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What is a senior maintenance engineer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
3 min read
Quoted expert
Philipp Zerbe
The average senior maintenance engineer salary is $87,840. The most common degree is a bachelor's degree degree with an mechanical engineering major. It usually takes 4-6 years of experience to become a senior maintenance engineer. Senior maintenance engineers with a EPA Amusement Operators Safety Certification (EPA) certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 2% and produce 6,400 job opportunities across the U.S.

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

Philipp ZerbePhilipp Zerbe LinkedIn profile

Associate Professor, University of California - Davis

While most career sectors have been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, job opportunities in botany, plant biology and biology in general have been affected comparatively less. Therefore, do not be discouraged; explore the many career possibilities in plant biology and find something that truly speaks to your personality and your career dreams and pursue opportunities in this direction. At the same time be flexible and open-minded toward new opportunities. Botany/Plant Biology is a diverse and international field with many different career possibilities. Be open to exploring different fields and to relocate nationally or internationally for internships or job opportunities.
ScoreSenior Maintenance EngineerUS Average
Salary
6.9

Avg. Salary $87,840

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 12.07%

Black or African American 3.34%

Hispanic or Latino 9.06%

Unknown 4.58%

White 70.85%

Gender

female 5.29%

male 94.71%

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

Senior maintenance engineer career paths

Key steps to become a senior maintenance engineer

  1. Explore senior maintenance engineer education requirements

    Most common senior maintenance engineer degrees

    Bachelor's

    68.0 %

    Associate

    12.4 %

    Master's

    9.4 %
  2. Start to develop specific senior maintenance engineer skills

    SkillsPercentages
    Project Management7.74%
    Troubleshoot6.51%
    System Troubleshooting5.57%
    SR4.39%
    Equipment Maintenance4.29%
  3. Complete relevant senior maintenance engineer training and internships

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

    • Support DOD agency needs in accomplishing engineer technical and non-technical goals associate with wireless LAN technology products.
    • Serve on both safety and OSHA compliance committees.
    • Develop project dashboards, tracking systems and metric reporting through MAXIMO CMMS.
    • Core team member and CMMS technical project leader for mill-wide ERP systems project.
  5. Get senior maintenance engineer experience

    Generally, it takes 4-6 years to become a senior maintenance engineer. The most common roles before becoming a senior maintenance engineer include maintenance engineer, project engineer team lead and maintenance supervisor.
  6. Prepare your senior maintenance engineer resume

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

    Choose from 10+ customizable senior maintenance engineer resume templates

    Build a professional senior maintenance engineer resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your senior maintenance engineer resume.
    Senior Maintenance Engineer Resume
    Senior Maintenance Engineer Resume
    Senior Maintenance Engineer Resume
    Senior Maintenance Engineer Resume
    Senior Maintenance Engineer Resume
    Senior Maintenance Engineer Resume
    Senior Maintenance Engineer Resume
    Senior Maintenance Engineer Resume
    Senior Maintenance Engineer Resume
  7. Apply for senior maintenance engineer jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a senior maintenance engineer job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How did you land your first senior maintenance engineer job

Zippi

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Average senior maintenance engineer salary

The average senior maintenance engineer salary in the United States is $87,840 per year or $42 per hour. Senior maintenance engineer salaries range between $61,000 and $125,000 per year.

Average senior maintenance engineer salary
$87,840 Yearly
$42.23 hourly

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Senior maintenance engineer reviews

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A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2019
Pros

Fast Pace, solving problems working with outside groups.

Cons

Engineering not understanding processes


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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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