Clarification from the agency

Applications will be accepted from any U.S. Citizen. DIRECT HIRING AUTHORITY will be used to fill this position. Veteran's preference and traditional rating and ranking of applications do not apply. All qualified applicants will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration for this position.

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As a Wildland Firefighter (Aviation) your duties will include but are not limited to the following:

• Manages the interagency Air Attack program within the assigned Geographic Area (GA) boundaries by ensuring only qualified Air Attack are working in the GA; coordinates movement of Air Attack and trainees within the GA.

• Analyzes costs and capabilities of aerial supervision and other firefighting aircraft (air tankers and helicopters) to provide recommendations on most efficient use of resources for the GA.
• Performs flight crewmember duties including mission/flight checklists, navigation, hazard identification, risk mitigation, and other duties as required.
• Coordinates incident airspace, manages incident air traffic, and is the link between ground personnel and incident aircraft. Coordinates, assigns, and evaluates the use of aerial resources in support of incident objectives.
• Develops training plans, courses, course aids and coordinate a training and currency program for qualified Air Attack and trainees on an interagency basis at the unit, state/regional or national level.

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.

Selectees must pass a pre-employment medical examination and may be subject to post-employment medical examinations to determine if they are maintaining the fitness standards for this position.

A condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a [1-year probationary period OR 2-year trial 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 SSS.gov.

You must be 18 years of age or older to be assigned to a hazardous position.

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 up to 75%. You must obtain a government charge card for travel purposes.

Qualifications

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

Only experience and education obtained by 08/06/2026 will be considered.

Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. Please be sure to include this information in your resume. No assumptions will be made about your experience.

Minimum Qualification GW-11

For the GW-11 level:

At least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS/GW-09 level, or higher, in the Federal service, or equivalent, which includes all of the following: Examples of specialized experience include: Managing or supporting an interagency Air Attack or aerial supervision program; coordinating incident airspace and directing tactical aircraft operations during wildland fire incidents; applying Crew Resource Management (CRM) and aviation safety practices to mitigate risks during aerial operations; conducting or developing Air Attack training, evaluations, or refresher programs; reviewing aviation safety reports (such as SAFECOMs) and recommending corrective actions; collaborating with federal, tribal, state, local, and contractor partners on aviation operations; and providing technical guidance regarding aircraft capabilities, aerial supervision standards, or aviation policy.

OR

At least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS/GW-10 level, or higher, outside of the Federal service; Examples of specialized experience include: Managing or supporting an Air Attack or aerial supervision program; coordinating incident airspace and directing tactical aircraft operations during wildland fire incidents; applying Crew Resource Management (CRM) and aviation safety practices to mitigate risks during aerial operations; conducting or developing Air Attack training, evaluations, or refresher programs; reviewing aviation safety reports (such as SAFECOMs) and recommending corrective actions; collaborating with federal, tribal, state, local, and contractor partners on aviation operations; and providing technical guidance regarding aircraft capabilities, aerial supervision standards, or aviation policy.

Applicants must have documented prior primary firefighting experience, with substantial service defined as either:

• At least one full fire season working in a primary wildland firefighting role (e.g., Engine Crew, Fire Effects Crew, Prescribed Fire/Fuels Crew, Hand Crew, Helitack Crew, Hotshot Crew, Smokejumper, Wildland Fire Modules or Fire Suppression Crews, etc.) with a federal, state, tribal, local, or private-sector organization; - OR -

• At least 14-days of on-the-ground fireline experience (cumulative or consecutive).

Prior primary wildland fire experience must be clearly documented in your resume. Note: an IQCS Master Record or equivalent document will not be used to determine or calculate prior primary wildland fire experience eligibility for this requirement.

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.

*Applicants must meet all minimum qualification requirements for the position of interest by the closing date of the Job Announcement.

Secondary Firefighter Retirement Coverage - Applicants for this secondary administrative fire fighter position under the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 8336 (c) (CSRS) and 5 U.S.C. 8412 (d), must possess knowledge of the principles, methods, and techniques of wildland firefighting as demonstrated by direct wildland firefighting experience. In order to receive credit, you must provide a written description of your experience in wildland firefighting. Education without hands-on wildland firefighting experience does not meet this requirement. Periods of wildland firefighting experience, gained through militia and rural fire departments, can also be credited. Wildland fire is defined as any non-structure fire that occurs in the wildland. Two distinct types of wildland fire have been defined and include wildfire and prescribed fires as follows: Wildfire: Unplanned ignitions or prescribed fires that are declared wildfires. Prescribed Fires: Planned ignitions. This description includes only fire line experience on a Prescribed Fire; it does not include experience in the planning stages. Prescribed fire experience must be supplemented by fire suppression experience in order to be creditable as previous wildland firefighting experience.

Physical Demands: Air Attack work has significant physical demands with the requirement for a high degree of focus during tactical flight operations. The work requires long, and irregular hours and frequent travel is required for training and fire assignments. Air Attack flight assignments require considerable time spent in cramped spaces, turbulent atmospheric conditions, high noise levels while receiving or sending multiple radio transmissions and performing other aircrew tasks which require significant physical demands. Other assignments are sedentary in nature.

Working Conditions: Air Attack in-flight work is performed enroute, over, and returning from fire assignments or other emergencies. Risks and discomforts involved are those of air travel compounded by required flight in dense smoke, turbulent air, over mountainous terrain, and in high-density air traffic (with and without radar control). Considerable emergency travel on short notice is common and considerable time is spent away from home base. Other assignments are performed in an office or classroom environment which involves minimal risk or discomfort and requires normal safety precautions.

How you will be evaluated

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

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. Due to this vacancy being filled through OPM's Direct Hire Authority, Veterans Preference and traditional rating and ranking of applicants does not apply to positions filled under this announcement. Applications received as a result of job fairs, recruitment events, and emergency hiring mechanisms in support of this hiring initiative will also be accepted during the duration of the announcement. All minimally qualified candidates will be referred for consideration. Please note that the hiring office may conduct interviews at their discretion. Interviews may be conducted on a pass/fail basis.

The competencies below provide an overview of what this position entails once encumbered:

• Knowledge of wildland fire behavior and incident management.
• Knowledge of aviation and Air Attack doctrine.
• Ability to manage and evaluate an Air Attack program.
• Ability to direct and coordinate aerial tactical operations.
• Ability to lead training, evaluations, and aviation safety programs.