Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operator resume example

A resume for a Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operator needs to show the work itself: operate or maintain stationary engines, boilers, or other mechanical equipment to provide utilities for buildings or industrial processes. Day to day that means work like this: operate or tend stationary engines, boilers, and auxiliary equipment, such as pumps, compressors, or air-conditioning equipment, to supply and maintain steam or heat for buildings, marine vessels, or pneumatic tools; activate valves to maintain required amounts of water in boilers, to adjust supplies of combustion air, and to control the flow of fuel into burners. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

  • Boiler Operator
  • Operating Engineer
  • Stationary Engineer
  • Utilities Operator
  • Auxiliary Operator
  • Boiler Technician
  • Boiler Tech
  • Operator
  • Plant Utilities Engineer
  • Recovery Boiler Operator
  • Stationary Steam Engineer
  • AC Engineer
  • HVAC Mechanic Boiler Operator
  • Air Compressor Engineer
  • Air Compressor Operator
  • Air Conditioning Engineer
  • Air Plant Engineer
  • Blowing Engineer

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation in total.

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

  • Operate or tend stationary engines, boilers, and auxiliary equipment, such as pumps, compressors, or air-conditioning equipment, to supply and maintain steam or heat for buildings, marine vessels, or pneumatic tools.
  • Activate valves to maintain required amounts of water in boilers, to adjust supplies of combustion air, and to control the flow of fuel into burners.
  • Monitor boiler water, chemical, and fuel levels, and make adjustments to maintain required levels.
  • Analyze problems and take appropriate action to ensure continuous and reliable operation of equipment and systems.
  • Observe and interpret readings on gauges, meters, and charts registering various aspects of boiler operation to ensure that boilers are operating properly.
  • Maintain daily logs of operation, maintenance, and safety activities, including test results, instrument readings, and details of equipment malfunctions and maintenance work.
  • Test boiler water quality or arrange for testing and take necessary corrective action, such as adding chemicals to prevent corrosion and harmful deposits.
  • Monitor and inspect equipment, computer terminals, switches, valves, gauges, alarms, safety devices, and meters to detect leaks or malfunctions and to ensure that equipment is operating efficiently and safely.
  • Switch from automatic to manual controls and isolate equipment mechanically and electrically to allow for safe inspection and repair work.
  • Perform or arrange for repairs, such as complete overhauls, replacement of defective valves, gaskets, or bearings, or fabrication of new parts.
  • Adjust controls and/or valves on equipment to provide power, and to regulate and set operations of system or industrial processes.
  • Clean and lubricate boilers and auxiliary equipment and make minor adjustments as needed, using hand tools.

25 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

  • Operate or tend stationary engines, boilers, and auxiliary equipment, such as pumps, compressors, or air-conditioning equipment, to supply and maintain steam or heat for buildings, marine vessels, or pneumatic tools, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Activate valves to maintain required amounts of water in boilers, to adjust supplies of combustion air, and to control the flow of fuel into burners, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Monitor boiler water, chemical, and fuel levels, and make adjustments to maintain required levels, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Analyze problems and take appropriate action to ensure continuous and reliable operation of equipment and systems, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

  • Building management system software
  • Computerized maintenance management system CMMS
  • Database software
  • Email software
  • Graphics software
  • Microsoft Active Server Pages ASP
  • Microsoft Excel
  • Microsoft Office software
  • Microsoft Outlook
  • Microsoft PowerPoint
  • Microsoft Word
  • Operating system software
  • Operational Data Store ODS software
  • SAP software

18 software entries are recorded in total.

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

  • Adjustable wrenches
  • Amp meters
  • Bench lathes
  • Bourdon tubes
  • Claw hammers
  • Colorimeters
  • Combustion analyzers
  • Conductivity meters
  • Descalers
  • Dial calipers
  • Dial indicators
  • Digital multimeters

Skills an ATS reads for

Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.

  • SAP

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

  1. 01Operations Monitoring
  2. 02Operation and Control
  3. 03Active Listening
  4. 04Critical Thinking
  5. 05Equipment Maintenance
  6. 06Repairing
  7. 07Troubleshooting
  8. 08Active Learning
  9. 09Complex Problem Solving
  10. 10Coordination

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

  • Mechanical
  • Chemistry
  • Public Safety and Security
  • Physics
  • Engineering and Technology
  • English Language
  • Computers and Electronics
  • Mathematics

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

  • 47%Post-Secondary Certificate, awarded for training completed after high school
  • 38%High School Diploma, or the equivalent
  • 11%Associate's Degree

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Medium Preparation Needed”. Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

Common questions

What does a Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operator do?
Operate or maintain stationary engines, boilers, or other mechanical equipment to provide utilities for buildings or industrial processes. Day to day that includes work like operate or tend stationary engines, boilers, and auxiliary equipment, such as pumps, compressors, or air-conditioning equipment, to supply and maintain steam or heat for buildings, marine vessels, or pneumatic tools and Activate valves to maintain required amounts of water in boilers, to adjust supplies of combustion air, and to control the flow of fuel into burners.
What skills should a Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operator put on a resume?
O*NET rates Operations Monitoring, Operation and Control, Active Listening, Critical Thinking, and Equipment Maintenance among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operator list?
Software recorded for this occupation includes Building management system software, Computerized maintenance management system CMMS, Database software, Email software, and Graphics software. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operator work?
O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Boiler Operator, Operating Engineer, Stationary Engineer, and Utilities Operator. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operator need?
In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 47% reported their level of education as "Post-Secondary Certificate, awarded for training completed after high school". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operator role?
No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

  • No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
  • This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
  • Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.