Maintenance Engineer Job Description, Skills, and Salary
Get to know about the duties, responsibilities, qualifications, and skills requirements of a maintenance engineer. Feel free to use our maintenance engineer job description template to produce your own. We also provide you with information about the salary you can earn as a maintenance engineer.
Who is a Maintenance Engineer?
Maintenance engineering ensures that the world’s machinery operates properly. The job description of a maintenance engineer includes maintaining the employer’s machinery, locating replacement parts, and performing emergency repairs. The service engineer may be responsible for machinery ranging from window air conditioners to diesel boilers to factory manufacturing equipment.
Maintenance engineers are responsible for the repair and maintenance of any machinery used in manufacturing, engineering, or industrial settings. Maintenance engineers are responsible for organizing routine equipment checks in addition to resolving faults as they occur. They can work in a variety of engineering sectors or specialize in one – as mechanical maintenance engineers do.
Maintenance engineers must develop maintenance strategies for mechanical equipment installation, maintenance, and commissioning. When equipment fails, mechanical maintenance specialists are required to analyze the failures, isolate the faults, and ensure that time-sensitive issues are addressed promptly. Along with maintaining and resolving faults as they occur, maintenance engineers will coordinate preventative action to minimize machinery wear and tear, thereby extending the life of equipment/supplies.
Maintenance engineers also play a role in the acquisition of new equipment for a plant or project. They frequently collaborate with other maintenance personnel, such as fitters and technicians, to ensure that equipment is used safely and effectively. They are also required to budget for mechanical equipment replacements, maintenance expenses, and other costs.
Maintenance Engineers are responsible for a variety of machines used in the medical, manufacturing, aviation, heating/cooling, and food preparation industries. They perform preventative maintenance, troubleshoot issues, and make necessary repairs. Additionally, maintenance engineers would be responsible for the removal of obsolete equipment and the installation of new machines.
The majority of maintenance engineers work in industrial settings. Additionally, they may work for real estate companies, inspecting various systems in commercial and residential buildings. According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment growth for all general maintenance and repair workers, which includes Maintenance Engineers, is projected to be 6% through 2024. This projection is believed to be influenced significantly by an anticipated rebound in the overall construction and maintenance industries.
They solve problems and perform maintenance on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis, as well as contribute to maintenance strategies.
Maintenance Engineer jobs in the United States and abroad have become more diverse as a result of technological advancements.
Today, engineers working on a full-time or part-time basis are involved in a wide variety of technical fields and related jobs. This significantly increases the level of responsibility associated with the standard set of tasks that an engineer is expected to perform.
However, before they can move on to more intricate tasks, today’s maintenance engineers must perform a few basic types of maintenance.
Hiring maintenance engineers is especially beneficial for organizations with large facilities and industrial plants. Due to the engineer’s expertise in performing complex, technical repairs, less work is outsourced. This results in cost savings and faster turnaround times for the maintenance department.
Equipment specialists are aware of which components are prone to failure. As a result, they are best equipped to determine when component replacement, lubrication, and inspections are necessary for effective preventive maintenance. They can also contribute to more advanced types of maintenance initiatives, such as predictive maintenance, due to their technical expertise.
Employing a maintenance engineer is a good idea for organizations that have complex equipment and want to reduce downtime through proactive maintenance.
Maintenance Engineer Job Description
What is a maintenance engineer job description? A maintenance engineer job description is simply a list of duties and responsibilities of a maintenance engineer in an organization. Below are the maintenance engineer job description examples you can use to develop your resume or write a maintenance engineer job description for your employee. Employers can also use it to sieve out job seekers when choosing candidates for interviews.
The duties and responsibilities of a maintenance engineer include the following:
- Developing strategies, procedures, and methods for maintenance
- Performing routine maintenance on equipment and responding to equipment failures
- Troubleshooting breakdown issues
- Installing new components and verifying that equipment is operating properly; conducting quality inspections on jobs; communicating with client departments, customers, and other engineering and production colleagues.
