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Wildland Firefighter (Smokejumper) (Detail/Temporary Promotion)

Department of the Interior
Office of the Secretary of the Interior
U.S. Wildland Fire Service (USWFS)

Summary

This Wildland Firefighter (Smokejumper), GW-0456-05/06 position is with the US Wildland Fire Service, working in the following location(s):

  • Boise, ID
  • Fairbanks, AK
For information on Boise Smokejumpers, visit their website.
For information on Fairbanks Smokejumpers, visit their website.

PLEASE SEE ALASKA PAY DIFFERENTIAL IN "Additional Information" Section

Overview

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Accepting applications
Location
many vacancies in the following locations:
Work site options
Telework eligible
No
Remote job
No
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Salary
$52,957 - $74,970 per year

See "Additional Information" for further details.

Pay scale & grade
GW 5 - 6
Promotion potential
6
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Work schedule
Full-time
Travel Required
76% or greater - You may be expected to travel for this position. Extensive travel will be required during peak fire activity.
Appointment type
Multiple - This is a Detail/Temporary Promotion not to exceed 6 months (may be extended based on agency needs). May be made permanent without further competition.
Occupations and job series
Supervisory status
No
Federal service type
This job is in the Competitive Service
Represented by a union
No
Drug test
Yes
Security clearance
Not Required
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job.
Background check type
Financial disclosure required
No
Some jobs require financial disclosure to identify conflicts of interests.
Announcement number
WFSMP-26-13016114-AE-H
Control number
878951300

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Duties

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As a Wildland Firefighter (Smokejumper) (Detail/Temporary Promotion) your duties will include but are not limited to the following:

  • Incumbent parachutes into rugged terrain and performs fire suppression and related duties.
  • Incumbent maintains smokejumper and firefighting equipment, tools, and supplies.
  • Repairs, packs and maintains parachutes and related equipment.
  • As a fire crew member or Initial Attack Commander incumbent utilizes fire behavior knowledge and firefighting experience to perform wildland fire suppression and prescribed fire operations safely and effectively in accordance with identified appropriate management response.
  • May direct fire line activities and tactics for firefighters, equipment, aircraft and other resources.

Requirements

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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.

You must also pass the work capacity test for arduous positions.

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 will 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 SSS.gov.

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

Must meet the maximum age requirement. See qualifications section for more information.

This position requires regular and recurring overtime and shift work during peak fire season.

You may be required to complete training and obtain/maintain a government charge card with travel and/or purchase authority.

Medical Requirements Please see the Department of Interior Medical Standards Program website for the Federal Interagency Wildland Firefighter Medical Standards for your position: http://www.nifc.gov/medical_standards/index.html

Physical Requirements Employment in this position is conditional upon your successful completion of the following smokejumper physical fitness performance tests: When you report for duty, you will be given a physical condition test. The test is given in one time period with a 5-minute break between exercises. The test consists of performing the following exercises:

  • 30 push-ups
  • 6 pull-ups
  • Run 1.5 miles in 10.47 minutes or less OR backpacking a 110-pound load three miles in less than 65 minutes.

Work Capacity Test at the Arduous Level: All arduous wildland firefighters must backpack a 45-pound load for three miles in 45 minutes or less.

Qualifications

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

Selective Placement Factor(s):
This position requires a special qualification that has been determined to be essential to perform the duties and will be used as a screen out element. Those who do not provide evidence they possess the following selective factor(s) will be rated not qualified.

This position is a Primary Firefighter position and is subject to a maximum entry age (MEA). The MEA is the date immediately preceding your 37th birthday. Applicants must not have reached age 37 at the time of appointment, unless proof is provided of prior Federal service in another primary covered position, or you are a preference eligible veteran. If you are a preference eligible veteran, you may be eligible for this position after your 37th birthday. You must supply a copy of your Defense Department Form 214 (DD-214) along with Standard Form 15 (if applicable) and any associated documentation in accordance with the instructions in this vacancy announcement. Failure to provide this documentation with your application may result in loss of consideration. Please refer to the Required Documents section for further guidance on what documentation is required to meet this requirement. If over the MEA and you are not a veteran, proof of prior covered service must be submitted prior to employment. Acceptable proof consists of SF-50s showing beginning and ending dates of covered/creditable appointments and copies of approved letters based on individual claims.

GW-0456-05 Selective Factors:

  1. Firefighter Type 1 (FFT1) - You must provide the required document as instructed in the 'Required Documents' section of this announcement.
GW-0456-06 Selective Factors:
  1. Prior smokejumping experience - This experience must be documented with specific dates in the resume.


