FAA Received 23 Electric-Propulsion Projects. Its Certification Skill-Gap Review Is on Hold.

Electric aircraft are no longer only a research concept in the United States. The Federal Aviation Administration selected eight advanced-air-mobility demonstration projects in March 2026, announced an electric aircraft medical-transport test in July and publicized hybrid-electric flights between small and major airports in August.

Those flights showed aircraft operating inside an FAA integration program. They did not settle a different question: whether the agency has enough people with the right expertise to approve first-of-kind designs for commercial use.

The latest federal review found a narrow but consequential capacity gap. The FAA had received 23 electric-propulsion type-certification projects since 2018, according to the Government Accountability Office. Four of seven manufacturers interviewed by GAO, along with an engineering firm, said the agency had limited electric-propulsion expertise. Two FAA certification branches reported that they were eight full-time-equivalent positions short of employees capable of or experienced in that specialty in July 2025.

FAA officials gave GAO important counterevidence. They said the agency could support the projects then underway and that staffing shortfalls were not affecting project progress as of March 2026. The agency had hired propulsion engineers, assigned experienced staff across offices, expanded energy-storage expertise and developed training. But the broader Aircraft Certification skill-gap assessment that could map future needs was on indefinite hold as of April 2026.

FederalHiringData's analysis adds a workforce trend to that official record. An FAA-wide group of 12 technical, aviation-safety and aircraft-operations occupation series fell from 9,086 covered employees in January 2025 to 8,423 in June 2026. That is a reduction of 663, or 7.3%. It is not a count of Aircraft Certification Service, and it cannot identify electric-project teams. It does show that the agency was drawing on a smaller adjacent technical workforce while trying to build expertise for technologies with few established certification precedents.

The evidence does not establish a safety failure or prove that staffing delayed a particular aircraft. It identifies a planning problem: FAA says today's projects are supported, yet its broader certification skill map remains unfinished at a time when public workforce and recruiting indicators have contracted.

A small portfolio can still demand disproportionate expertise

Electric propulsion represented a tiny fraction of FAA's overall certification volume. GAO counted 23 electric-propulsion type-certification projects received from 2018 through its 2026 review, compared with 16,788 total type-certification projects over that period. The electric projects were about 0.14% of the total.

That ratio is not a workload ratio. A familiar change to an established aircraft can use standards, methods and delegated functions developed over decades. A first electric propulsion system may require the FAA to decide which standards apply, create special conditions for risks not covered by existing rules, review unfamiliar energy-storage and thermal-management evidence, and coordinate technical policy across projects.

GAO described two principal routes. Ten project submissions used existing aircraft standards with special conditions where needed. Four of those projects - Safran, magniX, BETA Technologies and ZeroAvia - had received special conditions as of March 2026. Six had not.

Fourteen electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing projects entered the special-class route for aircraft that do not fit the conventional airplane or rotorcraft categories. The FAA had issued airworthiness criteria for two, Joby Aviation and Archer Aviation, while 12 had not received criteria as of March.

The 10 and 14 pathway counts should not be added to make 24 unique projects. GAO reported 23 unique projects and explained that applicants can change designs or certification paths. Two projects had been paused by applicants, and one was canceled in 2025. A project count also says nothing about how many engineers it consumes or how close it is to approval.

As of March 2026, GAO said FAA had not type-certified a manned electric aircraft for commercial operations. FAA had issued a Part 35 type certificate in July 2025 for a Hartzell propeller designed for electric aircraft, which is a meaningful component approval but not an aircraft type certificate.

FederalHiringData conducted a bounded review of FAA's current certification, advanced-air-mobility and newsroom pages through Aug. 24. The July and August announcements documented demonstration flights under the electric vertical takeoff and landing Integration Pilot Program. They did not announce that FAA had type-certified a manned electric aircraft for commercial operations. An aircraft registration, experimental airworthiness record or demonstration authorization is not the same approval as a type certificate for the design.

