Aviation Safety Inspector (Air Carrier Avionics)

Federal Aviation Administration•Louisville, KY

About The Position

The Assistant Partial Program Manager (PPM) (Avionics) Part 121 serves as a full assistant to the PPM (Avionics) Part 121, with responsibility for a portion of an airworthiness program. The inspector performs inspections, surveillance, and certification duties for air carriers, air operators, air agencies, airmen, and designees, and helps ensure assigned organizations comply with Federal Aviation Regulations governing maintenance, preventive maintenance, and alterations. Under the general direction of the Front Line Manager or Supervisory Principal Avionics Inspector, the inspector supports technical administration, certification, and surveillance activities. This includes assessing organizations’ staffing, equipment, training, records, facilities, and procedures; reviewing and approving maintenance-related manuals, programs, and operations specifications; conducting investigations and enforcement activities; and monitoring air-carrier maintenance operations and continuous airworthiness programs.

Requirements

U.S. citizenship is required.
Selective Service registration is required for males born after December 31, 1959.
Submit an SF-50.
Report to an FAA/AVS facility.
Have no more than two separate incidents involving Federal aviation regulations violations in the last five years.
Hold a valid state driver's license.
Be fluent in English.
Have no chemical dependency or drug abuse that could interfere with job performance.
Have a high school diploma or equivalent.
Be physically able to perform the duties safely and efficiently; meet the stated distant-vision, reading, hearing, and physical-condition requirements.
For positions requiring participation in aircraft operations, possess a valid second-class FAA medical certificate and pass recurrent FAA-prescribed medical examinations.
Applicants not required to hold a valid second-class medical certificate who are tentatively selected must provide documentation from a board-certified physician confirming they meet minimum medical requirements, or may receive an individualized assessment if they do not meet them.
Have aircraft avionics experience maintaining, repairing, and troubleshooting installed avionics systems.
Have avionics maintenance experience on aircraft with a maximum certificated takeoff weight greater than 12,500 pounds.
Have aircraft avionics work experience, which may include supervision or auditing, within the last three years in a repair station, air-carrier repair facility, military repair facility, or local, state, or federal governmental agency.
For the FG-13 level, have one year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS/FG-12 or Pay Band H) as an Aviation Safety Inspector, Air Carrier Avionics.
FG-13 specialized experience includes monitoring, planning, or conducting inspection programs; ensuring assigned organizations meet requirements for staffing, equipment, training, records, facilities, and procedures; and conducting enforcement investigations and preparing final reports and recommendations on disposition.
Part 121 avionics experience is required for the FG-13 specialized experience.

Responsibilities

Assess whether assigned organizations are adequately organized, staffed, and equipped, and whether their training programs, record-keeping systems, facilities, and procedures meet regulatory requirements.
Visit organizational stations and offices, maintain contact with management, and coordinate correction of deficiencies with the principal inspector.
Participate in Maintenance Review Boards to develop maintenance program requirements.
Coordinate Minimum Equipment List (MEL) approvals with the principal operations inspector and take enforcement action for MEL noncompliance.
Conduct enforcement investigations and prepare final reports and recommendations on disposition.
Perform emergency suspension of certificates or cancellation of operations specifications.
Conduct or direct reexaminations of certificated airmen and recertification of operators or agencies.
Investigate public complaints, congressional inquiries, aircraft incidents, and accidents.
Provide technical assistance to legal counsel, testify at trials and formal hearings, and give depositions.
Coordinate nonroutine air-carrier surveillance with geographic inspectors.
Support initial and ongoing certification of air carriers, aircraft, airmen, and air agencies, and recommend appointments of designees.
Evaluate requests to operate under conditions not specified in the maintenance portion of operations specifications, and approve or disapprove them with additional conditions or limitations as needed.
Guide air carriers in developing required maintenance manuals and record-keeping systems, and review manuals and revisions for regulatory compliance, safe practices, and clear instructions.
Approve operations specifications and amendments.
Determine whether air-carrier maintenance facilities and contract arrangements for overhaul, major repairs, alterations, and other maintenance are satisfactory; review changes and negotiate with management to resolve problems.
Determine whether overhaul and inspection time limitations warrant revision.
Evaluate proposed reliability programs, advise operators of deficiencies and required changes, and approve or disapprove the programs.
Determine whether air-carrier training programs comply with the CFRs, align with maintenance programs, and are properly organized and effectively conducted.
Direct or participate in proving-flight evaluations to determine regulatory compliance and recommend changes needed before approval.
Direct or perform inspection and surveillance of air-carrier continuous airworthiness maintenance programs.
Monitor maintenance, engineering, quality control, production control, training, and reliability operations, and analyze trends for signs of deterioration.
Assist in establishing inspection and surveillance work programs.
Perform other assigned duties and responsibilities.