Field service engineers specialize in installing and maintaining complex machinery, often in the banking, manufacturing, and medical sectors. They may work with specialized equipment, such as ATMs or medical diagnostic machines, and require criminal checks. Educational requirements vary, but most positions require a two-year degree in electronics or a related field.
Service engineers are needed to install and keep machinery running, regardless of its location. The mix of complex machines with computerized operations required these technicians to specialize, becoming specialists in one type of machine. When the equipment is too large to be easily transferred to the engineer, he or she must go to it. Field service engineer jobs can exist in almost any field, but they are especially common in the banking, manufacturing, and medical sectors.
In the banking industry, field service engineer jobs may include maintaining and installing ATMs. Banks often subcontract this work to the original manufacturer or retailer of these machines. Since most of these organizations work with specialized equipment, they often provide their own training. As a result, an associate’s degree in a related field is preferred but not necessarily required for employment. Exposing each engineer to large sums of money, however, requires extensive criminal checks to ensure the reliability of the workers.
Biomedical field service engineer jobs are specialized positions that deal primarily with medical diagnostic equipment. The complexity of certain equipment, such as positron emission tomography (PET) scanners and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines, may require specialization. Often, however, smaller machines such as ultrasound and X-ray equipment can be repaired by generally trained field technicians. Again, such an engineer is rarely employed by a health facility; he or she usually works for the agency that rents or sells the equipment.
Medical centers may require an on-site technician to ensure proper operation of certain critical biomedical equipment. Field service engineer jobs of this type often work with life support systems such as ventilators and neonatal incubation units. Knowledge of laboratory test devices and patient monitoring equipment is often required. Typically, an engineer in this capacity is directly employed by a hospital, but independent contractor opportunities exist in this field.
In some cases field service engineer jobs are occupying positions. These individuals are often employed by equipment manufacturers to teach consumers how to maintain and repair their products. Assignments for these types of engineers often require classroom settings and hands-on instruction at the purchasing organization’s site.
Educational requirements for field engineers vary widely, but most positions require a two-year degree in electronics or a closely related field. Additional certification in the repair and maintenance of specific machines or experience with certain equipment may also be required. These jobs, by definition, require frequent travel.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN