Air Interdiction Agent

About the role

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Air Interdiction Agents are part of the Air and Marine Operations (AMO) team. They perform aviation-based law enforcement operations to detect, prevent, interdict, and apprehend terrorists, terrorist weapons, and other contraband and persons attempting to illegally enter or attack the United States.

Responsibilities

• Conducting air patrol, surveillance, and pursuit activities related to the interdiction of smuggled contraband via land vehicles, aircraft, or vessels.
• Monitoring behavior patterns and activities of suspect persons, vehicles, or vessels believed to be engaged in illegal activities.
• Collecting, refining, and analyzing strategic and tactical intelligence.
• Supporting search and rescue and humanitarian efforts.

Requirements

Minimum qualifications:

• A current FAA Commercial or ATP Pilot Certification with one of the following ratings: Dual Rated: Airplane (Single-engine land or multi-engine land) with instrument rating AND Rotorcraft Helicopter with instrument rating. Airplane Rated: Airplane (Single-engine land or multi-engine land) with instrument. Helicopter Rated: Rotorcraft Helicopter with instrument rating.
• Pilot enter on duty minimums are 1500 flight hours; (up to 500 hours can be waived, reducing the pilot enter on duty minimums to 1000 hours. 250 Pilot-in-Command hours; 75 Instrument hours; 75 Night hours (Flight Hour Waiver available, see Required Documents); and 100 Flight hours in the last 12 months).
• FAA Class 2 medical required for assessment dated within the last 12 calendar months; FAA Class 1, FAA Class 2 or Military medical flight clearance dated within the last 12 months qualifies to start the pre-employment process for the AIA position.
• Applicants applying at 750 flight hours are required to obtain at least 1,000 flight hours (depending on the number of hours approved for a waiver) at their own expense before being able to attend the 3-part flight assessment.
• UAS Flight Hours: Applicants may include UAS Predator A (MQ-1), Predator B (MQ-9) flight hours and Predator A (MQ-1), Predator B (MQ-9) or predator-based flight hours. These hours may be credited towards satisfying the "Total flight time" 1,500 flight hour requirement only.

Qualifications

• Citizenship: U.S. Citizen.
• Residency: Primary U.S. residency for at least three of the last five years.
• Age Requirement: Maximum age for original appointment is 40 due to a temporary increase by the Commissioner of CBP.
• Veterans' Preference Eligibility: Veterans with qualifying service may be exempt from the age restriction.

Benefits

The position offers competitive salaries, federal benefits, and job stability. Starting salaries range from $120,636 to $189,223 annually, depending on the duty location and grade level. Additional incentives include recruitment and retention bonuses, special salary rates, and law enforcement availability pay.

Pay

Salary ranges for the first three years at authorized LEAP sites and UAS sites are provided. The salary includes SSR, LEAP, and retention incentives.

Schedule

Duty locations are based on operational requirements and mission needs. Positions are available in various regions including Southeast, Southwest, and NASOC UAS sites.