Wildland Firefighter (Aviation)
Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs
Posted: January 16, 2026 (0 days ago)
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National Park Service
Department of the Interior
Location
Saint Marys, Georgia
Salary
$67,617 - $94,687
per year
Type
Closes
This job involves working as a wildland firefighter focused on managing fuels to prevent and control wildfires in national parks, including planning and executing controlled burns and responding to fire incidents.
It's ideal for experienced firefighters who enjoy outdoor work in rugged environments and have a strong background in fire suppression and resource protection.
Candidates should be physically fit and committed to safeguarding natural and cultural sites from fire risks.
While this position is being announced by a bureau within the U.S.
Department of the Interior, the incumbent will work in support of Interior's Wildland Fire Management Program and is subject to the provisions of Secretarial Order 3443.
For additional information regarding this position please see "Position Information". Please ensure you read the announcement fully prior to submitting application package.
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.
Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience.
To receive credit for experience, your resume MUST clearly indicate the nature of the duties and responsibilities for each position, starting and ending dates of employment (month/year - month/year), and the resume must reflect full and/or part-time or total number of hours worked (i.e., work 40+ hours a week, rather than indicating full-time).
If part-time, the hours must be annotated to be able to pro-rate the amount qualified specialized experience.
If an applicant's resume is incomplete or does not support the requirements for minimum qualifications or specialized experience a rating of "ineligible" or "not qualified" will be applied and no consideration for employment will be granted.
This position has been identified as one of the key fire management positions under the Interagency Fire Program management (IFPM) Standard.
This position requires selectee to meet the minimum qualification standards for IFPM prior to being placed into the position. For more information on IFPM, click here.
Basic Qualification Requirements: 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 in order to be considered; AND Successfully completed the Primary NWCG Core Requirements of: Prescribed Burn Boss (RXB2) AND Engine Boss (ENGB) OR Crew Boss (CRWB) OR Helicopter Manager (HMGB) In addition to the requirements described above, the following additional experience is required: For the GW-08 level: At least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS/GW-07 level, or higher, in the Federal service, or equivalent, which includes all of the following; Examples of specialized experience include: Assisted preparation and implementation of prescribed fire plans; Assisted evaluating treatments, monitoring methods and new technologies; Assisted with conducting fuels management surveys to document types of hazardous fuels.
For the GW-09 level: At least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS/GW-08 level, or higher, in the Federal service, or equivalent, which includes all of the following; Examples of specialized experience include: Planned and/or implemented prescribed fire or managing wildfire to ensure resource objectives can be met from a fire management standpoint; Developed and/or implemented initial attack incident management strategies and tactics to meet the stated resource objectives; Implemented mitigation measures during wildland fire activities to protect sensitive habitats, endangered species, sensitive plants, or cultural values.
In order to be considered for this position, copies of your Incident Qualification and Certification System (IQCS) Master Record (or equivalent training documents) which contain documented proof of the certification or attainment of the IFPM Selective Placement Factor for this position MUST be attached to your application.
Red Cards are not acceptable documentation. Currency Requirement: Required to maintain currency once hired into the position. Currency of NWCG qualifications is not required for selection.
If not currently qualified, the applicant must provide documented evidence that they have been fully qualified in the past and are able to regain currency within one year of being hired.
Failure to provide this documentation will result in disqualification.
Secondary Firefighter Retirement Coverage - Applicants for this secondary administrative fire fighter position under the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 8336 (c) (CSRS) and 5 U.S.C.
8412 (d), must possess knowledge of the principles, methods, and techniques of wildland firefighting as demonstrated by direct wildland firefighting experience.
In order to receive credit, you must provide a written description of your experience in wildland firefighting.
Education without hands-on wildland firefighting experience does not meet this requirement.
Periods of wildland firefighting experience, gained through militia and rural fire departments, can also be credited. Wildland fire is defined as any non-structure fire that occurs in the wildland.
Two distinct types of wildland fire have been defined and include wildfire and prescribed fires as follows: Wildfire: Unplanned ignitions or prescribed fires that are declared wildfires.
Prescribed Fires: Planned ignitions. This description includes only fireline experience on a Prescribed Fire; it does not include experience in the planning stages.
Prescribed fire experience must be supplemented by fire suppression experience in order to be creditable as previous wildland firefighting 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. Major Duties:
Provide short and long range planning, budgeting, and management of wildland fire, fuels management, and prescribed fire programs.
Recommend short term fire management objectives and strategies based on the effects and behavior of prescribed fire.
Review and make recommendation on appropriate sections of the Fire Management Plan pertaining to prescribed fire and fuels treatment(s).
Analyze values at risk data (e.g.: infrastructure, property, natural and cultural resources) and evaluate and/or adjust existing zone or unit level plans for fuels management, fire prevention, and fire protection programs.
Participate in contract administration activities under the guidance of a Contracting Officer's Representative (COR). Duties/Responsibilities are at the full performance level of the position.
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