If selected at the GW-05, you must meet the NWCG training requirements above for the GW-06 as a condition of employment before being eligible for promotion to the GW-06 grade level.

In addition to the requirements described above, the following additional experience is required.

Minimum Qualification

FOR TEMPORARY PROMOTION:
For the GW-05 level: One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GW/GS-04 level in the federal service. Examples of specialized experience include: Experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is directly related to the work of the position to be filled. Qualifying experience includes but is not limited to experience in forest and range land fire suppression and fuels mitigation as a member of a hand crew, helitack crew, engine crew or fire use module. Experience also includes instructing or leading firefighters with both fire and non-fire assignments.

-OR- Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study (120 semester hour or 180 quarter hours) leading to a bachelor's degree with a major study in Fire Science, Fire Technology or other related fields of study (e.g.: Forestry, Range Management, Agriculture, Fire suppression and Prevention). Transcripts must be attached to application package if qualifying based on education.

-OR- An equivalent combination of experience and education. Transcripts must be attached to application package.

For the GW-06 level: One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GW/GS-05 level in the federal service. Examples of specialized experience include: Experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is directly related to the work of the position to be filled. Qualifying experience includes but is not limited to experience in forest and range land fire suppression and fuels mitigation as a member of a hand crew, helitack crew, engine crew or fire use module. Experience also includes instructing or leading firefighters with both fire and non-fire assignments and includes experience as a qualified smokejumper using Ram-Air parachutes

IMPORTANT - PLEASE NOTE: There is not an option to qualify for the 0456 series utilizing education at this grade level.

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.

FOR DETAIL:
There are no qualification requirements for a detail assignment. However, employees must meet any positive education/licensure requirements in order to be detailed to positions with these requirements. Detail assignments do not include additional compensation, and the selectee will not earn time-in-grade at the higher grade level.

Employees who currently hold a position at the advertised grade level or higher, will be placed on a detail at the grade level advertised. If selected, the applicant will not receive an increase or decrease in pay; however, Request for Personnel Action (SF-52) will be completed and placed in their e-OPF as documentation of holding this position.

Only experience and education obtained by 09/25/2026 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.

You must meet all qualification and selective placement factor requirements by the closing date of the announcement.

This position is covered by the special retirement provisions of 5 U.S.C. 8336 (c) and 5 U.S.C. 8412 (d) as a Primary/Rigorous Firefighter. Applicants must be 18 years of age, but not have reached their 37th birthday by the closing date of this announcement. These positions are covered by the special enhanced annuity retirement provisions for Federal Firefighters and Law Enforcement officers and have a mandatory retirement age of 57. Two exceptions are allowed: 1) an applicant has prior Federal service in documented special retirement covered position(s) sufficient to count toward 20 years of covered service on or before the mandatory retirement age of 57; or 2) an applicant is a qualified veterans' preference eligible, in which case the MEA is waived and their corresponding retirement age may be higher than 57 after completing 20 years of service. Applicants must submit proof of their previous and/or current status in the Fire Fighter or Law Enforcement special enhanced annuity retirement system.

Physical Demands: The incumbent must be able to work under extreme physical exertion regularly working 16-hour shifts or longer on the fireline. Work on the fireline requires considerable strenuous physical exertion.

Working Conditions: The majority of work is performed outdoors in a wide variety of weather and terrain conditions or in a crowded airplane.

Eligibility and Qualification Requirements: Applicants must meet both eligibility and qualification requirements for the position of interest by the closing date of the Job Announcement. Specifically,
i. Area of Consideration.
ii. Time-in-grade (TIG) requirements as specified in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F.
iii. Time after competitive appointment as specified in 5 CFR 330.502.
iv. Qualification requirements outlined in OPM's Qualifications Standards for General Schedule Positions.

Education

PROOF OF EDUCATION:
All applicants who are using education or a combination of education and experience to qualify must submit copies of official or unofficial transcripts which include grades, credit hours earned, major(s), grade point average or class ranking, institution name, and student name.
If any required coursework is not easily recognizable on transcripts, or if you believe a portion of a particular course can be credited toward meeting an educational requirement, you must also provide a memorandum on letterhead from the institution's registrar, dean, or other appropriate official stating the percentage of the course that should be considered to meet the requirement and the equivalent number of units. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable; however, if you are selected for the position, you will be required to produce the original official transcripts.

PASS/FAIL COURSES:
If more than 10 percent of your undergraduate course work (credit hours) were taken on a pass/fail basis, your claim of superior academic achievement must be based upon class standing or membership in an honor society.

GRADUATE EDUCATION:
One academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credits hours your graduate school has determined to represent one academic year of full-time study. Such study may have been performed on a full-time or part-time basis. If you cannot obtain your graduate school's definition of one year of graduate study, 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) should be considered as satisfying the requirement for one year of full-time graduate study.

