Top 12 Aircraft Technician Skills to Put on Your Resume
In aviation maintenance, the right skill mix isn’t just a checklist—it’s your edge. Hiring managers skim fast. They lock onto proof. These twelve aircraft technician skills matter now, helping your resume cut through noise and land interviews that actually go somewhere.
Aircraft Technician Skills
- Avionics Troubleshooting
- Hydraulic Systems
- Composite Materials
- Non-Destructive Testing (NDT)
- Boeing 787
- Airbus A320
- Engine Diagnostics
- Electrical Schematics
- Fuel Systems
- Pneumatic Systems
- Flight Controls
- Aircraft Maintenance (Software: AMOS)
1. Avionics Troubleshooting
Avionics troubleshooting means chasing faults across the aircraft’s electronic and electrical systems—navigation, comms, surveillance, autoflight—using a mix of logic, manuals, built‑in tests, and measured data until the gremlin shows itself.
Why It's Important
Because avionics failures ripple. A nagging intermittent can knock out dispatch reliability, escalate write‑ups, or worse, degrade safety. Clean troubleshooting keeps aircraft on schedule and pilots confident in their instruments.
How to Improve Avionics Troubleshooting Skills
Nail the foundations: Refresh DC/AC theory, digital logic, data buses, shielding, grounding, and EMI/EMC concepts.
Live in the books: Use the AMM, WDM, FIM, and IPC like a map. Know where to look before you grab a meter.
Trust BITE and data: Pull built‑in test results, fault histories, and snapshots. Correlate with flight deck messages and times/dates.
Instrument discipline: Multimeter, oscilloscope, pitot‑static set, RF tools—measure twice, move once.
Simulation and bench time: Practice on trainers, LRUs, and rigs. Build a muscle memory for signals and symptoms.
System thinking: Start with the probable. Power first, grounds next, connectors, then line replaceable units.
Document as you go: Clear fault trees and notes speed repeat fixes and help teammates after shift change.
Stay current: New avionics standards and software loads land often. Read the change notes. Know what changed.
Method beats guesswork. Consistency shortens downtimes.
How to Display Avionics Troubleshooting Skills on Your Resume
2. Hydraulic Systems
Aircraft hydraulics convert pressurized fluid into work. Flight controls, landing gear, thrust reversers, spoilers, brakes—high force, precise motion, reliable across extremes.
Why It's Important
These systems do the heavy lifting. If hydraulics falter, critical functions degrade fast. Tight maintenance keeps pressures stable, actuators smooth, and leaks nonexistent.
How to Improve Hydraulic Systems Skills
Prevent before repair: Rigid inspection cadence. Hoses, fittings, accumulators, filters, reservoirs—no surprises.
Fluid care: Correct spec, clean handling, monitored contamination, water checks, and timely filter changes.
Leak hunting: UV dye where approved, fitting torque checks, case drain trending, and cleanliness at every open joint.
Health monitoring: Track temps, pressures, pump case flows, servo response. Spot drift early.
Component choices: When allowed, fit improved seals, more robust hoses, and updated pumps/valves per approved data.
Rigging and calibration: Control feel and travel depend on correct rigging. Don’t shortcut those steps.
How to Display Hydraulic Systems Skills on Your Resume
3. Composite Materials
Composites blend fibers and resins—often carbon/epoxy—to deliver huge strength at low weight with corrosion resistance that metals envy. They behave differently, fail differently, and demand care.
Why It's Important
Modern fleets lean on composites for wings, tails, and fuselage sections. Get inspection and repair right and you preserve structural integrity without piling on weight.
How to Improve Composite Materials Skills
Material literacy: Fiber types, resin systems, core materials, cure states, and damage modes (impact, delam, matrix cracks).
Layup savvy: Ply orientation, order, ply drops, and repair design. Follow approved repair data to the letter.
Process control: Master vacuum integrity, temperature ramps, pressure, and dwell. Autoclave or OOA—both punish sloppy prep.
NDI first: Use ultrasonic testing, thermography, tap tests, or shearography to map damage before cutting a single fiber.
Repairs that last: Scarf geometry, surface prep, bondline cleanliness, hot bonder proficiency, and post‑cure checks.
Environmental protection: Moisture and UV matter. Sealants and coatings keep properties stable over time.
