What does a senior field engineer do?
A senior field engineer is in charge of overseeing and providing technical support on-site, helping operations run smoothly and efficiently. Among their responsibilities include performing installations and upgrades, performing research and analysis, managing staff, producing progress reports, and conducting inspections, ensuring compliance with state laws and regulations. They must also perform regular maintenance checks on equipment, performing corrective repairs and adjustments when necessary. Furthermore, as a senior field engineer, it is essential to lead and serve as a mentor to junior engineers while implementing the site's safety policies and regulations.
Senior field engineer responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real senior field engineer resumes:
- Manage a team of 10 engineers to install and repair commercial HVAC and refrigeration units.
- Promote from original position as a staff engineer managing a variety of geotechnical engineering activities to a field engineer inspector position.
- Upgrade firmware on all components in the SAN.
- Provide UNIX host setup and provide administration for the duration of the engagement.
- Work with vendor partners to troubleshoot hardware and software issues with core nodes.
- Perform site acceptance testing and provide system maintenance support for FAA and DOD sites.
- Install, upgrade, and service several lines of Motorola UNIX and aix-base mini computers.
- Develop and incorporate procedures for maintaining document control for ORD access control and CCTV systems.
- Configure frame-relay T1 and T3 circuits, and troubleshoot PVC, LMI, DLCI and frame-relay link down issues.
- Monitor facilities backbone data center for electrical, HVAC cooling, network connectivity, hardware failure and other capacity needs.
- Investigate and resolve RF interference problems.
- Maintain and repair customer computers and printers.
- Provide mitigation solutions for difficult to reach RF base communications.
- Maintain and setup routers and switches for system connectivity internally and externally.
- Configure CPX-300 tactical switches, operate communications systems and make technical repairs as required.
Senior field engineer skills and personality traits
We calculated that 7% of Senior Field Engineers are proficient in RF, Technical Support, and Excellent Interpersonal. They’re also known for soft skills such as Concentration, Initiative, and Speaking skills.
We break down the percentage of Senior Field Engineers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- RF, 7%
Provide mitigation solutions for difficult to reach RF based communications.
- Technical Support, 6%
Designed, analyzed, installed, troubleshot, repaired and provided user technical support/training for designated military sites/systems.
- Excellent Interpersonal, 6%
Demonstrated strong customer management and excellent interpersonal communication skills.
- Technical Problems, 5%
Researched technical problems conducted or participated in root cause analysis, and root cause resolution activities.
- Test Equipment, 5%
Provided training on troubleshooting techniques, schematic interpretation, test equipment and multiple subsystems while mentoring professional growth of customer personnel.
- Linux, 4%
Implemented enterprise-wide network monitor, using open-source Linux platform.
Most senior field engineers use their skills in "rf," "technical support," and "excellent interpersonal" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential senior field engineer responsibilities here:
Concentration. The most essential soft skill for a senior field engineer to carry out their responsibilities is concentration. This skill is important for the role because "electrical and electronics engineers design and develop complex electrical systems and electronic components and products." Additionally, a senior field engineer resume shows how their duties depend on concentration: "provided engineering support for department of energy construction activities with concentration on civil installations. "
Initiative. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling senior field engineer duties is initiative. The role rewards competence in this skill because "electrical and electronics engineers must apply their knowledge to new tasks in every project they undertake." According to a senior field engineer resume, here's how senior field engineers can utilize initiative in their job responsibilities: "monitored and surveillance network connectivity for over 200 locations using wireshark, supporting the network performance and reliability initiative. "
Speaking skills. This is an important skill for senior field engineers to perform their duties. For an example of how senior field engineer responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "electrical and electronics engineers work closely with other engineers and technicians." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a senior field engineer: "maintained and administered 5 cisco 2950 series switches, and addressed any and all network connectivity issues. ".
