The basic job of a maintenance engineer is to keep mechanical equipment, machines, or the facility in good working order. In some maintenance engineer jobs, the maintenance engineer is a manager of one or more departments or crews who perform these tasks. In other companies, the maintenance engineer works solo or has only one assistant or a very limited crew. Maintenance engineer jobs are available globally in a diverse range of specialties. Many times corporations advertise using a different title for the job, such as preventive maintenance engineer, senior-level maintenance engineer, or maintenance I&E engineer.
The diversity of maintenance engineer jobs increases a person's prospect of finding a job in a desired specialty, such as electrical maintenance. Sometimes, the specific locale or region of the job creates special needs, such as environmental challenges. Regardless of the area of specialization, most duties of a maintenance engineer involve the necessity of a broad range of expertise. Typically, maintenance engineers need to possess knowledge of the principles of building or mechanical engineering.
Maintenance engineer jobs generally require the person to maintain the building or manage a crew who maintains it. This often includes rudimentary maintenance on the facility's equipment. Sometimes, the company sends its maintenance staff to training sessions so that they can repair and maintain the equipment. For example, a manufacturing company may pay its maintenance engineer to learn to care for and repair a heat treat oven.
Many industrial manufacturing companies hire maintenance engineers and expect them to provide project design or support for various small and large capital improvements or expansions. Usually in smaller facilities, the maintenance engineer doubles as the department head and is responsible for the maintenance budget and for providing leadership and directions to the department employees.
Maintenance engineer jobs are not only in industrial settings. Some large real estate firms hire maintenance engineers to maintain and repair their real estate property. Hospitals, medical centers, and clinics hire maintenance engineers.
When applying for a maintenance engineer job, the applicant should watch for special qualifications that the employer is seeking. Required qualifications may include refrigeration operator certification, stationary engineer certification, and a class A boiler operator's license. Often a company wants an engineer who has HVAC certifications for maintaining the facility's air conditioning and heating systems.
A reliability maintenance engineer is responsible for monitoring equipment reliability. A building maintenance engineer may be required to be proficient in carpentry, plumbing, and electrical applications. Maintaining the equipment is part of the job for a petrochemical refinery maintenance engineer because there is a significant amount of regulatory paperwork in the job. On the other hand, maintenance engineer jobs at sugar, salt, or vegetable oil refineries usually involve more equipment and building maintenance than regulatory paperwork.