Careers.org

Forest Service

Wildland Firefighter (Aviation)

Department of Agriculture · Multiple Locations

Salary
$25.37 per hour
Pay grade
GW-5
Schedule
Full-time
Appointment
Temporary
Opened
Oct 30, 2026
Closes
Nov 12, 2026
Remote
No
Telework eligible
No
Openings
Many
Security clearance
Other
Promotion potential
None
Announcement
27-TEMPF3-R4-2SC045-5DH

Who may apply: Open to the public

Apply on USAJOBS

Applications are submitted on USAJOBS.gov, not on Careers.org. Always confirm details in the official announcement.

Summary

This position is located within a National Forest. The position is located on a fire crew as a crewmember within the fire management organization. This position is established on a Forest unit to serve as an Airtanker Base Support. The incumbent maintains airtanker base, aircraft ramp, facilities, vehicles and equipment.

Duties

  • Operates complex airtanker equipment systems with numerous components that must be carefully synchronized or calibrated.
  • Performs various aviation and ground support activities, such as servicing and operating batch mixers, tanks, and related components including pumps, valves, and hoses.
  • Mixes, stores, inspects, tests, and delivers fire retardants to various specifications.
  • Performs duties of parking and launching firefighting aircraft to/from base.
  • Assists in airtanker "Hot Loading and Simultaneous Loading" operations. Computes, compiles, and summarizes data for preparation of recurring and special Forest Service reports and records.

Qualifications

In order to qualify, you must meet the eligibility and qualifications requirements as defined below by the closing date of the announcement. For more information on the qualifications for this position, visit the Office of Personnel Management's General Schedule Qualification Standards. Your application and resume must clearly show that you possess the experience requirements. Transcripts must be provided for qualifications based on education. Provide course descriptions as necessary. GW-05: One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least GW-4 grade level in federal service or equivalent; OR Successful completion of a 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university with major study in Fire Science, Fire Training, Fire Technology or other related fields of study is qualifying for GW-5; OR a combination of education and experience. Examples of specialized experience include: Performed work directly related to wildland fire suppression and control activities including suppression, preparedness, prevention, monitoring, and hazardous fuels reduction and serviced and made minor repairs to airtanker equipment or inspected, checked and serviced accessories such as pump, water lines, tanks, reels, or pump power plant to keeps in fire readiness. 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. In accordance with USDA Department Regulation 4430-792-2, this position is a Testing Designated Position (TDP) under the USDA Drug Free Workplace Program and subject to pre-employment drug testing. All applicants selected for this position will be required to submit to a urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Incumbents of this position will be required to submit to a urinalysis on an ongoing random basis, after appointment as directed. To receive consideration for this position, you must provide updated required documents and meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Job data from USAJOBS.gov. Careers.org is not affiliated with or endorsed by OPM. Retrieved Nov 4, 2026, 3:58 AM EST.