What does a facility engineer do?
A facilities engineer specializes in managing and maintaining equipment and machinery in manufacturing plants or similar settings. Duties will revolve around conducting research and analysis through extensive data and blueprints, evaluating systems using various reports, handling issues, providing corrective measures, and performing regular inspections and maintenance. Furthermore, it is essential to implement all safety standards and regulations to ensure a safe and productive work environment for everyone.
Facility engineer responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real facility engineer resumes:
- Manage equipment procurement and project AFE's.
- Define drawing system format and manage cad system.
- Forecast and manage a $185MM+ annual budget through AFE proposal packages.
- Manage A/E interface, design change orders and ensure proper field investigation, research and development.
- Create and manage MOC's and PSSR's within the plant PSM areas for all new installations and process changes.
- Manage and provide training to a multicultural maintenance team using TPM principles and following standards such as AIB and BRC.
- General maintenance including but not limit to non-certify HVAC monitoring, electrical, plumbing, fluorescent lighting installation and maintenance.
- Maintain HVAC/R, kitchen equipment.
- shop equipment such as work tables, sawhorses and access ladders within OSHA rules and regulations.
- Develop PSM program where none are present.
- Perform project schematic design evaluation to ensure compliance with MEP work.
- Conduct routine maintenance and operations of 1475 ton Trane chiller system.
- Experience using a Trimble GPS unit to capture field data and pathfinder office.
- Support the implementation of a new CMMS program to improve down time and WO data collection.
- Produce full construction documents utilizing application tools such as Autodesk Revit 2015 and Autodesk AutoCAD 2015.
Facility engineer skills and personality traits
We calculated that 11% of Facility Engineers are proficient in HVAC, Plumbing, and Project Management. They’re also known for soft skills such as Creativity, Listening skills, and Math skills.
We break down the percentage of Facility Engineers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- HVAC, 11%
Performed testing and calibration of electronic HVAC and building environmental controls to ensure proper functionality and compliance with codes/regulatory standards.
- Plumbing, 6%
Created teams for facility operations and maintenance for electrical, plumbing, communications, mechanical and infrastructure trades.
- Project Management, 6%
Provided technical support to the project management and construction project teams related to electrical and mechanical services associated with the projects.
- Ladders, 5%
Stooped,climbed ladders and lifted heavy loads during set-up for events.
- Autocad, 5%
Developed and implemented AutoCAD standard drafting practices for Facility Engineering personnel.
- Boilers, 3%
Developed PLC-based boiler management system to coordinate steam production from multiple boilers and interface with production equipment to reduce operating costs.
Common skills that a facility engineer uses to do their job include "hvac," "plumbing," and "project management." You can find details on the most important facility engineer responsibilities below.
Creativity. One of the key soft skills for a facility engineer to have is creativity. You can see how this relates to what facility engineers do because "mechanical engineers design and build complex pieces of equipment and machinery." Additionally, a facility engineer resume shows how facility engineers use creativity: "utilized autocad, solidworks and auto deck inventor for facility layout and design on equipment and related parts. "
Listening skills. Many facility engineer duties rely on listening skills. "mechanical engineers often work on projects with others, such as architects and computer scientists," so a facility engineer will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways facility engineer responsibilities rely on listening skills: "researched osha and consumer product safety commission releases and communicated relevant information. "
Math skills. facility engineers are also known for math skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to facility engineer responsibilities, because "mechanical engineers use the principles of calculus, statistics, and other advanced subjects in math for analysis, design, and troubleshooting in their work." A facility engineer resume example shows how math skills is used in the workplace: "utilized solidworks' cosmos (fea) for force, deflection, geometry, and material selection. "
Mechanical skills. facility engineer responsibilities often require "mechanical skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "mechanical skills allow engineers to apply basic engineering concepts and mechanical processes to the design of new devices and systems." This resume example shows what facility engineers do with mechanical skills on a typical day: "assist senior engineers with the development of architectural, mechanical, and electrical design drawings for various projects utilizing autocad software. "
Problem-solving skills. A commonly-found skill in facility engineer job descriptions, "problem-solving skills" is essential to what facility engineers do. Facility engineer responsibilities rely on this skill because "mechanical engineers need good problem-solving skills to take scientific principles and discoveries and use them to design and build useful products." You can also see how facility engineer duties rely on problem-solving skills in this resume example: "recruited to improve erp system solutions, backup solutions, and overall data center reliability. "
The three companies that hire the most facility engineers are:
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Compare different facility engineers
Facility engineer vs. Research and development engineer
Research and development engineers generally execute research and tests on product ideas, develop new products, and perform redesigns. They are employed in many industries, including manufacturing, electrical, and science-based companies. Their duties vary and depend on the industries they work in. Responsibilities of these engineers include developing new technologies, designing products, and managing the projects until they are completed. Additionally, they lead the project team members to manage their schedules, design the project plans, and collaborate with key departments in developing new products.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between facility engineers and research and development engineer. For instance, facility engineer responsibilities require skills such as "hvac," "plumbing," "ladders," and "autocad." Whereas a research and development engineer is skilled in "python," "c #," "solidworks," and "data analysis." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Research and development engineers earn the highest salaries when working in the technology industry, with an average yearly salary of $107,654. On the other hand, facility engineers are paid more in the energy industry with an average salary of $109,339.The education levels that research and development engineers earn slightly differ from facility engineers. In particular, research and development engineers are 9.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a facility engineer. Additionally, they're 3.5% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Facility engineer vs. Product development engineer
A Product Development Engineer is responsible for creating and testing new product designs. They collaborate with market researchers to evaluate market needs, existing competition, and potential costs.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, facility engineer responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "plumbing," "ladders," "autocad," and "boilers." Meanwhile, a product development engineer has duties that require skills in areas such as "solidworks," "product development," "data analysis," and "product design." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
On average, product development engineers earn a lower salary than facility engineers. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, product development engineers earn the most pay in the technology industry with an average salary of $86,062. Whereas facility engineers have higher pay in the energy industry, with an average salary of $109,339.In general, product development engineers achieve higher levels of education than facility engineers. They're 6.5% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 3.5% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for facility engineers in the next 3-5 years?
Dr. Richard Onyancha
Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Department Head, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Facility engineer vs. Product design engineer
A Product Design Engineer designs new products that customers will want to purchase. They are responsible for designing, modeling, and testing prototypes for products.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a facility engineer is likely to be skilled in "plumbing," "ladders," "autocad," and "boilers," while a typical product design engineer is skilled in "mechanical design," "gd," "prototyping," and "industrial design."
Product design engineers make a very good living in the technology industry with an average annual salary of $116,796. On the other hand, facility engineers are paid the highest salary in the energy industry, with average annual pay of $109,339.Most product design engineers achieve a similar degree level compared to facility engineers. For example, they're 2.1% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.6% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Facility engineer vs. Mechanical design engineer
A mechanical design engineer specializes in designing various mechanical devices that will be vital in developing machinery or large structures. One of their primary responsibilities revolves around conducting thorough research and analysis, establishing layouts and prototypes, producing progress reports, and working alongside fellow engineers and skilled professionals. Typically assigned in an office setting, a mechanical design engineer must visit construction sites or factories to test and observe equipment qualities. Furthermore, during production, there are instances when a mechanical engineer must coordinate with suppliers, contractors, and clients.
Types of facility engineer
Updated January 8, 2025