FAA measured an eight-position specialty gap

GAO's most concrete staffing finding came from the East and West Certification Branches, the units assigned to several electric-propulsion projects. In July 2025, the branches reported a combined shortage of eight full-time equivalents who were capable of or experienced in electric propulsion.

The number is narrow. It is not an agency-wide requirement and should not be multiplied across offices. GAO did not publish a complete current denominator for every FAA employee qualified in batteries, high-voltage systems, electric motors, thermal management, software integration or powered-lift design.

The stakeholder record nevertheless shows why the specialty matters. Four of seven manufacturers interviewed by GAO said limited FAA expertise created certification challenges. One engineering firm made the same point. Manufacturers said that a small number of qualified specialists could have multiple project responsibilities, making availability a constraint even when an office was not missing a large number of positions.

FAA officials said employees were learning emerging technologies while handling other duties. They also said the staff then available could support the existing project load but might not be sufficient if the number of electric projects increased substantially.

That is a more precise finding than saying FAA lacks engineers. The agency's current Aircraft Certification Service page says the service includes more than 1,300 engineers, scientists, inspectors, test pilots and other safety professionals. The question is whether the organization knows where specialty gaps exist and can move, train or recruit people before a larger portfolio arrives.

The workforce proxy fell 7.3%

Public OPM data cannot isolate Aircraft Certification Service in a reliable historical series. FederalHiringData therefore built an FAA-wide proxy using occupation series that can contribute to certification and emerging-technology work: aviation safety, general engineering, aerospace engineering, electrical, electronics, mechanical and computer engineering, computer science, information technology, general physical science, aircraft operations and materials engineering.

That definition is deliberately broad. Aviation Safety series 1825 includes work outside aircraft design approval. IT specialists can support many FAA missions. An aerospace engineer may work on conventional aircraft rather than electric propulsion. No one in the proxy can be assigned to an electric project from the public OPM record.

The aggregate still provides useful operating context. The selected series totaled 8,851 employees in September 2015. September observations stayed between 8,649 and 9,056 through 2025. The count was 8,906 in September 2025 and 8,423 in June 2026.

The sharper January-to-June comparison begins before the largest 2025 personnel outflow. From 9,086 employees in January 2025, the selected group fell by 663 through June 2026.

The decline was spread across multiple series. Aviation Safety fell by 101, Information Technology Management by 299, General Engineering by 86, Aerospace Engineering by 41, Electronics Engineering by 51, Computer Science by 44 and Electrical Engineering by 11.

The figures cannot answer whether FAA lost an electric-propulsion expert. They do show fewer employees across the occupational pools from which the agency can supply safety oversight, engineering judgment and digital-system expertise.

The broader FAA workforce also contracted. Covered headcount was 48,825 in September 2000, peaked at 55,150 in September 2002, and stayed mostly in the mid-40,000s after 2004. It was 46,251 in September 2025 and 44,660 in June 2026.

Those totals include air-traffic operations, airports, security-related functions and many other missions. They are historical context, not a certification staffing measure. The 2002 peak may also reflect organizational and reporting changes that a headcount chart alone cannot separate.

Experience losses reached both newer and senior cohorts

Electric-aircraft work depends on new-domain knowledge and certification experience at the same time. Battery systems, power electronics and software-intensive controls require current technical proficiency. Applying regulations, negotiating a certification basis and judging evidence require institutional knowledge that develops over years.

The selected workforce's age profile remained senior. Employees age 55 or older fell from 4,672 in January 2025 to 4,065 in June 2026. Their share declined from 51.4% to 48.3%, leaving nearly half of the proxy in that age group. Employees ages 45 to 54 moved from 2,004 to 1,990, while employees under 45 fell from 2,410 to 2,368.

Length of service shows a different distribution. Employees with less than five years of federal service fell from 2,165 to 1,712, a reduction of 453. The 20-year-or-more group fell from 2,840 to 2,595, down 245. The 10-to-19-year group increased by 47, and the five-to-nine-year group declined by 11.