- Arranging for the procurement of specialty fixtures, fittings, and components
- Maintaining control over maintenance tools, supplies, and equipment
- Responding to emergencies, unanticipated problems, and repairs
- Increasing the effectiveness of health and safety policies and procedures
- Working with specialized equipment, such as programmable logic controllers (PLCs), which are used to control machinery on assembly lines in factories.
- Implementing maintenance strategies to aid in the development of installation and commissioning procedures
- Ensuring that the machinery and equipment are covered continuously in the event of a breakdown.
- Establishing a schedule for routine maintenance.
- Maintaining the machinery, such as lubricating moving parts or replacing filters.
- Diagnosing problems and determining the best course of action to take when the machinery fails.
- Obtaining any specialized components or fixtures that may be required to carry out repairs.
- Adhering to all applicable health and safety regulations.
- Maintaining and managing supplies, parts, and equipment inventories.
- Establishing procedures and policies for maintenance.
- Maintaining records of costs, incidents, and procedures associated with maintenance and repair.
- Adhering to all applicable safety standards.
- Inspecting the work of other engineers.
- Collaborating with maintenance mechanics to develop equipment repair schedules.
- Conducting time-based maintenance following established repair schedules.
- Developing resource-saving maintenance strategies.
- Collaborating with a variety of maintenance stakeholders to ensure that equipment is operating at peak performance.
- Utilizing performance tracking software and tools to identify potential equipment failure areas or causes.
- Conducting real-time monitoring to ascertain the health and functionality of assets.
- Conducting a variety of observation techniques, including oil/fluid analysis, vibration analysis (haptic analysis), and thermal imaging.
Other important tasks include the following:
- Inspect and Maintain Equipment
To avoid equipment malfunctions and other issues, it is up to the Maintenance Engineer to ensure that equipment is operating properly and is not in danger of breaking down. They conduct routine inspections and preventive maintenance on machines to ensure that they operate efficiently. This may include the replacement of worn components and the monitoring of oil and other fluid levels.
- Conduct Repairs
When an industrial machine fails to operate properly, it is up to the Maintenance Engineer to repair it. They are in charge of troubleshooting the issue and determining whether components can be repaired or must be replaced. They are frequently in charge of ordering and installing replacement parts. Additionally, maintenance engineers must perform any necessary upgrades or modifications to established systems to maximize or prolong their efficiency.
- Replace Existing Equipment
In some cases, machines that have ceased to function are simply unrepairable due to the machine’s age or the cost of repairs. The Maintenance Engineer is then responsible for installing new equipment and performing post-installation checks to ensure that all systems are operating properly.
Qualifications
A high school diploma is required for maintenance engineering. While still enrolled in high school, if you can develop fundamental skills in woodworking, welding, or working with power tools, you may gain an advantage over competitors. However, the majority of training occurs through on-the-job tasks. After completing an apprenticeship with a seasoned engineer or a union local, you’ll begin with simple tasks such as repairing leaky faucets and work your way up to more difficult challenges.
While the apprentice program will teach you maintenance skills, it may also require you to enroll in some vocational classes. Classroom education has become more critical as equipment becomes more sophisticated and maintenance engineers increasingly monitor systems using computers.
Along with technical abilities, you’ll need to develop strong interpersonal skills to deal with customers effectively. Because the work is frequently detailed and precise, having good hand-eye coordination is critical. Due to the urgency with which problems must be resolved, anticipate a high volume of work on weekends, as well as night and emergency work.
Certification and Licensing
Licensing requirements vary by state, locality, and type of work performed. Apprenticeships and vocational classes should inform you of the licenses required for the type of work you wish to do. Additionally, you can learn about certification training and how it can help you become a more desirable employee.
Essential Skills
- Problem Solving Skills
A maintenance engineer’s day will be filled with problems. They are not only responsible for identifying the problem, but also for diagnosing its cause, developing a solution, and implementing that solution, frequently within an extremely condensed timeframe.
- Prioritization
The ability to maintain a level head under duress is a sign of a good facilities maintenance engineer. When confronted with a litany of electrical, mechanical, and structural issues, they must avoid panic and instead proceed confidently. A truly skilled maintenance engineer will be able to prioritize the most critical tasks while not neglecting smaller or seemingly “lesser” issues.
