How to hire a flight director

How to hire a flight director, step by step

Here's a step-by-step flight director hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a flight director job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new flight director
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your flight director job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a flight director for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect flight director also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   This list presents flight director salaries for various positions.

   Type of Flight Director	Description	Hourly rate
   Flight Director		$15-56
   Transportation Manager	A transportation manager is a professional who is responsible for directing and managing tasks that involves all the transportation activities within the organization. Transportation managers must ensure that goods and passengers have reached their destination safely by inspecting and providing maintenance to the organization's vehicles... Show more	$25-53
   Transportation Officer	A Transportation Officer is an expert in all transport affairs. Serving in this role, your duties will include ensuring the provision of transportation to inmates for medical appointments and emergency response... Show more	$13-43

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Flight Operations
   • In-Flight
   • FAA
   • Raid
   • Safety Inspections
   • NASA
   • Flight Deck
   • CPR
   • Space Missions
   • Educational Programs
   • Risk Management
   • Helicopter
   • ORM
   • Flight Test

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage intermediate-level maintenance on fighter aircraft release and gun systems.
   • Assist in assigning monthly days off calendar for pilots which comply with FAA standard regulations for pilots.
   • Demonstrate a thorough knowledge of missile security operations, disaster control procedures and initiate emergency security actions to counter enemy acts.
   • Monitor emergency management program and coordinate with departmental personnel to ensure compliance in agreement with program requirements.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your flight director job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A flight director can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, flight directors' average salary in utah is 47% less than in alaska.
   • Seniority. Entry-level flight directors 72% less than senior-level flight directors.
   • Certifications. A flight director with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a flight director's salary.

   Average flight director salary

   $62,388yearly

   $29.99 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level flight director salary

   $33,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 18, 2025

4. Writing a flight director job description

   A flight director job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of a flight director job description:

   Flight director job description example

   Quest Defense is an organization at the forefront of innovation and one of the world's fastest growing engineering services firms with deep domain knowledge and recognized expertise in the top OEMs across seven industries. We are part of a twenty-five-year-old company on a journey to becoming a centenary one, driven by aspiration, hunger and humility.
   
   We are looking for humble geniuses, who believe that engineering has the potential to make the impossible, possible; innovators, who are not only inspired by technology and innovation, but also perpetually driven to design, develop, and test as a trusted partner for Fortune 500 customers.
   
   As a team of remarkably diverse engineers, we recognize that what we are really engineering is a brighter future for us all. If you want to contribute to meaningful work and be part of an organization that truly believes when you win, we all win, and when you fail, we all learn, then we're eager to hear from you.
   
   The achievers and courageous challenge-crushers we seek, have the following characteristics and skills:
   
   Quest Defense is seeking a highly qualified flight test engineer to be part of a large prototype aircraft program at Edwards AFB, CA. The successful candidate will possess an extensive aviation engineering and flight test background with strong technical and management skills. This position requires strong communication skills to support extensive executive-level interactions. This individual will interface with government and contractor leaders as well as IPT's and flight test leadership to develop and execute test-planning schedules and drive an integrated team approach to problem solving. A thorough understanding of flight test planning, safety planning, test operations, and maintenance is required. This position will be located at Edwards AFB, CA with an expectation of 25% travel. Candidate must be willing to work extended shifts, weekends and holidays as required to meet program schedule and objectives.
   **Essential Job Functions**
   
   + Develop and publish integrated test plans, detailed test plans, test schedules, and test procedures for developmental testing.
   
   + Provide laboratory support for integration testing.
   
   + Support and host test planning working groups.
   
   + Interface with test article design and analysis teams to define test configuration and data requirements.
   
   + Review and evaluate test requirements to ensure completeness of test program.
   
   + Perform technical analysis of complete systems and prepare comprehensive system level evaluations.
   
   + Support test card development and review in collaboration with other engineering disciplines and test operations personnel.
   
   + Support test readiness reviews, and pre/post-test briefings.
   
   + Provide mission control room support and makes real-time decisions regarding safety, efficiency, and effectiveness.
   
   + Conduct and contributes to pre and post-test data analyses to support anomaly identification and resolution.
   
   + Maintains metrics on status of testing and constraints.
   
   + Overtime, odd shifts, and weekend work will occasionally be required.
   
   **Qualifications**
   
   + Degree in Electrical or a Bachelor of Science degree with Instrumentation data experience.
   
   + Serve as a principal subject matter focal point between maintenance, design engineering, and test site team - contractor and customer.
   
   + Must be able to work without appreciable direction to develop solutions to complex problems.
   
   + Able to work both within a team environment and independently; must be self-motivated, thorough, and detailed.
   
   + Willing to learn additional engineering discipline areas.
   
   + Outstanding written and oral communications skills.
   
   + Proficient in Microsoft Office and Integrated Analysis & Data System (IADS).
   
   + In depth knowledge of or test experience, to include control room monitoring.
   
   **Physical Requirements & Work Environment:**
   
   + Mostly Office Environments, Occasional Shop Floor involvement.
   
   + Substantial amounts of telephone and computer work.
   
   + Heavily Regulated Industries with strict adherence to procedures.
   
   + Flexibility to meet business deadlines by staying late or arriving early.
   
   + Typical 8 hour days plus lunch / 40 hour weeks / core (required) hours are 9 AM to 4 PM
   
   + Ability to use personal transportation to visit customer locations.
   
   + Due to the nature of the work, all candidates must be a U.S. Citizen.
   
   + A DoD Top or Secret clearance as well as the ability to obtain and maintain a Special Program Access clearance is preferred.
   
   The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
   
   **Location:** Edwards Air Force Base, CA
   
   
   37176BR
   
   **Job Type:**
   
   Full Time-Regular
   
   **Assignment Country:**
   
   United States
   
   **Total Years of Exp:**
   
   20 **Education Type:**
   
   B.E/B.Tech/BS-Aerospace Engineering
   
   **Assignment State:**
   
   CALIFORNIA
   
   **Assignment Location:**
   
   Los Angeles
   
   **Experience Level:**
   
   Senior Level

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right flight director for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your flight director job on Zippia to find and recruit flight director candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit flight directors, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new flight director

   Once you've selected the best flight director candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new flight director. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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