What does a service engineer do?
Working on behalf of a company or as a self-employed worker, service engineers lead or assist on electrical systems-related projects. Being a service engineer often requires working in a high-pressure environment, making complex on-the-job decisions about the safest solutions to electrical problems based on their knowledge and previous experience.
If working as a senior member of a team, a Service Engineer will be able to supervise staff on tasks with confidence. As part of a team, service engineers work with others in order to troubleshoot issues, accepting challenges and communicating solutions well to their colleagues and customers. Often, service engineers need to be computer literate and are able to record reports or analysis in documents.
Service engineer skills and qualifications
Being a service engineer often requires personality traits like steadiness, attention to detail and logical reasoning skills. Other service engineer skills and qualifications include:
- Good interpersonal skills and an ability to work with a customer or team in order to solve electrical system problems;
- Time management skills and the ability to prioritise tasks according to urgency;
- Being able to respond to emergencies on time and complete tasks to tight deadlines;
- Being a good salesperson who can talk through new features and upgrades with customers if required as part of their job specification.
Service engineer experience requirements
When looking for a service engineer, employers might look for previous experience in similar engineering roles. For senior roles, this might also include leading a team and training junior staff. They are able to conduct diagnostic tests accurately and have experience using and fixing computer software and hardware. They often have on-the-job experience working with electrical machinery.
Service Engineer education and training requirements
Being a qualified service engineer requires correct training such as a BTEC or City & Guilds diploma in maintenance engineering. This is often a minimum for a service engineer job, but employers often look for candidates with a degree in for example Building Services Engineering. Other degree qualifications to specify might include Electrical Engineering, Energy Engineering, Mechanical Engineering or any other engineering-related degree.
To find the best candidates, employers might specify that they are looking for candidates who are registered Chartered Engineers. Being a Chartered Engineer in the UK demonstrates years of experience, a degree qualification and that they are registered with a Professional Engineering Institution. This means that they practice at an internationally recognised level and are highly competent practitioners in their field.
Service engineer salary expectations
According to Indeed UK salaries, the average salary of a service engineer is £31,563 per year. Salary may depend on the exact job duties and responsibilities, the employer, location and experience.
Job description samples for similar positions
Other job description samples are available if this is not quite what you’re looking for:
Service engineer job description FAQs
What should you look for in a service engineer CV?
When hiring for a service engineer, look for evidence of previous experience. Perhaps the candidate has qualifications such as an engineering degree or a related diploma. If a candidate mentions that they are a Chartered Engineer, this shows that they are working at an internationally recognised level. Demonstrable experience in using service engineer tools or any hardware related to the profession is also desirable.
How can you make your service engineer job description stand out?
Consider making the job title clear so that it is easily searchable by candidates. Clearly state the requirements of the role in plain language but refer to any technical information that candidates should know about. If looking for particular qualifications, state this in the job description as well alongside other desirable skills and personality attributes. Employers can also entice candidates to apply for a role by describing any job perks or pension plans.
*Indeed provides this information as a courtesy to users of this site. Please note that we are not your recruiting or legal advisor, we are not responsible for the content of your job descriptions, and none of the information provided herein guarantees performance.