- Physical capacity
Maintenance of facilities is a physically demanding job. Maintenance engineers must carry out their duties from the highest roofs and ladders to the smallest crawl spaces. It is a common assignment to lift and drag heavy machines and appliances. Hours are lengthy and frequently irregular, and jobs frequently require maintenance engineers to work outside in extreme heat or cold.
- Attention to details
A facility maintenance engineer will spend a significant amount of time closely inspecting complex systems. They must be able to comprehend the inner workings of an electrical circuit and identify each component that contributes to the proper operation of an HVAC system. A sharp eye is required to spot minor issues within a much larger picture.
Maintenance engineers who are not meticulous will quickly discover that they are missing issues in the systems they are tasked with inspecting and repairing. When small problems are ignored, they can grow into much larger ones, increasing the stress and complexity of a maintenance engineer’s job.
- Adaptability
Take a quick look back over this article and take note of the numerous different elements discussed. Electrical wiring, plumbing, HVAC systems, ventilation, heating, and cooling, and the external structural support structure of a building… and that is only a sampling of the areas considered to be a “maintenance engineer’s domain.”
Unsurprisingly, versatility is the fourth critical skill that a good facilities maintenance engineer must possess. In a single workday, a building maintenance technician may be asked to repair a wiring fault, inspect the building’s windows for weatherproofing, and inspect the toilets for proper flushing. The tech must be able to transition quickly and efficiently from one job to the next, never becoming bogged down or fixated on a single issue. While the phrase “jack of all trades” is frequently followed by “master of none,” a more accurate description for the maintenance engineer would be “master of all.”
How to Become a Maintenance Engineer
- Earn a high school diploma or an equivalent qualification.
A high school diploma typically provides you with the fundamental reading, comprehension, and mathematics skills necessary to perform the job. Chemistry, physics, math, and design courses in high school may also be beneficial to you. If you lack a high school diploma, you may be able to begin your career in maintenance engineering by enrolling in a technical school or community college. Classes in mathematics, mechanical drawing, and blueprint reading can help lay the groundwork for a career as a maintenance engineer.
- Earn a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field of study.
While a bachelor’s degree is not always required to work as a maintenance engineer, having one in a relevant field can help you stand out as a candidate. Mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, or, if you’re interested in pursuing a managerial position, facilities management are all possible degree subjects. If you lack an engineering degree, you may be able to find work as a maintenance technician and work your way up to becoming a maintenance engineer through training and experience.
- Look for an apprenticeship or internship opportunity.
While in college, seek out an apprenticeship or internship that will provide you with valuable real-world experience. Not only will you be able to put the skills you are learning in class into practice, but you may also meet people who can assist you in starting your career after you complete your degree course. Additionally, when applying for maintenance engineer jobs, an internship or apprenticeship looks good on your resume.
- Look for entry-level opportunities.
After earning your engineering-related degree, seek entry-level employment with a maintenance company. This enables you to gain knowledge from seasoned maintenance engineers and receive training in the day-to-day operations of a maintenance engineer.
- Obtain any required licenses
Your state may require that you obtain a Professional Engineer (PE) license. This is typically not required while working for a licensed maintenance engineer but becomes necessary once you begin offering your services. Additionally, depending on the type of equipment you maintain, you may require specialized licensure. For instance, in a hospital setting, you may be required to work with hazardous equipment that requires a license to demonstrate your competence. This is something you can research based on your state’s requirements and other job specifications.
- Continue your education
Along with any required licensure, you may wish to pursue some voluntary certifications. Numerous organizations offer a variety of certifications.
Where to Work as a Maintenance Engineer
A maintenance engineer may work on-site in a variety of different locations, depending on the nature of the maintenance work. They frequently work in a single location, such as a hospital or office building, or a collection of buildings, such as a college campus or apartment complex. Additionally, construction sites employ maintenance engineers, which may require some outdoor work. Maintenance engineers are frequently required to stand for extended periods and lift heavy equipment. Additionally, they frequently work in confined or uncomfortable spaces, climb ladders, and operate manual tools.
Maintenance Engineer Salary Scale
In the United States, the national average salary for a Maintenance Engineer is $60,547 per year.