attains registration through a State Board's eminence provision as a manufacturing engineer typically would be rated eligible only for manufacturing engineering positions.

2. Written Test -- Evidence of having successfully passed the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE)2 examination or any other written test required for professional registration by an engineering licensure board in the various States, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico.

3. Specified academic courses -- Successful completion of at least 60 semester hours of courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences and that included the courses specified in the basic requirements under paragraph A. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of an engineering program as described in paragraph A.

4. Related curriculum -- Successful completion of a curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree in an appropriate scientific field, e.g., engineering technology, physics, chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics, hydrology, or geology, may be accepted in lieu of a bachelor’s degree in engineering, provided the applicant has had at least 1 year of professional engineering experience acquired under professional engineering supervision and guidance. Ordinarily there should be either an established plan of intensive training to develop professional engineering competence, or several years of prior professional engineering-type experience, e.g., in interdisciplinary positions. (The above examples of related curricula are not all inclusive.)

Note: An applicant who meets the basic requirements as specified in A or B above, except as noted under B.1., may qualify for positions in any branch of engineering unless selective factors

· If you are a current or former Federal employee, and you currently hold or previously held a position classified in the 0861 occupational series, you are not required to submit a college transcript provided you upload a copy of the SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, verifying your classification in the 0861 occupational series.

· Applicants, who are not currently in the 0861 occupational series in the Federal Government and fail to provide a copy of an unofficial or official transcript will not receive further consideration for this vacancy. Upon selection, if not currently employed in the 0861 occupational series, you will be required to submit an official transcript prior to appointment. If you do not have an official transcript (original, with the raised seal), you should contact your school immediately to request it. Foreign Education: For additional information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html

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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

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.

NOTES:

1. https://www.faa.gov/jobs/working_here/benefits.This position is covered by the FAA Core Compensation plan. Additional information about Core Compensation is available at:

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 Managerial Selection Factor.2.

In lieu of providing a narrative response in the text box listed below each Managerial Selection Factor, in your work history, please include information that provides specific examples of how you meet the response level or answer you chose for each. Your work history examples should be specific and clearly reflect the highest level of ability. Your 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.

Unless previously completed, the incumbent must satisfactorily complete a 1-year probationary period to remain in this supervisory or managerial position.3.

4. Some, all, or none of the applicants may be interviewed.

5. This Level 3 (Critical-Sensitive; Top Secret) position requires favorable adjudication of a Single Scope Background Investigation (SSBI) background investigation prior to appointment, unless a waiver is obtained.

This is not a bargaining unit position.

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.

Federal Aviation Administration

At the FAA, the sky is not the limit—it is just the beginning. Exciting new opportunities are emerging in aviation and aerospace. Significant investments are advancing the research and development of autonomous vehicles, environmentally friendly electric aircraft, high-speed and long-endurance solar-powered aircraft, and new types of space vehicles. Success with these new technologies and vehicle types will introduce new ways to transport people and goods expanding aviation's footprint in transportation. People are our strength. We are a diverse workforce of over 44,000 located nationwide and spanning over 120 occupations to include air traffic control specialists, aviation safety inspectors, engineers, scientists, technicians, and business professionals. Join us in our mission to provide the safest, most efficient aerospace system in the world.

Agency contact information

Jeneise Campbell
Phone
1 (202) 267-8871
Fax
1 (202) 267-7032
Email
jeneise.l.campbell@faa.gov
Address
Federal Aviation Administration
HQ Employment Services Branch
800 Independence Ave, SW, Room 523
AHF-110
Washington, DC 20591
US

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