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What does a senior facilities engineer do?

Updated January 8, 2025
8 min read
Quoted expert
Dr. Galen Duree

A senior facilities engineer must plan, design, and oversee equipment and machinery. They provide both office service and field service. They look after the engineering operations to maximize the efficiency of a company, and they determine labor and material costs to set budgets.

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Senior facilities engineer responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real senior facilities engineer resumes:

  • 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.
  • Monitor work areas for safety practices and equipment for compliance with OSHA regulations and other relevant guidelines.
  • Provide computer maintenance management system (CMMS) administration.
  • Foster and drive safety improvements for elimination of fall hazards and improve maintainability of HVAC equipment.
  • Develop capital planning to replace legacy equipment throughout office complex focuse primarily on HVAC and lighting.
  • Design implant case and packaging taking it from concept development, prototyping through successful verification and clinical testing.
  • Develop PLC-based boiler management system to coordinate steam production from multiple boilers and interface with production equipment to reduce operating costs.
  • Provide technical directions to A/E's, coordinate and review design work including design of cell towers and their foundations.
  • Work closely with EHS department on permits and regulatory issues.
  • Implement multifunction training database identifying EHS, GxP, technical and professional development training modules for all crafts and technical levels.
  • Develop a portable, widget base, graphics software architecture that isolate technical dependencies, permitting cross platform application development.

Senior facilities engineer skills and personality traits

We calculated that 9% of Senior Facilities Engineers are proficient in Project Management, HVAC, and Preventative Maintenance. They’re also known for soft skills such as Mechanical skills, Creativity, and Listening skills.

We break down the percentage of Senior Facilities Engineers that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Project Management, 9%

    Project management and designs for rebuild of Computerized Numerical Control other major machine tools for the Fabrication Division.

  • HVAC, 8%

    Fostered and drove safety improvements for elimination of fall hazards and improved maintainability of HVAC equipment.

  • Preventative Maintenance, 7%

    Administered a Preventative Maintenance program; reduced manufacturing costs; justified and wrote capital expenditure requests; managed all facility projects.

  • Cost Estimates, 5%

    Plan budgets and schedule facility modifications, including cost estimates.

  • Technical Support, 4%

    Provided technical support for field engineers with troubleshooting of operational issues and historical trend analysis.

  • Plumbing, 4%

    Worked on plumbing, electrical and mechanical, hvac/r systems.

"project management," "hvac," and "preventative maintenance" are among the most common skills that senior facilities engineers use at work. You can find even more senior facilities engineer responsibilities below, including:

Mechanical skills. One of the key soft skills for a senior facilities engineer to have is mechanical skills. You can see how this relates to what senior facilities engineers do because "mechanical skills allow engineers to apply basic engineering concepts and mechanical processes to the design of new devices and systems." Additionally, a senior facilities engineer resume shows how senior facilities engineers use mechanical skills: "monitor all critical and non critical buildings and central plant's, hvac, mechanical and electrical systems through bas. "

Creativity. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling senior facilities engineer duties is creativity. The role rewards competence in this skill because "mechanical engineers design and build complex pieces of equipment and machinery." According to a senior facilities engineer resume, here's how senior facilities engineers can utilize creativity in their job responsibilities: "risk management cad software autocad, cadkey, inventor, mastercam and solidworks. "

Listening skills. This is an important skill for senior facilities engineers to perform their duties. For an example of how senior facilities engineer responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "mechanical engineers often work on projects with others, such as architects and computer scientists." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a senior facilities engineer: "identified project scope, balanced project constraints, tracked and communicated progress. ".

Problem-solving skills. For certain senior facilities engineer responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "problem-solving skills." The day-to-day duties of a senior facilities engineer rely on this skill, as "mechanical engineers need good problem-solving skills to take scientific principles and discoveries and use them to design and build useful products." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what senior facilities engineers do: "devised technical solutions to complex equipment integrations and defined cmms program requirements. "

Math skills. Another common skill required for senior facilities engineer responsibilities is "math skills." This skill comes up in the duties of senior facilities engineers all the time, as "mechanical engineers use the principles of calculus, statistics, and other advanced subjects in math for analysis, design, and troubleshooting in their work." An excerpt from a real senior facilities engineer resume shows how this skill is central to what a senior facilities engineer does: "steady state and transient thermal analysis with thermal desktop, excel, mathcad and modeling with pro/e. "

All senior facilities engineer skills

Choose from 10+ customizable senior facilities engineer resume templates

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Senior Facilities Engineer Resume
Senior Facilities Engineer Resume
Senior Facilities Engineer Resume
Senior Facilities Engineer Resume
Senior Facilities Engineer Resume
Senior Facilities Engineer Resume
Senior Facilities Engineer Resume
Senior Facilities Engineer Resume
Senior Facilities Engineer Resume
Senior Facilities Engineer Resume
Senior Facilities Engineer Resume
Senior Facilities Engineer Resume
Senior Facilities Engineer Resume
Senior Facilities Engineer Resume
Senior Facilities Engineer Resume
Senior Facilities Engineer Resume

Compare different senior facilities engineers

Senior facilities engineer vs. Engineer

Engineers are highly trained professionals who determine the feasibility of various projects, usually related to the construction industry. They are considered experts in mathematics and science, two disciplines that they need to use in designing and coming up with plans for projects. They should also be well-versed in different construction or industrial materials, and they ensure that appropriate materials are used for the project. They also ensure that the projects meet the requirements of the groups that hired them. They create spaces that would both address the needs of the end-users and the industry standards. They also ensure that the projects they make would stand the test of time.

