Field Engineer

Field Service Engineer / Technician

Job Summary:

We travel to industrial facilities and perform onsite inspections of air pollution control equipment, take photos, generate lists of needed repairs, and compile this information into reports. We assist maintenance crews while the work is performed and provide quality control. These inspections mostly occur during annual maintenance outages, a.k.a. “shutdowns” at various industrial facilities.

Our customers consist mainly of paper mills and power plants, though we also do some work in facilities like refineries, cement plants, sawmills, chemical plants, and sugar mills.

Most of the equipment we work on is related to particulate (dust) collection and removal from the exhaust stream of industrial boilers. This includes primarily Electrostatic Precipitators, but also Mechanical Dust Collectors, Baghouses, Scrubbers, Fans, Conveyors, Ductwork, and ash removal systems.

The reports generated by the field service personnel are critical to both the clients, and to our own internal groups, which include estimating, proposals, construction, parts, engineering, and accounting. The high-quality reports we generate help our clients justify and budget for major repairs needed in the future, and help our office personnel put together quality engineering solutions and competitive bids.

Precipitator work is 50% mechanical and 50% electrical. We do our best to cross-train all of our field personnel to be proficient at both. “Electrical” personnel are expected to perform mechanical functions like HV frame alignment, conveyor alignment, corrosion damage assessments, and welding inspections. “Mechanical” personnel are expected to be able to perform basic electrical troubleshooting, using meters to check equipment like transformers, heaters, and control panels. This can include open load testing of transformers, megger testing of transformers, and evaluating power readings on controller display heads. We don’t send two employees to every job (one to perform the electrical tasks, and one to perform mechanical tasks); we just send one “jack of all trades”: the Field Service Engineer/Technician.

Note: The only difference between a Field Service Engineer and a Field Service Technician is a 4-year engineering degree vs. a 2-year associates degree. The job responsibilities, respect, and expectations for each is the same.

Basic Skills - Laptop Computer: We do all of our work on Windows-based laptops. Reports are written using Microsoft Word. Emails are done with Microsoft Outlook. Time sheets and expense reports are done on Microsoft Excel. Drawings (mostly simple inspection maps, etc.) are done using AutoCAD. With the exception of AutoCAD, which we will teach you, the rest of these software platforms should be familiar to anyone who has graduated high school and taken at least some college. Typing proficiency and decent grammar / spelling skills are a plus.

Electrical Knowledge: We are targeting individuals with at least a basic understanding of electrical concepts, like the relationship between voltage and current. Ohm’s law. AC vs. DC. How to use the basic functions on a multimeter / ohmmeter / current clamp. Understanding simple waveforms. Understanding the role and function of basic electrical components like resistors, capacitors, breakers, contactors, and conductors. Experience with an oscilloscope is a plus, though not a requirement.

Mechanical Knowledge: Experience with gears, drives, chains, rigging, and welding of any type is a plus. Being able to read a tape measure and add/subtract basic fractions is a must.