How to hire aerospace engineering and operations technologists and technicians

A job description you can copy, interview questions tied to the real work, and what to pay. Free.

$39.85U.S. median hourly pay
$67,680–$111,280Middle half, yearly
11,280People in this job in the U.S.

Job description template

Copy it, fill in the brackets, and remove anything that does not fit your job. Keep only must-haves you would really turn someone away for.

[Job title] at [Company name]
[City, State] · [Full-time / Part-time] · [Pay range]

About the role
[Two or three sentences about your team, the work and why it matters.]

What you will do
• Adjust, repair, or replace faulty components of test setups and equipment.
• Confer with engineering personnel regarding details and implications of test procedures and results.
• Fabricate and install parts and systems to be tested in test equipment, using hand tools, power tools, and test instruments.
• Identify required data, data acquisition plans, and test parameters, setting up equipment to conform to these specifications.
• Inspect, diagnose, maintain, and operate test setups and equipment to detect malfunctions.
• Operate and calibrate computer systems and devices to comply with test requirements and to perform data acquisition and analysis.
• Record and interpret test data on parts, assemblies, and mechanisms.
• Test aircraft systems under simulated operational conditions, performing systems readiness tests and pre- and post-operational checkouts, to establish design or fabrication parameters.

What you bring
• [Required license, certification or years of experience, if any]
• [Education, only if you truly need it. Typical to start in this job: Associate's degree]
• Strong critical thinking, reading comprehension, active listening, speaking, monitoring and science skills
• Working knowledge of mechanical, engineering and technology, mathematics and production and processing
• [Anything else you would really turn someone away for]

Pay and benefits
[Pay range]. For reference, the U.S. median for this job is $39.85 an hour ($82,890 a year).
[Benefits, schedule and anything else candidates should know.]

How to apply
[Apply on JAI Bot. Every applicant hears back.]

Check your finished job post

Interview questions for aerospace engineering and operations technologists and technicians

Ask every candidate the same questions, in the same order, and write down what they say. Questions about past work show what someone has actually done.

  1. Tell me about a time you had to adjust, repair, or replace faulty components of test setups and equipment. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
  2. Tell me about a time you had to confer with engineering personnel regarding details and implications of test procedures and results. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
  3. Tell me about a time you had to fabricate and install parts and systems to be tested in test equipment, using hand tools, power tools, and test instruments. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
  4. Tell me about a time you had to identify required data, data acquisition plans, and test parameters, setting up equipment to conform to these specifications. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
  5. Describe a decision at work where the obvious answer was wrong. How did you work out the better choice?
  6. Tell me about written instructions, a policy or a manual you had to follow closely. How did you make sure you followed it correctly?
  7. Tell me about a time you had to understand a request or problem that was explained poorly. How did you make sure you got it right?
  8. Why this job, and why now? What would make you stay here for the long term?

Good answers name a real situation, what the person did themselves and what happened. Avoid questions about age, family plans, religion, health, national origin or anything else unrelated to the job.

What aerospace engineering and operations technologists and technicians do

  • Adjust, repair, or replace faulty components of test setups and equipment.
  • Confer with engineering personnel regarding details and implications of test procedures and results.
  • Fabricate and install parts and systems to be tested in test equipment, using hand tools, power tools, and test instruments.
  • Identify required data, data acquisition plans, and test parameters, setting up equipment to conform to these specifications.
  • Inspect, diagnose, maintain, and operate test setups and equipment to detect malfunctions.
  • Operate and calibrate computer systems and devices to comply with test requirements and to perform data acquisition and analysis.
  • Record and interpret test data on parts, assemblies, and mechanisms.
  • Test aircraft systems under simulated operational conditions, performing systems readiness tests and pre- and post-operational checkouts, to establish design or fabrication parameters.

Skills that matter most

Critical ThinkingReading ComprehensionActive ListeningSpeakingMonitoringScienceMechanicalEngineering and TechnologyMathematicsProduction and Processing

Education, experience and outlook for aerospace engineering and operations technologists and technicians

  • Typical education to start: Associate's degree (BLS)
  • Job outlook: +11.9% over ten years, much faster than average · about 1,100 openings a year (BLS)

What to pay aerospace engineering and operations technologists and technicians

Pay depends a lot on where the job is. Highest and lowest median yearly pay by state:

StateMedian yearly pay
Washington$125,160
California$99,000
Colorado$98,990
Ohio$79,310
Florida$78,560

See aerospace engineering and operations technologists and technicians pay in every state

Related hiring guides

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Job duties and skills: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license; O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. JAI Bot has modified this information; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Pay: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, May 2025. Interview questions and the job description template: JAI Bot, based on the duties and skills above.