How To Become A Senior Facilities Engineer: What It Is and Career Path

What is a senior facilities engineer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Andrea Welker Ph.D.

A senior facilities engineer plans, implements, and develops long-term plans and solutions to manage building systems and utilities. They ensure that the capacity of the infrastructure and quality of building services support the needs and operations of the business.

Their core responsibility is to inspect and maintain the building's electrical distribution, as well as its HVAC, mechanical and plumbing systems. They handle work orders, renovation projects, and upgrades to keep the systems in excellent working conditions. They also participate in cost estimation and budget management.

The senior facilities engineer reports and addresses equipment failures and other technical issues. They check the organization's code compliance and take part in risk management procedures.

Pursuing a career as a senior facilities engineer requires at least a high school diploma. However, some companies prefer candidates with a bachelor's degree in fields related to engineering. Experience and knowledge in facilities management are a great advantage for this position.

What general advice would you give to a senior facilities engineer?

Andrea Welker Ph.D.

Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, College of Engineering Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Villanova University

Be open to new experiences. Find a good mentor. Become a valued employee. Always remember that you are designing something for someone.

ScoreSenior Facilities EngineerUS Average

Salary

7.4

Avg. Salary $94,175

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.4

Growth rate 2%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.11%

Asian 10.25%

Black or African American 3.45%

Hispanic or Latino 9.55%

Unknown 4.61%

White 72.02%

Gender

female 6.87%

male 93.13%

Age - 39

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 - 39

Stress level

7.4

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.6

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.1

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a senior facilities engineer

Explore senior facilities engineer education requirements

Most common senior facilities engineer degrees

Bachelor's

71.9 %

Associate

12.2 %

Master's

11.2 %

Start to develop specific senior facilities engineer skills

Skills	Percentages
Project Management	9.20%
HVAC	8.37%
Preventative Maintenance	6.63%
Cost Estimates	4.93%
Technical Support	4.19%

Complete relevant senior facilities engineer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New senior facilities engineers 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 senior facilities engineer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real senior facilities engineer resumes.

Research senior facilities engineer duties and responsibilities

Manage and addressed lighting, electrical, plumbing, and fire/life safety issues.
Manage general facilities including commissioning, building management systems, and calibrations for GMP area for tablets production operation.
Facilitate the training of staff in OSHA, NFPA, code compliance, risk management, and emergency contingency operations.
Institute equipment improvements & changes base on tracking issues using CMMS software.

Get senior facilities engineer experience

Generally, it takes 4-6 years to become a senior facilities engineer. The most common roles before becoming a senior facilities engineer include facility engineer, project engineer team lead and project manager.

Prepare your senior facilities engineer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your senior facilities engineer 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 senior facilities engineer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

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