FOREIGN EDUCATION:
If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: Recognition of Foreign Qualifications | International Affairs Office (ed.gov).

Additional information

In addition to the base salary including 32.36% locality pay, you will receive a 1.49% cost of living allowance for Fairbanks, AK. This allowance is subject to annual review, adjustment, and gradual decrease.

Pay scale for Alaska: $59,878 to $91,974

Housing is available but not required in Fairbanks, AK.

The new Special Base Rate (SBR) Salary Table for Federal wildland firefighters, General Wildland Firefighter (GW) pay plan effective March 23, 2025 was used to indicate the salary in this announcement. Salaries may vary dependent upon location selected. You can access the new pay schedule here.

If eligible and qualified, you may be offered a recruitment or relocation incentive. The decision to offer an incentive will be made on a case-by-case basis and is neither promised nor guaranteed.

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): Department of Interior (DOI) Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) procedures apply in filling this vacancy. These programs apply to employees who have been involuntarily separated from a federal service position within the competitive service or Federal service employees whose positions have been deemed surplus or no longer needed. To receive selection priority for this position, you must: (1) meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria; (2) be rated well-qualified (i.e., meet the minimum qualification requirements, including any selective placement factors; education, and experience requirements) for the position with a score of 85 or above on the assessment questionnaire, and be able to perform the duties of the position upon entry. Applicants claiming CTAP/ICTAP eligibility must submit a copy of their most recent performance appraisal, proof of eligibility, and most current SF-50 noting position, grade level, and duty location with their application. For more information visit: http://www.opm.gov/rif/employee_guides/career_transition.asp.

Reemployment Priority List (RPL): The RPL is the mechanism agencies use to give reemployment consideration to their former competitive service employees separated by a RIF or who have fully recovered from a compensable injury after more than one year. If you are currently on an RPL, you may be given priority consideration.

Probation/Trial Period Con't:
The [probationary or trial] period is an extension of the appointment process and therefore requires the agency to determine if continued employment would advance the public interest, meet the organization goals and mission of the agency, and/or otherwise promote the efficiency of the service. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, the agency will consider:
- your performance and conduct;
- the needs and interests of the agency;
- whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
- whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

See "Next Step" and "How to Apply" Section's for additional information.

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.

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 qualification requirements of this position. Once the application process is complete, HR will review your application to ensure you meet eligibility and minimum qualifications. To determine if you are minimally qualified for this position, HR will complete a review of your resume, supporting documentation and responses to the online questionnaire. 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.

In addition to meeting the minimum qualifications requirement(s), this position requires successful completion of the following additional assessment:

This assessment will measure the critical competencies listed below that are required to successfully perform in the position.

  • Fire Management: Knowledge of the concepts, principles, and theories of fire management, including the characteristics, behavior, and ecology of fire; methodologies, strategies, and equipment used in prescribed fires; fire detection, prevention, and suppression strategies; and integration of fire with natural resource management.
  • Technical Competence: Knowledge of how to perform one's job. Refers to specialized knowledge that is acquired through formal training or extensive on-the-job experience.
  • Leadership: Influences, motivates, and challenges others; adapts leadership styles to a variety of situations.

In the evaluation process, due weight will be given to job related experience, education, training, incentive awards and performance appraisals. Applicants must have a performance rating of at least the equivalent of fully successful to be eligible for promotion or placement. Applicants may provide a copy of a performance appraisal of record dated within the last 18 months. If the applicant is unable to provide a performance appraisal of record dated within the last 18 months, the applicant may provide a written explanation as to why.

Candidates who apply under Noncompetitive Merit Promotion procedures will undergo a quality review to determine if they are minimally qualified based on the content of their resume and their responses to the questionnaire. Qualified candidates will be referred if all required supporting documentation has been provided.

Office of the Secretary of the Interior

The U.S. Wildland Fire Service (USWFS), an organization within the Department of the Interior (DOI), responds to wildfires and promotes fire-resilient landscapes across more than 500 million acres of public and tribal lands nationwide. The USWFS has full program authority and coordinates the DOI wildland fire management program in its entirety. It ensures coordination within DOI, the Bureaus it serves, other federal agencies -- particularly the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service -- as well as non-federal agencies, state foresters, tribes, and a variety of stakeholder groups representing volunteer firefighters.

Agency contact information

Andrea Everhart

Visit our careers page

Learn more about what it's like to work at Office of the Secretary of the Interior, what the agency does, and about the types of careers this agency offers.

https://www.doi.gov/wildlandfireservice

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