What does a utility engineer do?
A utility engineer is responsible for managing the energy resources within the industrial companies, measuring the amount of energy released, and identifying methods to minimize energy waste. Utility engineers run multiple quality checks with technological energy equipment to ensure its efficiency and stability in maintaining the accurate level of energy distribution to support commercial operations. They evaluate the energy needs of an area and recommend techniques to improve reliability. A utility engineer must have excellent communication and analytical skills, as well as extensive knowledge of mechanical ability to monitor and improve energy systems.
Utility engineer responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real utility engineer resumes:
- Manage Jenkins security by providing specific access to authorize developers/testers using project base matrix authorization strategy.
- Repair and troubleshoot problems with A/C units and plumbing (shower, sink toilets in the hotel )
- Convert 2D and 3D AutoCAD information into solid models.
- Perform processing area layouts and storage equipment layouts design using 3D AutoCAD.
- Build, calibrate, maintain, troubleshoot, or repair electrical instruments or testing equipment.
- Complete maintenance on: dry wall and painting; minor electrical and ballast replacement; light carpentry and plumbing.
- Maintain all lighting for entire the complex as well as the fountains, HVAC equipment & all other electrical applications.
- Mobilize enterprise-wide refrigeration, lighting, HVAC and retro-commissioning projects.
- Have prepared drawings to generate slides for visual presentation using Microsoft PowerPoint.
- Execute wide-ranging design services in wireless subsystem schematics creation, PCB layout, and internal/external MIMO antenna system design implementation.
- Expedite and simplify the quotation process for solar water heating systems by accurately representing solar water heating system performance through MATLAB models
- Create and modify build configuration files including POM.xml.
- Perform required FCC monitoring, installation, testing, evaluation, documentation, repair, and calibration of television broadcast equipment.
- Used ANSYS for very detail finite element modeling and analyses of structural connections for a 16 inch gas riser.
- Perform stress analysis using finite element analysis (FEA) software ANSYS for repair components of various BWR power plants.
Utility engineer skills and personality traits
We calculated that 10% of Utility Engineers are proficient in HVAC, Autocad, and Plumbing. They’re also known for soft skills such as Creativity, Listening skills, and Math skills.
We break down the percentage of Utility Engineers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- HVAC, 10%
Mobilized enterprise-wide refrigeration, lighting, HVAC and retro-commissioning projects.
- Autocad, 7%
Used AutoCAD 2012 to make civil designs per customer's need.
- Plumbing, 7%
Completed maintenance on: dry wall and painting; minor electrical and ballast replacement; light carpentry and plumbing.
- Project Management, 6%
Develop and execute validation, commissioning, project management, FMCA studies and qualification process on facilities and utilities systems.
- SUE, 6%
Completed a variety of GPR surveys nationwide to assist in locating plastic/concrete utilities on SUE projects.
- Preventative Maintenance, 6%
Conducted system risk assessment to justify preventative maintenance, and improve equipment reliability.
"hvac," "autocad," and "plumbing" are among the most common skills that utility engineers use at work. You can find even more utility engineer responsibilities below, including:
Creativity. One of the key soft skills for a utility engineer to have is creativity. You can see how this relates to what utility engineers do because "mechanical engineers design and build complex pieces of equipment and machinery." Additionally, a utility engineer resume shows how utility engineers use creativity: "utilize project management skills to ensure timely execution of inventory movement. "
Listening skills. Many utility engineer duties rely on listening skills. "mechanical engineers often work on projects with others, such as architects and computer scientists," so a utility engineer will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways utility engineer responsibilities rely on listening skills: "consulted with customers, actively listening to determine requirements and developed system designs aligned with specific needs and specifications. "
Math skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of utility engineers is math skills. This skill is critical to many everyday utility engineer duties, as "mechanical engineers use the principles of calculus, statistics, and other advanced subjects in math for analysis, design, and troubleshooting in their work." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "ensured math data met formability requirements, negotiating with product engineering to implement the necessary changes to geometry. "
Mechanical skills. A big part of what utility engineers do relies on "mechanical skills." You can see how essential it is to utility engineer responsibilities because "mechanical skills allow engineers to apply basic engineering concepts and mechanical processes to the design of new devices and systems." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical utility engineer tasks: "project highlights & achievements facility mechanical design review: reviewed critical utilities design of the wfi and clean steam systems. "
Problem-solving skills. Another crucial skill for a utility engineer to carry out their responsibilities is "problem-solving skills." A big part of what utility engineers relies on this skill, since "mechanical engineers need good problem-solving skills to take scientific principles and discoveries and use them to design and build useful products." How this skill relates to utility engineer duties can be seen in an example from a utility engineer resume snippet: "meet with customers to troubleshoot electric service problems and design solutions for supply of new customer electric needs. "
The three companies that hire the most utility engineers are:
- Accenture14 utility engineers jobs
- Wsp USA Buildings Inc.10 utility engineers jobs
- Cook Children's Medical Center8 utility engineers jobs
Choose from 10+ customizable utility engineer resume templates
Build a professional utility engineer resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your utility engineer resume.
Compare different utility engineers
Utility engineer vs. Design engineer internship
When it comes to a design engineer internship, an intern is primarily responsible for performing support tasks while under the supervision and directives of a manager or a more experienced engineer. Their duties typically revolve around processing documents, updating records and populating databases, responding to inquiries and correspondence, running errands, sharing insights, and even participating in designing projects. Furthermore, as an intern, it is essential to report to the supervising manager and adhere to the company's policies and regulations.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, utility engineer responsibilities require skills like "autocad," "plumbing," "project management," and "sue." Meanwhile a typical design engineer internship has skills in areas such as "python," "rf," "level analysis," and "c++." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Design engineer interns tend to make the most money working in the technology industry, where they earn an average salary of $62,117. In contrast, utility engineers make the biggest average salary, $79,161, in the manufacturing industry.On average, design engineer interns reach similar levels of education than utility engineers. Design engineer interns are 0.1% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.2% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Utility engineer vs. Research engineer
Research Engineers are responsible for a wide range of duties, including researching and developing new technologies and prototypes, and finding solutions to improve techniques, procedures, and technologies.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, utility engineer responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "hvac," "autocad," "plumbing," and "sue." Meanwhile, a research engineer has duties that require skills in areas such as "python," "c #," "java," and "software development." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Research engineers may earn a higher salary than utility engineers, but research engineers earn the most pay in the start-up industry with an average salary of $141,240. On the other hand, utility engineers receive higher pay in the manufacturing industry, where they earn an average salary of $79,161.In general, research engineers achieve higher levels of education than utility engineers. They're 11.3% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Utility engineer vs. Development engineer
A Development Engineer is responsible for the development and validation of products, systems, and components. They are also responsible for quality control of work and continuous improvement of engineer activities.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a utility engineer is likely to be skilled in "hvac," "autocad," "plumbing," and "sue," while a typical development engineer is skilled in "java," "python," "c #," and "software development."
Development engineers make a very good living in the technology industry with an average annual salary of $105,648. On the other hand, utility engineers are paid the highest salary in the manufacturing industry, with average annual pay of $79,161.development engineers typically earn similar educational levels compared to utility engineers. Specifically, they're 5.0% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 2.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Utility 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 utility engineer
Updated January 8, 2025
