How To Become A Commissioning Manager: What It Is and Career Path

What is a commissioning manager and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

The role of a commissioning manager is essential in businesses with large-scale projects, including construction, engineering, and manufacturing. As a supervising member of the staff, they are mostly involved in overseeing projects and operations of the company as a whole.

The main purpose of a commissioning manager is to ensure that all operational processes are done right. This is imperative in ensuring the safety of workers, preventing project delays, and minimizing unnecessary expenses for the company.

Aside from great leadership, excellent skills in time management, organization, and communication are essential to become a successful commissioning manager. Along with these soft skills, aspiring commissioning managers are usually required to have a bachelor's degree in business, engineering, or other related majors. Most employers also look for candidates that have prior management experience in the same industry, and most of the time, the required amount of work experience is extensive.

The responsibilities of a commissioning manager are often mission-critical. If you think that the job is too burdensome, consider the average annual salary of $95,000 as fair compensation.

ScoreCommissioning ManagerUS Average

Salary

7.7

Avg. Salary $104,664

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.4

Growth rate 2%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

1.6

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.16%

Asian 11.76%

Black or African American 3.10%

Hispanic or Latino 8.88%

Unknown 4.67%

White 71.42%

Gender

female 19.18%

male 80.82%

Age - 48

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 48

Stress level

7.4

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

10.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.5

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a commissioning manager

Explore commissioning manager education requirements

Most common commissioning manager degrees

Bachelor's

62.8 %

Associate

13.9 %

Master's

11.9 %

Start to develop specific commissioning manager skills

Skills	Percentages
Project Management	15.98%
Test Procedures	8.09%
Quality Standards	7.03%
Leed	5.05%
HVAC	4.50%

Complete relevant commissioning manager training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New commissioning managers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a commissioning manager based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real commissioning manager resumes.

Research commissioning manager duties and responsibilities

Create new opportunities and value for the company and successfully manage all geotechnical engineering matters including comprehensive report writing.
Commission the SCADA / DCS system for the site.
Advance technical understanding of utilities and HVAC systems.
Implement HVAC controls and commissioning tracking checklists and databases.

Prepare your commissioning manager resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your commissioning manager resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a commissioning manager resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable commissioning manager resume templates

Build a professional commissioning manager resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your commissioning manager resume.