F/A-18 Avionics Technician

“You'll maintain the avionics suite on the Marine Corps' primary tactical aircraft — radar, mission computers, navigation, and electronic warfare systems that define what the F/A-18 can do in the threat environment. F/A-18 avionics experience is a specific and valued credential in the defense aviation maintenance community, and the systematic troubleshooting skills you develop on complex tactical avionics transfer broadly.”

F/A-18 avionics work means diagnosing intermittent faults in systems that generate enormous amounts of data and have failure modes that range from obvious to genuinely subtle. The APG-73 radar and its successor systems are complex pieces of electronics that require both systems knowledge and disciplined diagnostic approach to maintain. The fleet transition to F-35 is ongoing, which means F/A-18 avionics technicians have a window where their type experience is specifically valued by the sustainment community. Raytheon, Boeing, and the depot-level maintenance contractors supporting F/A-18 programs hire from this background. FAA avionics certification plus F/A-18 experience is a strong combination for the civilian aviation maintenance market.