Air Traffic Control Specialist (Terminal)
About This Position
This is a Direct Hire Authority (DHA) solicitation utilizing the DHA for Certain Personnel of the DoW Workforce to recruit and appoint qualified candidates to positions in the competitive service.
This position is included under the provisions of Special Retirement Coverage (SRC) and may have both a maximum entry age and a mandatory retirement date. For more information follow this link: https://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/DD/issuances/140025/140025_vol331.pdf
Qualifications
Who May Apply: US Citizens In order to qualify, you must meet the education requirements described below. 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).
You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.
Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is in this document. Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience that includes: 1) Controlling aircraft in a tower facility; 2) Issuing instructions to aircraft operating under visual flight rules while considering factors such as aircraft position and speed; 3) Advising pilots to change altitude, curse, land or proceed from one radio fix to another; 4) Issuing instructions to aircraft operating under instrument flight rules by considering factors such as location and type of navigational aids in reference to the position of the aircraft being controlled.
This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-10).
In addition to meeting the specialized experience requirement above, applicants must also be a graduate of a DoD component or FAA approved formal Air Traffic Controller school and possess Air Traffic Control Specialist (ATCS) and/or Control Tower Operator (CTO) certification or Air Traffic Safety Oversight (AOV) certification.
You MUST submit a copy of the above certifications.
This position has been identified by Department of Army as an Air Traffic Controller as defined in 5 U.S.C. 2109(1)(A) and (1)(B) who is actively engaged in the separation and control of air traffic; or in providing preflight, inflight, or airport advisory service aircraft operators; or is the immediate or second-level supervisor of any employee described above. As described under 5 U.S.C. 8401(35)(B), this also includes the immediate supervisor of the person described in 5 U.S.C. 2109(1)(B). As such, this position is covered under special retirement coverage.
The individual hired is subject to Special Retirement provisions to include additional contributions to the retirement fund, mandatory separation/retirement at age 56 with 20 years of approved special retirement service, options for early retirement at any age after 25 years of approved special retirement provisions service, or at age 50 with 20 years of approved special retirement provisions service. Department of Defense (DoD), in accordance with 5 USC 3307, has determined an individual must be appointed to their first/original appointment into a DoD position that has been identified and approved for special retirement coverage as an Air Traffic Controller no later than the last day of the month in which they become 36.
Major Duties
Receive, post, and relay flight data information.
Issue inflight advisory information to arriving, departing, and en route aircraft.
Provide approved separation between aircraft operating on the runway movement areas and helipads/rotor wing landing areas.
Verify proper operation of facility equipment and ensures that facility equipment is used for its intended purpose.
Operate IFR radar equipment such as, Remote-ARTS (Automated Radar Terminal System) Color Display, (R-ACD).
Utilize navigational aids, and communications equipment to ensure proper alignment, usability, and satisfactory status for control of air traffic.
Alert aviators to pending hazards such as areas of heavy precipitation, weather advisories, electronic jamming or chaff as observed on the radar scope and provides other pertinent information or services.
Education
Some federal jobs allow you to substitute your education for the required experience in order to qualify. For this job, you must meet the qualification requirement using experience alone--no substitution of education for experience is permitted.
How You Will Be Evaluated
Once the announcement has closed, a review of your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) will be used to determine whether you meet the qualification requirements listed on this announcement. Please follow all instructions carefully when applying, errors or omissions may affect your eligibility. If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience, you may lose consideration for this position.
Veterans and Military Spouses will be considered along with all other candidates.
Additional Information
Male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must complete a Pre-Employment Certification Statement for Selective Service Registration.
You will be required to provide proof of U.S. Citizenship. One year trial period may be required. Direct Deposit of Pay is required. Selection is subject to restrictions resulting from Department of Defense referral system for displaced employees.
If you have retired from federal service and you are interested in employment as a reemployed annuitant, see the information in the Reemployed Annuitant information sheet. This is a(n) Aviation Career Field position. Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement.
Salary includes applicable locality pay or Local Market Supplement. Payment of Permanent Change of Station (PCS) costs is authorized, subject to the provisions of the Joint Travel Regulations. Permanent Change of Station (PCS) allowances may be authorized, subject to the provisions of the Joint Travel Regulations and an agency determination that a PCS move is in the Government Interest.
