Engineering maintenance technician

Engineering maintenance technicians service and repair equipment in industries like manufacturing, production and transport.

In this guide

What you'll do

Day-to-day tasks

As an engineering maintenance technician, you could:

  • organise routine servicing schedules and assign tasks
  • check and maintain instruments and machinery
  • fix breakdown faults and arrange for replacement equipment
  • complete reports and inform production managers of progress
  • do risk assessments and keep stock control records

Working environment

You could work in a factory, on a construction site or at a manufacturing plant.

Your working environment may be noisy and outdoors some of the time.

You may need to wear safety clothing and use safety equipment.

Career path and progression

With experience you could:

  • take a Lead Engineering Maintenance Technician Level 4 Higher Apprenticeship to become a senior maintenance technician
  • do further training to qualify as an engineer in a specific field like mechanical, electrical or building services
  • move into technical sales, maintenance team management or contract management
  • become a further education teacher

What it takes

Skills and knowledge

You'll need:

  • the ability to use, repair and maintain machines and tools
  • the ability to work well with your hands
  • problem-solving skills
  • to be thorough and pay attention to detail
  • the ability to work well with others
  • physical skills like movement, coordination and dexterity
  • patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
  • the ability to work on your own
  • to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently

Most relevant

  • Engineering - Engineering maintenance technicians work at the heart of engineering – servicing, repairing, and maintaining machinery and equipment across industries like manufacturing and transport. Understanding engineering principles is essential for diagnosing faults, reading technical drawings, and keeping complex systems running.
  • Mathematics - Engineering maintenance technicians use maths daily when taking measurements, calculating tolerances, reading technical plans, and working out material quantities. They also need to interpret data from instruments and gauges to assess whether equipment is operating within safe limits.
  • Physics - Engineering maintenance technicians need to understand forces, motion, energy, and how electrical circuits work to diagnose and fix faults in machinery. Concepts like friction, pressure, thermodynamics, and magnetism come up regularly when maintaining mechanical and electrical systems.
  • Design and Technology - Engineering maintenance technicians work hands-on with tools, materials, and technical drawings every day. Understanding how components are designed, manufactured, and assembled helps them take equipment apart, identify worn or broken parts, and put everything back together correctly.
  • Electronics - Engineering maintenance technicians frequently work with electronic control systems, sensors, and programmable components built into modern machinery. Understanding how electronic circuits function is important when troubleshooting faults in automated production equipment and control panels.

Also relevant

  • Computer Science - Engineering maintenance technicians increasingly work with programmable logic controllers (PLCs), automated systems, and computerised diagnostic tools. Understanding how software controls machinery and being able to interpret or adjust programmed settings is becoming an important part of the role.
  • Chemistry - Engineering maintenance technicians benefit from understanding material properties – such as how metals corrode, how lubricants work, and why certain materials are chosen for specific components. This knowledge helps when selecting replacement parts or identifying why equipment has degraded.
  • Business - Engineering maintenance technicians organise servicing schedules, manage stock control, and report progress to production managers. Understanding how businesses operate helps them prioritise maintenance tasks to minimise costly downtime and keep production running efficiently.

How to become

You can get into this job through:

  • a university course
  • a college course
  • an apprenticeship
  • working towards this role

You could do a foundation degree or higher national diploma in engineering before applying for a job as a trainee technician.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English, maths and science
  • 1 or 2 A levels, or equivalent, for a foundation degree or higher national diploma

More Information

You could take a college course, which would teach you some of the skills needed for this job.

Relevant courses include:

  • Level 2 Certificate in Mechanical Engineering
  • Level 2 Certificate in Electrical and Electronic Engineering Technology
  • Level 3 Diploma in Equipment Maintenance Engineering
  • Level 3 Diploma in Engineering
  • T Level in Maintenance, Installation and Repair for Engineering and Manufacturing
  • T Level in Building Services Engineering for Construction

Entry requirements

You may need:

  • 2 or more GCSEs at grades 9 to 3 (A* to D), or equivalent, for a level 2 course
  • 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, for a level 3 course
  • 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths for a T Level

More Information

You could apply to do a Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship, such as:

  • Maintenance and Operations Engineering Technician
  • Engineering Technician
  • Mechatronics Maintenance Technician

You could also do an intermediate or advanced apprenticeship in a specific industry, like:

  • aviation
  • compressed air and vacuum manufacturing
  • lifting equipment
  • rail

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship
  • 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship

More Information

You could start as an engineering craftworker and train on the job to become an engineering maintenance technician.

Further information

You can get more advice about engineering careers through Tomorrow's Engineers and The Institution of Engineering and Technology.

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