Aircraft Electrical/Instrument/Flight Control Systems Technician, IMA

You are the trainee on the shop floor, learning how IMA actually works — which is slower and more procedural than the flight line, and that's intentional.

Receive components tagged as "remove and replace" from flight-line maintainers. Log them into the IMA production control system, track their status through the repair cycle, and assist journeymen on bench repairs. You pull IETMs, gather consumables, and learn which faults are actually fixable at this level versus what gets shipped to depot. You clean and organize test equipment, assist with calibration prep, and slowly build familiarity with the ATE suites that do the diagnostic heavy lifting.

• 01Work order documentation, IETM navigation, test equipment familiarization, basic electrical theory, soldering fundamentals, ESD precautions

• —COMNAVAIRFORINST 4790.2 (NAMP), applicable MIM/IETMs for assigned aircraft systems, ATE operator manuals

• —Zero undocumented work. Every action logged in NALCOMIS. No calibration-expired equipment used on any component. ESD protocols followed without exception.

• —Using test equipment past its cal due date because "it was fine last week." Signing off work you didn't actually perform. Skipping the fault verification step because the previous tech seemed sure of the diagnosis.

You finish every work order with complete, accurate documentation before the shift ends — not reconstructed from memory the next morning. When you pull a component off the shelf you check cal dates before you plug anything in. When something doesn't look right in an IETM step you flag it to the journeyman instead of improvising.

You are a working technician now — capable of running a bench repair from induction to final test on familiar components, and learning to trust the ATE results over your gut.

Perform bench-level repairs on electrical system components, flight instruments, and flight control actuators within your qual envelope. Use the ATE suite to isolate faults to the board or component level, replace failed parts per IETMs, and run acceptance testing before returning the component to serviceable status. You track your own turnaround times and understand why TAT matters — a grounded aircraft waiting on a component costs the squadron sorties. You start cross-training on additional aircraft systems beyond your initial qual.

• 01ATE operation and interpretation, hydraulic test stand operation, IETM-driven fault isolation, solder and connector repair, NALCOMIS work order management, TAT awareness

• —COMNAVAIRFORINST 4790.2, aircraft-specific MIMs/IETMs, ATE technical manuals, hydraulic test stand procedures, local SOP binders

• —All repairs verified by final acceptance test prior to RFI tagging. TAT tracked and briefed to production control. No component returned to service with an open discrepancy.

• —Chasing a symptom the ATE already isolated because you don't trust the box. Replacing parts without running the full acceptance test sequence. Letting a work order sit because you're stuck and embarrassed to ask.

You close work orders the same day when parts are available. When the ATE gives you a fault code you don't recognize, you look it up before replacing parts. Your paperwork reflects exactly what you did — not a cleaned-up version. Production control knows they can hand you a component and get a straight answer on whether it's fixable here or needs to go to depot.

You are the senior technician on the bench and the first-line quality checkpoint — the person production control calls when something doesn't fit the expected fault pattern.

Handle the difficult or unusual repairs that exceed junior technician confidence — intermittent faults, components with prior repair history, anything the ATE is flagging inconsistently. You review completed work orders for accuracy before they leave the shop. You train junior techs on ATE operation, IETM interpretation, and the judgment calls that manuals don't cover. You interface with production control on parts availability and coordinate with supply when a component needs a depot-level repair order. You manage calibration schedules for assigned test equipment.

• 01Advanced fault isolation, intermittent fault diagnosis, work order quality review, test equipment calibration management, depot coordination, junior technician development

• —COMNAVAIRFORINST 4790.2, MALS supply chain SOPs, calibration program instructions, fleet campaign instructions for known defects on supported aircraft

• —Every work order reviewed before RFI tagging. Cal schedule current with zero overdue. Depot referrals documented with complete fault history so depot isn't starting from scratch.

• —Signing off a junior's work order without actually reading it. Letting calibration schedules slip because the equipment "seems fine." Sending a component to depot without documenting all previous repair attempts.

When a component comes in for the third time with the same fault, you pull the history before touching it. Your shop's cal schedule is current every week — not scrambled into compliance before an inspection. Junior techs know to bring you the weird ones because you'll work through it with them instead of just taking over.

You are the shop chief in practice — managing production flow, setting quality standards, and translating maintenance officer priorities into daily shop execution.

