Aviation Regulatory Project Manager

About the role

The incumbent serves as an Aviation Regulatory Project Manager. Supports and serves as a primary contributor on special projects related to activities and Program Management services to further Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) integration efforts within the Office of Advanced Aviation Technologies (AAT).

What you will do

• The Aviation Regulatory Project Manager performs multiple, varying, and highly complex assignments under minimal direction from a manager or senior leader.
• Serves as a principal technical specialist and project manager for major regulatory, operational, and integration activities involving Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Unmanned Aircraft Traffic Management, and Advanced Air Mobility for ensuring safe and effective integration into the National Airspace System (NAS).
• Applies experience and comprehensive technical knowledge of emerging aviation operations, operational practices, and regulatory requirements to conduct both regulatory and operational evaluations to support the safe integration of emerging aviation operations into the NAS.
• Conducts regulatory evaluations by interpreting and assessing the applicability of existing regulations, identifying compliance requirements, and determining where emerging operational models or technologies create gaps, conflicts, or misalignments with current regulatory frameworks.
• Performs operational evaluations by analyzing procedures, system interactions, workflow impacts, and safety considerations to determine how emerging aviation operations function within the NAS and to identify operational risks or procedural inconsistencies requiring mitigation.
• Integrates the results of both regulatory and operational evaluations to develop technical recommendations, support rule-making activities, and inform updates to operational criteria and compliance guidance.
• Possesses an understanding of new technologies and methodologies, to solve complex problems and develop improved technical processes or systems.
• Conducts extensive research and analysis to evaluate how new operational models, technologies, or procedures align with existing regulatory requirements.
• Integrates analytical results into project deliverables that support rule-making activities, regulatory evaluations, and updates to operational criteria.
• Evaluates complex operational scenarios to identify gaps, conflicts, or inconsistencies in regulatory applicability, compliance requirements, or operational procedures.
• Performs root-cause analysis of operational or compliance issues involving emerging aviation operations and prepares technical findings that inform regulatory updates or operational mitigations.
• Uses project management principles to plan, coordinate, and execute complex regulatory and operational evaluation activities and projects involving emerging aviation operations.
• Develops project plans, schedules, and milestones to guide the assessment of operational data, procedures, and system interactions; and identifies safety risks, compliance concerns, and regulatory inconsistencies requiring higher-level analysis.
• Ensures that project deliverables, analytical findings, and technical recommendations meet regulatory requirements, adhere to project objectives, and align with the priorities of the major subdivision and broader organizational goals.
• Monitors project progress, identifies risks or delays, and implements corrective actions to maintain schedule and quality.
• Tracks project performance metrics; and prepares comprehensive regulatory analyses, compliance assessments, technical reports, and operational findings as key project outputs.
• Consolidates operational, regulatory, and technical information into products that support decision-making and operational integration activities.
• Defines, organizes, and assigns resources to accomplish large regulatory, operational, and analytical work activities.
• Allocates resources to accomplish large work activities within established schedules.
• Works across organizational boundaries to complete complex evaluations, research activities, and support tasks within established schedules.
• Provides policy guidance and instruction to others, both internally and externally.

Requirements

• We are not accepting applications from noncitizens.

How you will be evaluated

IMPORTANT: Applicants may be rated on the extent and quality of experience, education, and training relevant to the duties of the position(s). All answers provided in the on-line process must be substantiated. Ensure that your application package/resume supports your responses.

Documents you must provide

• Only supplemental documentation, e.g. transcripts or veteran's documentation will be accepted in combination with your on-line application.
• These documents must be uploaded or faxed to *** on or before the closing date of this announcement.
• All submitted documents should reference the announcement number.
• Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50) required.
• If you are an FAA employee, you MUST provide a copy of your SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action) containing information in Blocks 15, 17, 18, 19, 22, and 24 so it can be used to verify your position title, series, grade, tenure, and organization of record by the closing date of the announcement.
• You may fax your SF-50 or upload it into the on-line application.
• If faxing the SF-50, please ensure you include the vacancy announcement number on the faxed copy.
• If you are an FAA employee, you can access and print your SF-50 from the eOPF system ***

What to expect next

Once we receive your complete application, the Human Resources Office will conduct an evaluation of your qualifications. Eligible and qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration. You will be contacted directly if selected for an interview.

For instructions on how to check the status of your application, please go to: USAJOBS Help Guide. Important - If you make any changes to your application, you must resubmit it. If you make changes to your application and do not resubmit it, your changes will not be considered part of your application package, and only your previously submitted application will be evaluated.

All qualified applicants will be considered regardless of political affiliation, race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, age, disability, or other non-merit factors. DOT provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities.

If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the agency contact listed in the Agency Contact Information section of this announcement or the hiring manager. An employee with a disability must notify the decision-maker of the accommodation request.

Job applicants and employees are required to follow up oral requests in writing. Decisions on granting reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. Additional information on reasonable accommodations procedures or on EEO Programs is available on Office of Civil Rights (ACR) or by contacting the local FAA Civil Rights Office.

Additional information

We may use this vacancy to fill other similar vacant positions. Position may be subject to a background investigation. A one-year probationary period may be required.

The person selected for this position may be required to file a financial disclosure statement within 30 days of entry on duty.

FAA policy limits certain outside employment and financial investments in aviation-related companies. *** In lieu of providing a KSA narrative response in the text box listed below each KSA, in your work history, please include information that provides specific examples of how you meet the response level or answer you chose for each KSA.

Your work history examples should be specific and clearly reflect the highest level of ability. Your KSA answers will be evaluated further to validate whether the level that you selected is appropriate based on the work history and experience you provided. Your answers may be adjusted by a Human Resource Specialist as appropriate.

Eligible applicants meeting the minimum qualification requirements and selective factor(s), if applicable, may be further evaluated on the KSAs listed in the announcement. Based on this evaluation, applicants will be placed in one of the following categories: score order, category grouping, or alphabetical order and referred to the selecting official for consideration.

The duty location is negotiable but will be an approved FAA AVS facility. SF-50 required. Links to Important Information: Locality Pay, COLA