What does a shift engineer do?
A shift engineer conducts maintenance operations and ensures a company's engineering policies are upheld. They supervise a team, perform preventative maintenance, take orders, keep records, and control inventory. This position requires good communication skills, time management skills, and previous experience in the field.
Shift engineer responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real shift engineer resumes:
- Manage and sustain manufacturing processes via monitoring, SPC, and data analysis to maintain overall process health and stability.
- General maintenance including painting, floor care, grounds maintenance, plumbing, electrical and carpentry skills.
- General trades and building repair which include maintenance of boilers and HVAC systems, basic electricity, plumbing and strong carpentry skill
- Replace filters, switches, belts; pulls cables.
- Schedule periodic preventive maintenance on low pressure boilers, all refrigeration equipment, and fire safety inspections.
- Operate and maintain high and low pressure boilers, chillers, cooling towers and all other relate HVAC equipment.
- Develop policy and scripts for automation of build base on perl, python, ant, VisBuildPro under BuildForge.
- Replace and repair toilets, sinks, windows, doors, fixtures, outlets, light fixtures, and thermostats.
- Remove and replace contactors, capacitors, selenoids, relays, fuses, switches, fan motors direct and belt driven.
- Refurbish furniture and fixtures with in guest rooms such as cabinets, tables, chairs, doors, windows and canters.
- Perform electrical and plumbing troubleshooting and repairs.
- Develop site operating procedures within OSHA certifications.
- Computerize boilers and compressors operating information with KPI.
- Configure SonarQube code quality tool and integrate with Jenkins.
- Automate the deployments using Jenkins and its respective dependency plugins.
Shift engineer skills and personality traits
We calculated that 12% of Shift Engineers are proficient in HVAC, Preventive Maintenance, and Plumbing. They’re also known for soft skills such as Customer-service skills, Dexterity, and Troubleshooting skills.
We break down the percentage of Shift Engineers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- HVAC, 12%
Assisted Chief and Lead Engineers with other building projects such as painting, HVAC maintenance and other tenant requested repairs.
- Preventive Maintenance, 11%
Complete preventive maintenance and corrective maintenance on bakery equipment.
- Plumbing, 10%
Repair and maintain A/C and plumbing, exhaust cooling towers, chillers, boilers and fire systems.
- General Maintenance, 7%
Trained incoming general maintenance personnel on all duties involved.
- Ladders, 5%
Set up, arranged and removed decorations, tables, chairs, ladders and scaffolding to prepare facilities for large events.
- Building Maintenance, 5%
Maintained all hotel mechanical systems/HVAC - General building maintenance and mechanical problems
Most shift engineers use their skills in "hvac," "preventive maintenance," and "plumbing" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential shift engineer responsibilities here:
The three companies that hire the most shift engineers are:
- Hyatt Hotels13 shift engineers jobs
- Samsung Electronics Device Solutions (Semiconductor & Display)11 shift engineers jobs
- Merck9 shift engineers jobs
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Shift engineer vs. Boiler operators supervisor
A boiler operator specializes in the maintenance and repair of boiler machines and similar facilities in industrial establishments such as warehouses, power plants, and factories. As a boiler operator, it is their responsibility to monitor and operate systems and equipment, perform adjustments, observe factors such as temperature and pressure, write daily records, and replace equipment parts as needed. They may also maintain the cleanliness of areas, keeping supplies organized at all times. Furthermore, a boiler operator must conduct regular maintenance checks to ensure a safe and efficient work environment.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a shift engineer are more likely to require skills like "preventive maintenance," "plumbing," "ladders," and "building maintenance." On the other hand, a job as a boiler operators supervisor requires skills like "troubleshoot," "psm," "blowers," and "epa." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
On average, boiler operators supervisors reach lower levels of education than shift engineers. Boiler operators supervisors are 6.3% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.0% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Shift engineer vs. Boiler room operator
Each career also uses different skills, according to real shift engineer resumes. While shift engineer responsibilities can utilize skills like "preventive maintenance," "plumbing," "general maintenance," and "ladders," boiler room operators use skills like "mechanical equipment," "troubleshoot," "safety devices," and "equipment operation."
Average education levels between the two professions vary. Boiler room operators tend to reach similar levels of education than shift engineers. In fact, they're 4.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Shift engineer vs. Boiler technician
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a shift engineer is likely to be skilled in "ladders," "building maintenance," "maintenance tasks," and "kitchen equipment," while a typical boiler technician is skilled in "steam boilers," "hand tools," "pump repair," and "electrical troubleshooting."
When it comes to education, boiler technicians tend to earn similar degree levels compared to shift engineers. In fact, they're 3.6% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.0% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Shift engineer vs. Boiler operator
Even though a few skill sets overlap between shift engineers and boiler operators, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a shift engineer might have more use for skills like "maintenance tasks," "kitchen equipment," "guest rooms," and "electrical systems." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of boiler operators require skills like "boiler room," "chillers," "steam boilers," and "auxiliary equipment. "
In general, boiler operators earn the most working in the manufacturing industry, with an average salary of $54,473. The highest-paying industry for a shift engineer is the technology industry.boiler operators reach similar levels of education compared to shift engineers, in general. The difference is that they're 3.9% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.0% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of shift engineer
Updated January 8, 2025











