The incumbent serves as Senior Product Policy Advisor (PPA) in the Aircraft Certification Service (AIR). The Senior PPA provides regulatory and policy expertise for transport category airplanes. As stewards of the entire product type, the Senior PPA maintains a comprehensive view to identify, assess, and resolve key policy issues, gaps, and risks.
Duties
The Senior PPA collaborates with other internal/external stakeholders to advance priorities, develop, and maintain AIR rulemaking, guidance, directives, and consensus standards. The Senior PPA also guides the development of new project-specific policy, provides recommendations for setting research direction and priorities, and addresses internal/external inquiries on cross-cutting product-related issues.
Serves as a subject matter expert on the views and policies for transport category airplanes, as well as with other salient FAA policies and airworthiness requirements. The incumbent plans and accomplishes highly complex and challenging projects/programs and other work activities under the minimal direction of a manager, project/program manager, or team leader. May act as a principal technical specialist, project/program manager, or team leader on significant, complex or high priority activities. Provides recommendations to the Product Policy Manager relating to policies, priorities, practices, and procedures based on comprehensive knowledge of the regulatory framework that underpins the design and certification of aircraft or related systems. Provides support in establishing safety initiatives and recommendations for setting research direction and priorities.
May represent the Product Policy Manager at meetings and interacts with other lines of business/staff offices, as well as internal and external stakeholders on issues related to the Technical Policy Branch, which requires an extremely high degree of tact and diplomacy. Often represents Product Policy Section as a principal point of contact to provide advice and guidance on the application of policies and procedures. Applies structured techniques to complex organizational initiatives, to include impact analysis, communications planning, readiness assessment, and project planning. Identifies and resolves complex and challenging problems or issues, which cross organizations, and outlines improvement goals and/or priorities.
Assignments frequently require knowledge and experience working across functional and/or organizational lines. Typical assignments may include supporting establishment of priorities for the Product Policy Section, and outreach to industry groups, foreign authorities and other FAA offices to promote the policies of the Product Policy Section. Assignments include extensive research and comprehensive understanding of engineering principles and concepts utilized in the aerospace industry, and direct responsibility for project/program management, regulatory or guidance material development, and participation in the development of industry consensus standards.
The incumbent has a lead role in drafting, reviewing, and editing reports or documents for final approval prior to external distribution. Presents briefings to obtain consensus/approval on policies. Uses broad policies and historical decisions to provide general guidance for addressing issues, many of which require the development of new or improved safety approaches. Draws on experience to solve unusual problems and may create new solutions and approaches, as the situation requires.
Provides policy guidance and instructions to others to solve difficult technical issues. Resolves all but unique technical problems without the intervention of management. Develops plans, techniques, and policies to address current or anticipated problems and issues. Works with senior management to jointly solve problems.
Work is reviewed rarely, typically through status reports and at project completion, to ensure technical compliance and alignment with the requirements of the project or other work activity. Has broad discretion to ensure alignment of organizational goals and policies, and the requirements of the projects and/or other work activities.
Other duties as assigned.