Recruitment and relocation incentives may be authorized Student loan repayment is not authorized. Salary negotiations for those candidates who are new to Federal service are not authorized. Credit for Prior Non-Federal Work Experience and Certain Military Service for Determining Annual Leave Accrual Rate is not authorized.
Position may be filled as a Term Appointment NTE 2 years. Term appointments may be extended beyond six (6) years, up to eight (8) years. With DoD approval, term appointments may be extended beyond eight (8) years.
Current permanent Federal employees (to include permanent Army employees) applying for a Term Appointment will be appointed/converted into a Term Appointment with no statutory return rights back to a permanent position.
How to Apply
To apply for this position, you must complete the online questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section above.
The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 04/10/2026 to receive consideration Follow the prompts to select your resume and/or other supporting documents to be included with your application package. As a reminder, your resume must be two pages or less and must support the specialized experience described in this announcement. Resumes exceeding two pages will be removed from consideration. For additional information, refer to the 'Required Documents' section.
You will have the opportunity to upload additional documents to include in your application before it is submitted.
Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.
After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, complete the Include Personal Information section as you deem appropriate and click to continue with the application process.
You will be taken to the online application which you must complete in order to apply for the position.
Complete the online application, verify the required documentation is included with your application package, and submit the application.
Your resume selected in USAJOBS will be included, but you must re-select other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application may be incomplete. It is your responsibility to verify that your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) is complete, accurate, and submitted by the closing date. Uploaded documents may take up to one hour to clear the virus scan.
Additional information on how to complete the online application process and submit your online application may be found on the USA Staffing Applicant Resource Center. To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account (https://www.usajobs.gov/applicant/profile/dashboard/), all of your applications will appear on the Welcome screen. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated.
For information on what each Application Status means, visit: https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to/application/status.
Required Documents
The documents you are required to submit vary based on whether or not you are eligible for preference in federal employment. A complete description of preference categories and the associated required documents is in the Applicant Checklist for Public Announcements. As described above, your complete application includes your resume, your responses to the online questionnaire, and documents which prove your eligibility to apply. If you fail to provide these documents, you will be marked as having an incomplete application package and you will not be considered any further.
1.
Your resume: Your resume must be two pages or less and must support the specialized experience described in this announcement. Resumes exceeding two pages will be removed from consideration. For each relevant work experience, make sure you include the employer's name, job title, start and end dates (include month and year), for qualifications purposes, the number of hours worked per week, and a brief description that show you can perform the tasks at the required level listed in the job announcement.
If your resume does not contain this information, your application may be marked as incomplete, and you may not receive consideration for this position. Use plain language. Avoid using acronyms and terms that are not easily understood.
The hiring agency will not make assumptions about what's in your resume. If your resume includes a photograph or other inappropriate material or content, it will not be used to make eligibility and qualification determinations, and you may not be considered for this vacancy. For additional information, to include formatting tips, see: What to include in your resume.
2.
Applicants must also be a graduate of a DoD component or FAA approved formal Air Traffic Controller school and possess Air Traffic Control Specialist (ATCS) and/or Control Tower Operator (CTO) certification or Air Traffic Safety Oversight (AOV) certification.
- Other supporting documents: Cover Letter, optional Most recent Performance Appraisal, if applicable This position requires a job-related license or certification.
You MUST submit a copy of your license or certification with your application package or you will be rated ineligible. See: Transcripts and Licenses Proof of Age: As this is a covered ATC position, your application package MUST include a government issued document indicating your date of birth. Failure to submit this document will result in your application being marked as incomplete and you WILL NOT receive further consideration for this position.
ATC Certificates: You MUST submit a copy of the following: Air Traffic Control Specialist (ATCS) and/or Control Tower Operator (CTO) or Air Traffic Safety Oversight (AOV) certification. If your application package does not contain proof of having these certificates, your application will be marked as incomplete and you WILL NOT receive consideration for this position.
NOTE: Documents submitted as part of the application package, to include supplemental documents, may be shared beyond the Human Resources Office. Some supplemental documents such as military orders and marriage certificates may contain personal information for someone other than you.
You may sanitize these documents to remove another person's personal information before you submit your application.
You may be asked to provide an un-sanitized version of the documents if you are selected to confirm your eligibility.