Writing skills. senior field engineer responsibilities often require "writing skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "electrical and electronics engineers develop technical publications related to equipment they develop, including maintenance manuals, operation manuals, parts lists, product proposals, and design methods documents." This resume example shows what senior field engineers do with writing skills on a typical day: "lead engineer in writing custom perl and bash scripts to increase efficiency of onsite and in-house operations. "
Math skills. Another crucial skill for a senior field engineer to carry out their responsibilities is "math skills." A big part of what senior field engineers relies on this skill, since "electrical and electronics engineers must use the principles of calculus and other advanced math in order to analyze, design, and troubleshoot equipment." How this skill relates to senior field engineer duties can be seen in an example from a senior field engineer resume snippet: "tracked network performance via reports and statistics. "
Interpersonal skills. While "interpersonal skills" is last on this skills list, don't underestimate its importance to senior field engineer responsibilities. Much of what a senior field engineer does relies on this skill, seeing as "electrical and electronics engineers must work with others during the manufacturing process to ensure that their plans are implemented correctly." Here is a resume example of how this skill is used in the everyday duties of senior field engineers: "provided a high level of customer service and client relations based on outstanding communication and interpersonal skills. "
The three companies that hire the most senior field engineers are:
- Emerson11 senior field engineers jobs
- Impact Networking
11 senior field engineers jobs
- Lane Enterprises9 senior field engineers jobs
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Compare different senior field engineers
Senior field engineer vs. Electrical designer
An electrical designer designs and develops electrical circuit and system layouts for electric power distribution. The responsibilities of an electrical designer include assembling electrical panels and leading a team of document control personnel in-charged to identify and organize facility maintenance drawings. The position requires good initiative, writing, speaking, and mathematical skills to accomplish such responsibilities. The job's education requirements include possessing a college degree in electrical engineering, design, or a related field.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, senior field engineer responsibilities require skills like "rf," "technical support," "excellent interpersonal," and "technical problems." Meanwhile a typical electrical designer has skills in areas such as "revit," "electrical design," "autocad electrical," and "ul." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Electrical designers tend to make the most money working in the manufacturing industry, where they earn an average salary of $72,768. In contrast, senior field engineers make the biggest average salary, $107,400, in the energy industry.electrical designers tend to reach similar levels of education than senior field engineers. In fact, electrical designers are 3.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Senior field engineer vs. Electrical design engineer
An electrical design engineer develops electrical systems for different applications. Electrical design engineers create system layouts and specifications. They test the systems and make some adjustments whenever necessary. The solutions they create range from component designs to large systems. The set of skills imperative for this job include good technical abilities, teamwork, motivation for extra work hours, ability to execute job under pressure, and enthusiasm. They should also be savvy in technology and innovation.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that senior field engineer responsibilities requires skills like "excellent interpersonal," "technical problems," "linux," and "dod." But an electrical design engineer might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "electrical design," "revit," "electrical systems," and "cad."
Electrical design engineers earn a lower average salary than senior field engineers. But electrical design engineers earn the highest pay in the technology industry, with an average salary of $93,022. Additionally, senior field engineers earn the highest salaries in the energy with average pay of $107,400 annually.In general, electrical design engineers achieve similar levels of education than senior field engineers. They're 4.0% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Senior field engineer vs. Electrical engineer internship
The electrical engineer internship offers tasks to undergraduate engineering students related to electrical systems analysis and branch circuiting, site investigations, lighting calculations, and design drawings by complementing theoretical knowledge with practical duties on the job to gain experience and increase marketability. Through the internship, the undergraduate engineering students may develop professional aptitude, strengthen their character, and may increase their confidence in their work as it prepares them for what to expect in their field.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from senior field engineer resumes include skills like "technical support," "excellent interpersonal," "technical problems," and "dod," whereas an electrical engineer internship is more likely to list skills in "c++," "c #," "analog," and "revit. "
Electrical engineer interns make a very good living in the hospitality industry with an average annual salary of $66,132. On the other hand, senior field engineers are paid the highest salary in the energy industry, with average annual pay of $107,400.When it comes to education, electrical engineer interns tend to earn similar degree levels compared to senior field engineers. In fact, they're 2.3% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.2% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Senior field engineer vs. Technical services engineer
A technical services engineer is responsible for assisting customers on their systems and network issues, providing them the best technical solutions, and guiding them on step-by-step procedures for troubleshooting. Technical services engineers must have excellent communication and technical skills, especially on identifying customers' system failures by asking them a few questions. They also escalate high-level complaints to internal teams, ensuring that they present the client's issues for reference. A technical services engineer also handles systems configuration and recommending process improvement techniques to optimize network infrastructure.
Types of senior field engineer
Updated January 8, 2025