Own the IMA shop's daily production cycle. Assign work orders to qualified personnel, track TAT on every open item, and brief production control on shop status. You identify bottlenecks — parts holes, equipment down for cal, personnel gaps — and solve them before they become officer-level problems. You conduct technical training, evaluate technician qualifications, and write evaluations that actually reflect performance. You liaise with the MALS supply chain on priority requisitions and with the supported squadrons on component demand forecasting. You ensure every quality escape gets an RCA and a corrective action — not just a note in the log.

• 01Production control coordination, TAT management, quality escape investigation, supply chain interface, personnel qualification tracking, evaluations and counseling

• —COMNAVAIRFORINST 4790.2 (especially IMA-specific chapters), MALS/wing production control SOPs, aircraft availability reporting systems

• —No component leaves the shop without documented quality review. TAT metrics briefed accurately — no massaging the numbers. Every technician's qual card current and accurate.

• —Hiding TAT problems from production control until they become a brief item. Qualifying technicians on paper without watching them demonstrate the skill. Letting a quality escape pass without root cause because the schedule is tight.

Production control trusts your TAT numbers because you've never sandbagged them. When a quality escape happens — and one will — you have an RCA in front of the maintenance officer within 24 hours with a corrective action that addresses the actual cause. Your technicians' qual cards reflect what they can actually do, not what would look good on a staffing report.

You are the technical authority and institutional memory of the IMA — the person who knows which procedures are technically correct and which ones the wing has been doing wrong for years.

Oversee all IMA production for the supported aircraft systems across the wing. Coordinate with other IMA shops, MALS, and supported squadrons at the department-head level. You identify systemic maintenance problems — recurring component failures, patterns that suggest fleet campaign issues — and take them up the chain with data. You manage manpower allocation across shifts, mentor SSgts, and ensure the shop is ready for type, model, series changes when new aircraft come to the wing. You own the quality assurance program for the shop and interface with higher headquarters on maintenance policy questions.

• 01Multi-shop coordination, systemic fault analysis, fleet campaign awareness, QA program management, cross-aircraft system expertise, policy interpretation

• —COMNAVAIRFORINST 4790.2, applicable fleet campaign instructions, wing maintenance instructions, CNO/COMNAVAIRFOR maintenance policy messages

• —Systemic problems identified and escalated with data — not anecdotes. QA findings tracked to closure. No maintenance policy ambiguity left unresolved at the shop level.

• —Treating a recurring fault as individual technician error when the data points to a systemic cause. Letting policy ambiguity persist because surfacing it means more work. Running the shop by feel instead of metrics.

When three different squadrons are writing up the same component for the same fault over six months, you're the one who notices, pulls the data, and has a brief ready for the maintenance officer. Your QA program finds problems before outside inspections do. SSgts who work for you leave knowing how to run a shop.

You are the senior enlisted leader shaping how this wing maintains aircraft — not through wrenches, but through standards, culture, and the credibility that comes from having done every job below you.

Set and enforce maintenance culture across the IMA and into the squadrons you support. Brief commanding officers and department heads on maintenance readiness, component availability, and systemic risks to aircraft availability. You identify leadership and training gaps and fix them before they produce a mishap or a maintenance departure. You engage with COMNAVAIRFOR, NAVAIR, and fleet readiness centers on policy, manpower, and equipment issues that affect the wing. For 1stSgt/SgtMaj billets, you own the human dimension — welfare, discipline, advancement, unit cohesion — while the maintenance GySgts own the technical execution.

• 01Executive maintenance briefing, systemic risk identification, NAVAIR/FRC coordination, senior leader development, maintenance culture enforcement, cross-wing coordination

• —COMNAVAIRFORINST 4790.2, CNO readiness policy, wing/MAW commanding general guidance, applicable NAVAIR airworthiness directives

• —Maintenance culture is visible and consistent — not just compliance theater before an inspection. Every serious quality escape gets a post-incident review that changes something. Senior enlisted across the wing understand the standards and enforce them without your presence.

• —Confusing inspection-readiness with actual readiness. Allowing a culture where problems are hidden from officers rather than surfaced. Losing touch with what the E-4s and E-5s are actually doing on the bench.

The wing's maintenance metrics don't spike before inspections — they look the same because standards are consistent. When NAVAIR issues a fleet campaign instruction, your shops have already identified the affected components and built the plan before the phone call comes. Junior technicians know that cutting corners gets corrected, not covered up, and they've seen it happen.