What does an engineering/maintenance manager do?
Engineering and maintenance managers are skilled executive professionals who manage the daily activities of the engineering department while directing the maintenance of all types of machinery in a manufacturing plant. These managers are required to develop preventive maintenance procedures and inspections for all manufacturing equipment so that they can reduce machine downtime. They must ensure that contractors are trained to respond to emergencies and follow all the processes that are documented within the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations. Engineering and maintenance managers must also create a budget to manage the expenditures related to plant equipment upgrades.
Engineering/maintenance manager responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real engineering/maintenance manager resumes:
- Used Bizx's internal tool to coordinate and manage the SEO department's link exchanges.
- Develop, manage and monitor self inspection and safety program (OSHA) develop and train personnel in hazardous materials/waste program.
- Implement new CMMS system to automate and document preventative maintenance procedures.
- Manage QA for research orient development efforts and for high visibility, production focuse development efforts tie to revenue generation.
- Write work instructions for the ISO & AAR help maintain the ISO & AAR certification.
- Maintain all aspects of plumbing, electrical systems, heating and cooling.
- Research and utilize new SEO tools and techniques and submit site maps and optimize pages.
- Maintain all plant systems including: sprinkler, compressor, security, gas, and HVAC.
- Oversee and coordinate the repair to all electrical, plumbing, ventilation and other building systems.
- Analyze and procure machine shop, rigging, electrical construction test equipment and computers / software for PLC support.
- Ensure all contractors are trained in emergency response and safety and that all OSHA processes are documented within OSHA regulations.
- Develop a network project to integrate information on line instead of the manual data from PLC system at each cell.
- Inspect all roofs, walls, cooling towers, gas, steam, paint surface, electrical and HVAC facilities.
- Implement equipment system improvements using TPM methods and employ early/equipment effectiveness management principles.
- Complete a successful implementation of a new CMMS system and production productivity tracking system.
Engineering/maintenance manager skills and personality traits
We calculated that 6% of Engineering/Maintenance Managers are proficient in Capital Projects, OSHA, and Project Management. They’re also known for soft skills such as Math skills, Organizational skills, and Analytical skills.
We break down the percentage of Engineering/Maintenance Managers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Capital Projects, 6%
Supervised maintenance and directed facilities improvements, capital projects, and associated budgetary requirements for paper bag manufacturing plant.
- OSHA, 5%
Developed with the Safety Coordinator, Company OSHA programs to identify and eliminate hazardous conditions with new or existing equipment.
- Project Management, 5%
Provided project management on various capital improvement projects including design review, construction coordination, punch-list development and building start-up.
- Facility Maintenance, 4%
Managed unionized facility maintenance department with responsibility for all site buildings, equipment, utilities and infrastructure.
- Plant Maintenance, 4%
Installed, configured and sustained plant maintenance management system.
- Predictive Maintenance, 4%
Directed maintenance and engineering teams toward successful implementation of preventive and predictive maintenance on all critical path equipment.
Common skills that an engineering/maintenance manager uses to do their job include "capital projects," "osha," and "project management." You can find details on the most important engineering/maintenance manager responsibilities below.