We looked at the average senior facilities engineer salary and compared it with the wages of an engineer. Generally speaking, engineers are paid $2,098 lower than senior facilities engineers per year.While the two careers have a salary gap, they share some of the same responsibilities. Employees in both senior facilities engineer and engineer positions are skilled in project management, hvac, and cost estimates.

These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a senior facilities engineer are more likely to require skills like "preventative maintenance," "sr," "engineering design," and "engineering support." On the other hand, a job as an engineer requires skills like "python," "cloud," "c++," and "c #." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.

Engineers tend to make the most money working in the automotive industry, where they earn an average salary of $97,672. In contrast, senior facilities engineers make the biggest average salary, $117,068, in the pharmaceutical industry.engineers tend to reach similar levels of education than senior facilities engineers. In fact, engineers are 1.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.8% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.

Senior facilities engineer 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.

A career as a plant engineer brings a lower average salary when compared to the average annual salary of a senior facilities engineer. In fact, plant engineers salary is $226 lower than the salary of senior facilities engineers per year.A few skills overlap for senior facilities engineers and plant engineers. Resumes from both professions show that the duties of each career rely on skills like "project management," "hvac," and "preventative maintenance. "

Each career also uses different skills, according to real senior facilities engineer resumes. While senior facilities engineer responsibilities can utilize skills like "sr," "engineering design," "facilities engineering," and "ansi," plant engineers use skills like "plant operations," "plant maintenance," "chemical process," and "process improvement."

Plant engineers may earn a lower salary than senior facilities engineers, but plant engineers earn the most pay in the automotive industry with an average salary of $99,347. On the other hand, senior facilities engineers receive higher pay in the pharmaceutical industry, where they earn an average salary of $117,068.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Plant engineers tend to reach similar levels of education than senior facilities engineers. In fact, they're 1.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.8% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for senior facilities engineers in the next 3-5 years?

Dr. Galen Duree

Head of the Department of Physics and Optical Engineering and Professor, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

People with knowledge, even introductory experience, in quantum effects, quantum computing, optics in general (communication, measurements, imaging, illumination, detection), material science and engineering, biotechnology, and nanotechnology, will be in high demand.

Senior facilities engineer vs. Staff engineer

Staff engineers are responsible for designing, developing, and inspecting various products, equipment, or structures. These professionals may perform varied duties depending on their specialization that includes overseeing the design and construction of buildings, bridges, sewer systems, and other infrastructure, estimating the financial costs of construction projects, and ensuring compliance with health and safety laws and regulations. Other duties include designing and developing machinery, tools, and engines, solving design problems, and building the manufacturing equipment needed to create their products.

An average staff engineer eans a higher salary compared to the average salary of senior facilities engineers. The difference in salaries amounts to staff engineers earning a $13,355 higher average salary than senior facilities engineers.Using the responsibilities included on senior facilities engineers and staff engineers resumes, we found that both professions have similar skill requirements, such as "project management," "hvac," and "cost estimates.rdquo;

There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a senior facilities engineer is likely to be skilled in "preventative maintenance," "plumbing," "sr," and "continuous improvement," while a typical staff engineer is skilled in "java," "python," "architecture," and "software development."

Staff engineers make a very good living in the telecommunication industry with an average annual salary of $119,079. On the other hand, senior facilities engineers are paid the highest salary in the pharmaceutical industry, with average annual pay of $117,068.When it comes to education, staff engineers tend to earn similar degree levels compared to senior facilities engineers. In fact, they're 4.4% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 2.9% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Senior facilities engineer vs. Chief engineer

A chief engineer is responsible for monitoring the engineering department's overall operations, ensuring performance efficiency, and everyone's strict compliance with the safety standards and regulatory procedures. Chief engineers manage the distribution of the tasks to the team, communicate with the clients and management for instructions and specifications, monitor expenses and forecast sales reports, analyze and approve designs, negotiate contracts, and process disputes. A chief engineer must have excellent knowledge of the engineering disciplines and exemplary leadership skills to handle the team's performance towards the company's objectives.

Chief engineers tend to earn a higher pay than senior facilities engineers by an average of $13,875 per year.According to resumes from senior facilities engineers and chief engineers, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "project management," "hvac," and "preventative maintenance. "While some skills are required in each professionacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities, there are some differences to note. "cost estimates," "technical support," "sr," and "engineering design" are skills that commonly show up on senior facilities engineer resumes. On the other hand, chief engineers use skills like customer service, life safety systems, boilers, and ladders on their resumes.The transportation industry tends to pay the highest salaries for chief engineers, with average annual pay of $114,862. Comparatively, the highest senior facilities engineer annual salary comes from the pharmaceutical industry.chief engineers reach similar levels of education compared to senior facilities engineers, in general. The difference is that they're 1.3% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 1.5% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of senior facilities engineer

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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