Age does not equal retirement eligibility, and retirement eligibility does not equal an exit. GAO reported in 2020 that more than half of the Aviation Safety workforce it reviewed would be eligible to retire by 2025. That was a forecast of eligibility, not a count of employees who ultimately retired.

OPM personnel-action records show what happened at a broader occupational level. In calendar 2025, the selected series recorded 548 accession actions, 1,192 separation actions and 868 retirement actions. Through June 2026, the files recorded 307 accessions, 327 separations and 227 retirements.

Actions are not necessarily unique people, and the 2026 partial year cannot be compared with a full year. Still, accessions and separations were nearly balanced in the first six months of 2026. Headcount had not recovered, and retirement actions remained substantial.

The certification skill-gap review remains unfinished

GAO's 2021 workforce review recommended that FAA's Aviation Safety organization assess gaps between the skills employees had and those needed for emerging technologies. The recommendation was designed to move planning beyond retirement eligibility and occupation labels toward actual competencies.

Progress split across FAA organizations. Flight Standards completed a competency model in July 2025. Aircraft Certification told GAO in April 2026 that its skill-gap assessment had been placed on indefinite hold because of competing priorities and an FAA reorganization. GAO therefore kept the recommendation open and partially addressed.

A separate recommendation on recurring reviews of training curricula was closed as implemented in May 2026. GAO said the Aircraft Certification Service had assessed training and established a schedule for future reviews. That is meaningful progress: training can spread knowledge that is currently concentrated among a few specialists.

But curriculum review and skill-gap analysis answer different questions. A curriculum can be updated without establishing how many employees possess each competency, where they sit, when they may leave or how demand changes under multiple simultaneous projects. The eight-FTE branch shortage demonstrates why location and availability matter in addition to an agency-wide total.

FAA's actions also include hiring propulsion engineers, assigning experienced employees to projects across branch boundaries, using a Chief Scientist and Technical Adviser for technical support, and increasing energy-storage training and expertise. The agency has an active powered-lift type-certification advisory circular, issued in July 2025, that provides a policy framework for special-class projects.

The public record therefore supports neither extreme. FAA is not approaching electric certification without standards, training or experienced staff. It also has not completed the broader assessment GAO recommended for identifying and planning around specialty gaps.

Public recruiting has weakened as a signal

FederalHiringData counted distinct FAA announcements in the 12 selected occupation series that opened from Jan. 1 through Aug. 24 in each year. The same-window count rose from 512 in 2018 to 999 in 2022. It was 932 in 2024, 734 in 2025 and 247 in 2026.

Announcements are not hires, vacancies or selections. One public notice can cover multiple grades, locations or future openings. FAA can fill positions through internal movement, broad direct-hire notices and other mechanisms. The 247 count should not be interpreted as 247 people hired or 247 available jobs.

Titles provide only a limited view of electric-specific recruiting. FederalHiringData found propulsion-titled FAA aerospace-engineer announcements throughout the archive, including two that opened in 2025. A General Engineer - Electric Power Systems announcement opened in May 2024. No FAA announcement opened from Jan. 1 through Aug. 24, 2026, with propulsion, electric power systems, eVTOL, powered-lift, emerging aviation or advanced aviation explicitly in its title.

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That does not establish zero recruiting for electric work. A generic Public Notice for Electrical Engineer opened in February 2026 and was scheduled to remain open for a year, but its title does not identify an electric-aircraft assignment. Broad notices and internal placements can support emerging programs without using the technology name publicly.

The safest reading is that public technical recruiting was much less visible in 2026, not that FAA made no relevant hires.

Delegation extends FAA capacity but does not replace it

Aircraft manufacturers and outside engineering organizations perform substantial certification work under FAA oversight. The Organization Designation Authorization system permits authorized organizations to conduct specified findings and functions on the agency's behalf.

