What does a port engineer do?
Port engineer responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real port engineer resumes:
- Manage projects, resources and assets within deadlines to deliver an error free boat to customers within schedule and under budget.
- Manage Jenkins security by providing specific access to authorize developers/testers using project base matrix authorization strategy.
- Perform miscellaneous welding fabrication and repairs for boats and cannery production lines.
- Conduct geotechnical and environmental subsurface investigations.
- Conduct geotechnical and environmental subsurface investigations.
Port engineer skills and personality traits
We calculated that 18% of Port Engineers are proficient in USCG, Marine Engineering, and Emergency Repairs. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Interpersonal skills, and Problem-solving skills.
We break down the percentage of Port Engineers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- USCG, 18%
Developed training programs that maintained company excellence standards and complied with USCG regulations.
- Marine Engineering, 10%
Complete responsibility for all Marine Engineering aspects of a floating Semi-Submersible 4800-ton drilling rig.
- Emergency Repairs, 8%
Provided supervisors with technical guidance for work accomplished during scheduled maintenance and emergency repairs.
- Dry Docking, 7%
Managed 12 dry dockings, each requiring a full year of planning.
- Regulatory Compliance, 7%
Served as senior member on Shipyard Technical Evaluation Team that ensured shipyard regulatory compliance.
- Regulatory Agencies, 7%
Coordinated with regulatory agencies and U.S. Coast Guard to maintain Class certifications.
Most port engineers use their skills in "uscg," "marine engineering," and "emergency repairs" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential port engineer responsibilities here:
Communication skills. One of the key soft skills for a port engineer to have is communication skills. You can see how this relates to what port engineers do because "marine engineers and naval architects must give clear instructions and explain complex concepts when leading projects." Additionally, a port engineer resume shows how port engineers use communication skills: "managed cross-functional team of account, operations, and customer service personnel to evaluate existing telecommunications provisioning and network configuration requirements. "
Interpersonal skills. Many port engineer duties rely on interpersonal skills. "marine engineers and naval architects meet with clients to analyze their needs for ship systems," so a port engineer will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways port engineer responsibilities rely on interpersonal skills: "utilized excellent interpersonal skills facilitating team communication and reporting to upper level management and government leads. "
Problem-solving skills. port engineers are also known for problem-solving skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to port engineer responsibilities, because "marine engineers must design several systems that work well together in ships." A port engineer resume example shows how problem-solving skills is used in the workplace: "performed field testing for chlorine, ph and dissolved oxygen. "
Math skills. port engineer responsibilities often require "math skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "marine engineers and naval architects use the principles of calculus, trigonometry, and other advanced topics in math for analysis, design, and troubleshooting in their work." This resume example shows what port engineers do with math skills on a typical day: "scripted data processing files with python to catch the specific statistics in nastran xdb files. "
The three companies that hire the most port engineers are:
- Hired21 port engineers jobs
- Flagship Management6 port engineers jobs
- Centerline Logistics5 port engineers jobs
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Compare different port engineers
Port engineer vs. Marine consultant
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between port engineers and marine consultant. For instance, port engineer responsibilities require skills such as "emergency repairs," "dry docking," "regulatory compliance," and "regulatory agencies." Whereas a marine consultant is skilled in "loss control," "safety procedures," "cargo claims," and "fmea." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Marine consultants tend to reach higher levels of education than port engineers. In fact, marine consultants are 18.6% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.6% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Port engineer vs. Marine structural designer
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, port engineer responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "uscg," "marine engineering," "emergency repairs," and "dry docking." Meanwhile, a marine structural designer has duties that require skills in areas such as "auto-cad," "engineering drawings," "installation drawings," and "structural design." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
In general, marine structural designers achieve similar levels of education than port engineers. They're 1.7% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 1.6% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Port engineer vs. Us marine
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from port engineer resumes include skills like "uscg," "marine engineering," "emergency repairs," and "dry docking," whereas a us marine is more likely to list skills in "professional development," "combat," "maintenance procedures," and "leadership. "
Us marines typically earn similar educational levels compared to port engineers. Specifically, they're 2.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Port engineer vs. Licensed marine engineer
Even though a few skill sets overlap between port engineers and licensed marine engineers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a port engineer might have more use for skills like "uscg," "marine engineering," "emergency repairs," and "dry docking." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of licensed marine engineers require skills like "nrc," "plumbing," "cpr," and "cfr. "
Licensed marine engineers reach similar levels of education compared to port engineers, in general. The difference is that they're 2.2% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.0% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of port engineer
Updated January 8, 2025