Math skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for an engineering/maintenance manager to have is math skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "architectural and engineering managers use calculus and other mathematics to develop new products and processes." Engineering/maintenance managers often use math skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "performed quantitative analysis of key process indicators to identify opportunities for process improvement. "
Organizational skills. Another essential skill to perform engineering/maintenance manager duties is organizational skills. Engineering/maintenance managers responsibilities require that "architectural and engineering managers keep track of many workers, schedules, and budgets simultaneously." Engineering/maintenance managers also use organizational skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "hired, trained, and supervised maintenance supervisors and a maintenance planner/scheduler to achieve organizational objectives. "
Analytical skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of engineering/maintenance managers is analytical skills. This skill is critical to many everyday engineering/maintenance manager duties, as "architectural and engineering managers evaluate information to solve problems." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "lead teams in root cause analysis, developed corrective actions and implementation of these actions through quality and production. "
Communication skills. For certain engineering/maintenance manager responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "communication skills." The day-to-day duties of an engineering/maintenance manager rely on this skill, as "architectural and engineering managers must effectively convey information and expectations related to projects." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what engineering/maintenance managers do: "organized the planning department, develop standards for preventive and predictive maintenance and standards for reporting and communication. "
Leadership skills. Another skill commonly found on engineering/maintenance manager job descriptions is "leadership skills." It can come up quite often in engineering/maintenance manager duties, since "architectural and engineering managers lead teams, which requires an ability to organize, direct, and motivate others." Here's an example from a resume of how this skill fits into day-to-day engineering/maintenance manager responsibilities: "provided leadership role including policy and procedure development, training, predictive maintenance programs (pdm). "
The three companies that hire the most engineering/maintenance managers are:
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Compare different engineering/maintenance managers
Engineering/maintenance manager vs. Director of facilities
The director of facilities is responsible for monitoring the facilities' operations, including the inspection of tools, equipment, and machinery, scheduling routine maintenance, and managing resource budgets. Directors of facilities also maintain the safety and security of the facilities, immediately reporting potential risks to avoid hazards within the premises. They facilitate training and programs for the employees to mitigate risks, negotiate with contractors, and coordinate with the management for any facility remodeling and renovation. A director of the facility must have excellent communication and leadership skills, especially for managing staff's performance and needs.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between engineering/maintenance managers and director of facilities. For instance, engineering/maintenance manager responsibilities require skills such as "capital projects," "facility maintenance," "plant maintenance," and "predictive maintenance." Whereas a director of facilities is skilled in "customer service," "life safety," "patients," and "facilities management." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Directors of facilities earn the highest salaries when working in the media industry, with an average yearly salary of $87,213. On the other hand, engineering/maintenance managers are paid more in the manufacturing industry with an average salary of $98,678.The education levels that directors of facilities earn slightly differ from engineering/maintenance managers. In particular, directors of facilities are 2.6% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than an engineering/maintenance manager. Additionally, they're 1.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Engineering/maintenance manager vs. Director, facilities & operations
Directors of facilities operations plan, organize and maintain the operations of an organization's infrastructure systems and facilities. They hire, evaluate, train, discipline, and recommend staff dismissal. These professionals develop, recommend and administer processes, procedures, and policies that support building maintenance operations and grounds maintenance operations. Besides monitoring and overseeing the external contractors' work to ensure the project runs smoothly, these professionals also collect and analyze several complex information and data, such as utility usage and utility costs.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, engineering/maintenance manager responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "plant maintenance," "predictive maintenance," "lean manufacturing," and "process improvement." Meanwhile, a director, facilities & operations has duties that require skills in areas such as "customer service," "facility operations," "cleanliness," and "oversight." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
On average, directors, facilities & operations earn a lower salary than engineering/maintenance managers. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, directors, facilities & operations earn the most pay in the manufacturing industry with an average salary of $62,031. Whereas engineering/maintenance managers have higher pay in the manufacturing industry, with an average salary of $98,678.directors, facilities & operations earn similar levels of education than engineering/maintenance managers in general. They're 1.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Engineering/maintenance manager vs. Plant engineer
A Plant Engineer is responsible for directing the smooth operation of the plant. They plan and coordinate activities concerned with the design, construction, modification, and maintenance of equipment and machinery in an industrial plant.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, engineering/maintenance managers are more likely to have skills like "capital projects," "predictive maintenance," "maintenance supervisors," and "plant engineering." But a plant engineer is more likely to have skills like "plant operations," "chemical process," "process engineering," and "oil gas."
Plant engineers earn the highest salary when working in the automotive industry, where they receive an average salary of $99,347. Comparatively, engineering/maintenance managers have the highest earning potential in the manufacturing industry, with an average salary of $98,678.When it comes to education, plant engineers tend to earn similar degree levels compared to engineering/maintenance managers. In fact, they're 1.4% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.3% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Engineering/maintenance manager vs. Vice president of engineering
A Vice President Of Engineering manages all aspects of the company's engineering product development activities. They are responsible for strategic planning, production designing, quality assurance, and problem resolution.
Types of engineering/maintenance manager
Updated January 8, 2025