That is not self-certification. FAA retains responsibility for the certification basis, novel and unusual design features, special conditions, exemptions and other matters it does not delegate. The agency's April 2026 certification explainer describes a seven-phase process in which FAA determines staffing, agrees on standards, reviews detailed compliance plans, observes tests and approves production.

GAO found that electric applicants viewed the limited ability to use delegation as a challenge. FAA needs experience, policy and repeatable procedures before it can delegate more of a novel technology's work. That creates a sequencing problem: delegation may improve capacity after a technology matures, but the first projects require direct federal judgment to build the rules and experience that make later delegation possible.

The solution is not to treat delegated engineers as a substitute for FAA specialists. It is to use delegation where authorized while preserving enough federal expertise to define the questions, review the evidence and oversee the system.

What the evidence supports

FAA's electric-certification portfolio is small by project count. It is not small in novelty. The agency is evaluating propulsion systems, energy storage, powered-lift configurations and integrated controls that do not map neatly onto every established standard.

The FAA says the current workload is supported, and the record shows real institutional movement: propulsion hiring, technical advisers, training reviews, powered-lift guidance and live integration demonstrations. Those are reasons not to portray the certification system as stalled or unsafe.

The caution is about visibility and resilience. Two branches reported an eight-FTE specialty shortage. Manufacturers described difficulty reaching limited experts. The selected FAA-wide technical workforce fell 7.3%, with losses among newer and highly experienced cohorts. Public recruiting dropped sharply. Aircraft Certification's skill-gap assessment remains on hold.

Does FAA have enough engineers with the right specialties? For the projects underway as of March, FAA's answer was yes. For a substantially larger or more simultaneous portfolio, agency officials said the same staff might not be enough. Without a completed skill-gap assessment, the public cannot see a current, organization-wide plan that resolves that uncertainty.

Methodology and limitations

FederalHiringData reviewed GAO-26-107816, released May 27, 2026, for electric-propulsion project counts, certification status, stakeholder interviews, branch staffing and FAA responses. GAO-21-94 and its updated recommendation records supplied workforce-competency and training status through May 2026.

Current-status checks covered FAA's aircraft-certification and advanced-air-mobility pages, its April 23 certification-process explainer, the July 2025 powered-lift advisory circular, the March 2026 integration-program selections, and July and August 2026 demonstration announcements. The bounded review was completed Aug. 24, 2026. It did not treat an experimental airworthiness record, individual registration, component certificate or integration demonstration as an aircraft type certificate for commercial operations.

The workforce history combines OPM legacy FedScope September agency data for 2000 through 2014 with OPM Federal Workforce Data for September 2015 through 2025 and June 2026, using FAA subelement TD03. The long series is covered federal headcount, not full-time equivalents, contractor staffing or productive capacity.

The technical proxy includes series 0801, 0830, 0850, 0854, 0855, 0861, 0806, 1301, 1550, 1825, 2181 and 2210. It is FAA-wide and does not equal Aircraft Certification Service. Occupation codes cannot reveal assignments, electric-propulsion proficiency or work on a named project. Age and length-of-service comparisons use January 2025 and June 2026 public OPM files.

Accessions, separations and retirements are OPM personnel actions, not necessarily unique people. Calendar 2026 covers January through June only. Retirement eligibility is not the same as retirement.

The USAJOBS analysis counts distinct FAA announcement control numbers in the selected occupation series opened from Jan. 1 through Aug. 24 in each year from 2018 through 2026. FederalHiringData historical USAJOBS coverage begins around March 2017. Announcements are not hires, vacancies, applications, selections or employees. A bounded title search cannot identify work assignments hidden behind general public notices.

The analysis does not estimate the number of additional employees FAA needs, compare federal and private total compensation, or attribute a project delay or safety outcome to workforce levels. Project counts are not comparable units of labor. Sources and public records were checked through Aug. 24, 2026.

The hero is an official FAA powered-lift engineering illustration from the agency's Advanced Air Mobility page. It is illustrative and does not depict a certified aircraft or a documented FAA project team.

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