Supervisory Aviation Management Specialist (Branch Chief, Pilot Operations)

Department of Interior; Boise (ID); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Department of the Interior, Office of the Secretary, Wildland Fire Service, Headquarters Aviation, Flight Operations Division, seeks a Supervisory Aviation Management Specialist (Branch Chief, Pilot Operations) to oversee airborne firefighting operations and aviation support for wildfire incidents.

Qualified candidates will have at least one full year of specialized experience at the GW-13 level, including aerial supervision, pilot duties, and aviation risk management.

Qualifications

• Prior firefighting experience in a primary firefighter role must be clearly documented in the resume with months, days, and hours per week.
• Specialized experience at GW-13 level or equivalent is required, obtained in public or private sectors.

Responsibilities

• Experience in aerial supervision over wildland fire incidents, directing/sequencing aircraft for aerial suppression.
• Experience as a qualified airplane pilot and/or instructor pilot conducting missions on wildland fire.

Skills

Aerial supervision

Flight operations

Aviation resource management

Hours worked per week documentation

Job description

You will serve as a Supervisory Aviation Management Specialist (Branch Chief, Pilot Operations) within the Department of the Interior, Office of the Secretary, Wildland Fire Service, in the Headquarters Aviation, Flight Operations Division.

Pay will vary based on grade level and/or duty location for which you're selected. First time hires to the Federal government normally start at the step 1 rate. All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement - 11/23/2026 -unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Competitive candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements as defined in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F.

Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. For current Federal employees, if hours worked per week are not included on your resume, you must submit a non-award SF-50 for each federal position listed as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of qualifying experience that you will be granted. An award SF-50 will not be acceptable documentation for which to consider your amount of qualifying experience. For all other applicants who are not current federal employees, 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.

Selective Factors:

This is an administrative position in an organization having a firefighting mission and is clearly in an established career path. Prior firefighting experience, as gained by substantial service in a primary firefighter position or equivalent experience outside the Federal government is a MANDATORY PREREQUISITE.

Candidates must possess Primary/Rigorous wildland firefighting experience, gained through fire line work in containment, control, suppression or use of wildland fire. You must clearly demonstrate this experience in your resume, including the months, days, and hours per week at which the work was performed to be considered.

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."

-AND-

Specialized Experience:

To qualify, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GW-13 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Qualifying specialized experience is demonstrated experience in at least one or more of the following areas:

1. Experience in aerial supervision over wildland fire incidents within the fire traffic area. Directing and/or sequencing aircraft to drop aerial suppressants on a wildfire. Providing guidance to fire personnel on the ground regarding tactics and aviation needs.
2. Experience as a qualified airplane pilot and/or instructor pilot conducting missions on wildland fire. This would include (but is not limited to) missions to deliver smokejumpers or lead plane operations.
3. Aviation Management experience as displayed by the following; ordering aviation resources, evaluating aviation risk, reviewing and approving aviation safety plans, advising fire managers on utilization of aviation resources.

You must include hours per week worked.

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.