How to Display Composite Materials Skills on Your Resume
4. Non-Destructive Testing (NDT)
NDT inspects structure and components without harming them. Find cracks, corrosion, delams, porosity, leaks—prove airworthiness without drilling or cutting.
Why It's Important
Safety hides in the details you can’t see. NDT catches the quiet defects before they grow teeth.
How to Improve Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) Skills
Qualify properly: Aim for aerospace standards (e.g., NAS 410/EN 4179) with Level I/II/III paths and keep currency up.
Technique depth: Eddy current (including array), phased‑array UT, radiography, dye penetrant, magnetic particle, shearography, borescope—know when and why.
Calibration discipline: Reference standards, sensitivity settings, and repeatable setups. Sloppy calibration hides flaws.
Readable reports: Precise location, orientation, size estimates, and recommendation. Traceable, audit‑ready.
Safety first: Radiation controls, PPE, ventilation, chemical handling. No shortcuts.
How to Display Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) Skills on Your Resume
5. Boeing 787
The 787 Dreamliner uses a composite fuselage and wings, a more‑electric architecture with no traditional engine bleed air, and advanced systems integration that trims weight and boosts efficiency.
Why It's Important
Different architecture, different playbook. High‑voltage DC distribution, extensive composites, and health monitoring tools change how you troubleshoot and repair.
How to Improve Boeing 787 Skills
Know the systems: Power distribution, electro‑hydrostatic actuators, brake‑by‑wire, and environmental control—how they talk to each other.
Composite care: Use approved inspection and repair methods tailored to large integrated structures.
Leverage health data: Aircraft health monitoring and BITE reduce guesswork. Trend and act before it breaks.
Software savvy: Keep current with software loads, configuration control, and cyber‑hygiene around data loads.
Tooling readiness: The right ground power, lockouts, torque tools, and test sets prevent expensive mistakes.
How to Display Boeing 787 Skills on Your Resume
6. Airbus A320
A short‑ to medium‑haul workhorse with fly‑by‑wire controls. The A320 family spans ceo and neo variants, typically 150–186 seats, with engine options that alter procedures and tooling.
Why It's Important
It’s everywhere. Mastering its systems—electrics, hydraulics, F/CTL, pneumatics, avionics—keeps you relevant across fleets and operators.
How to Improve Airbus A320 Skills
Variant awareness: ceo vs neo, LEAP vs PW1100G differences, and their quirks in start, oil, and vibration management.
Predictive workflows: Use your operator’s analytics platform to catch trends early and plan tasks around upcoming faults.
Retrofits and mods: Sharklets, avionics refreshes, cabin updates—know the STCs and post‑mod maintenance impacts.
FBW discipline: Proper control surface checks, BITE routines, and protections verification after work.
Quick‑turn efficiency: Tidy task cards, kitted parts, and clean signoffs reduce ground time without sacrificing quality.
How to Display Airbus A320 Skills on Your Resume
7. Engine Diagnostics
Engine diagnostics decodes sensor data, trends, and inspections to protect performance and life. It blends BITE results, EGT margin tracking, vibration analysis, oil findings, and borescope visuals.
Why It's Important
Engines are cost centers. Early detection avoids hot‑section damage, unscheduled removals, and cascading expense.
How to Improve Engine Diagnostics Skills
Trend relentlessly: EGT margin, fuel flow, N1/N2, vibration, oil consumption—know normal, spot drift.
Borescope craft: Photography, indexing, defect characterization, and pass/fail criteria per manual.
Read the story: Correlate cockpit messages, flight phases, weather, and exceedances with maintenance history.
Use the right tools: Calibrated vib equipment, data loaders, torque and fuel rig test sets. No guesswork.
Engine‑specific knowledge: Different families behave differently. Study the OEM procedures and limits closely.
How to Display Engine Diagnostics Skills on Your Resume
8. Electrical Schematics
Aircraft electrical schematics map every wire, connector, bus, and box. They are the language of troubleshooting—if you can read them fluently, faults untangle faster.
Why It's Important
Complex systems hide simple causes. Schematics let you isolate power paths, grounds, and signals without tearing half the airplane apart.
How to Improve Electrical Schematics Skills
Standards matter: Learn common symbols, wire labels, and ATA chapter conventions. Consistency saves time.
Layer your view: In CAD viewers, toggle layers or zones to avoid visual overload.
Color and clarity: When creating or marking up, use clear color coding and unambiguous callouts.
Cross‑reference smartly: Jump between WDM, AMM procedures, and FIM steps. Build a habit of triangulating.
