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Data center jobs · Critical facilities and operations

Critical Facilities Engineer job

What a critical facilities engineer does day to day, the shift and on-call schedule, state licensing, and how critical environment technicians, military veterans and building engineers get hired.

By Czarina Tabayoyong, Founder, Critical Path Hiring

Last reviewed · First published

Reviewed as terms, pay and markets change.

The job

A critical facilities engineer writes the MOPs and leads maintenance on a data center's power and cooling systems. Some states require an electrical or stationary engineer license.

A typical day

  • Write and update MOPs for maintenance and changes
  • Plan and lead maintenance on generators, UPS systems, switchgear and cooling equipment
  • Approve work on equipment that carries the critical load before it starts
  • Coordinate the equipment vendors who do maintenance on site
  • Lead the response when an alarm turns into a failure
  • Write up what failed and what will change

Location and schedule

Inside a live data center. The schedule is shifts or days, with on-call.

Skills and certifications

Required

  • Writing MOPs and leading maintenance
  • An electrical or stationary engineer license, where the state requires one

Routes in

Critical environment technicians, military veterans and building engineers move into this role.

Next roles

This role leads to chief engineer or facility manager.

Pay

Pay varies by market and level, and the current ranges are in our data center salary guide.

Questions

What is the schedule for a critical facilities engineer?
Shifts or days, plus on-call time.
Does a critical facilities engineer need a license?
Some states require an electrical or stationary engineer license. The core skill is writing MOPs and leading maintenance.
How do I become a critical facilities engineer?
Critical environment technicians, military veterans and building engineers move into the role. Chief engineer and facility manager are the next steps.

Next steps