Keep revisions straight: Always verify effectivity and revision state before acting.
Practice: Trace a circuit end‑to‑end. Then do it backward. Confidence grows.
How to Display Electrical Schematics Skills on Your Resume
9. Fuel Systems
Fuel systems store, condition, measure, and deliver fuel to engines and APU safely. Tanks, pumps, valves, venting, quantity indication, and controls all play their part.
Why It's Important
Fuel touches performance, balance, and safety. Contamination, leaks, or faulty gauging can ground an aircraft—or worse.
How to Improve Fuel Systems Skills
Clean handling: Tight fuel hygiene, proper bonding/grounding, water checks, and contamination control.
Inspection rhythm: Sumps, filters, boost pumps, ejectors, seals, and vent lines—no neglected corners.
Quantity system accuracy: Calibrate per procedure, verify line replaceable units and probes, compare indicated vs. actual.
Leak management: Pressure tests where applicable, sealant work done right, and careful post‑maintenance checks.
Microbial control: Monitor and treat when approved; stagnant tanks invite trouble.
Mod awareness: Stay aligned with service bulletins and approved configuration changes that improve reliability.
How to Display Fuel Systems Skills on Your Resume
10. Pneumatic Systems
Pneumatics use compressed air—often engine bleed or compressors—to run systems like engine start, air conditioning and pressurization (ECS), some de‑ice boots, and select door or latch functions. Note: many transports use hydraulics for gear/brakes; pneumatics commonly support ECS and start.
Why It's Important
Air leaks and control faults sap performance, delay departures, and hit passenger comfort. Efficient pneumatic health keeps starts crisp and cabins stable.
How to Improve Pneumatic Systems Skills
Leak sleuthing: Check ducts, seals, check valves, and regulators. Ultrasonic detection helps catch the quiet leaks.
Temperature and pressure truth: Sensors and controllers must be in calibration; ECS misreads create bad behaviors.
Component condition: Starters, pre‑coolers, packs, and isolation valves wear predictably—trend and rotate smartly.
Routing and clamps: Chafe points and loose supports turn into failures. Secure routing pays off.
System logic: Understand automatic switching and protections to diagnose “works on ground, not in flight” scenarios.
How to Display Pneumatic Systems Skills on Your Resume
11. Flight Controls
Mechanical, hydraulic, or fly‑by‑wire systems that command ailerons, elevators, rudder, spoilers, flaps, slats—and the feel and protections around them.
Why It's Important
Control integrity is life‑critical. Proper rigging, calibration, and verification keep the airplane honest in every phase of flight.
How to Improve Flight Controls Skills
Rigging precision: Cable tensions, pushrod lengths, travel limits—tolerances are tight for a reason.
Actuator health: Check for leaks, response time, backlash, and unusual noises under load.
FBW checks: Run BITE, confirm laws/protections after work, and verify sensor/servo calibrations.
Feedback devices: Feel units, Q‑feel, and trim systems need periodic validation to prevent surprises.
Post‑maintenance confidence: Dual inspections, control sweeps, and signoffs that leave no doubt.
How to Display Flight Controls Skills on Your Resume
12. Aircraft Maintenance (Software: AMOS)
AMOS is a full‑scope maintenance and engineering system used to plan, track, and document aircraft maintenance. Work packages, task cards, configuration control, reliability, inventory, e‑signatures—one ecosystem.
Why It's Important
It keeps compliance tight, work visible, and parts flowing. Done well, it cuts errors and boosts aircraft availability.
How to Improve Aircraft Maintenance (Software: AMOS) Skills
Role‑targeted training: Focus on the modules you touch—planning, line, base, reliability, materials—then expand.
Data you can trust: Clean part numbers, effectivity, task intervals, and AD/SB statuses. Garbage in, chaos out.
Templates and checklists: Standardize task cards, defect categories, and signoff flows to speed repetitive work.
Integrations: Connect with inventory, procurement, and HR where possible. Fewer manual entries, fewer errors.
Mobile and scanning: Barcode/RFID for parts, mobile signoff for technicians—time savers that stick.
KPIs that matter: Monitor turnaround time, deferral rates, repeat defects, and parts shortages; adjust processes fast.
Version discipline: Keep software and master data current; communicate changes so the floor isn’t surprised.
How to Display Aircraft Maintenance (Software: AMOS) Skills on Your Resume
