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A stationary engineer (also called an operating engineer, power engineer or process operator) is a technically trained professional who operates, troubleshoots and oversees industrial machinery and equipment that provide and utilize energy in various forms.
The title "power engineer" is used differently between the United States and Canada.
Stationary engineers are responsible for the safe operation and maintenance of a wide range of equipment including boilers, steam turbines, gas turbines, gas compressors, generators, motors, air conditioning systems, heat exchangers, heat recovery steam generators (HRSGs) that may be directly fired (duct burners) or indirectly fired (gas turbine exhaust heat collectors), hot water generators, and refrigeration machinery in addition to its associated auxiliary equipment (air compressors, natural gas compressors, electrical switchgear, pumps, etc.).
Stationary engineers are trained in many areas, including mechanical, thermal, chemical, electrical, metallurgy, instrumentation, and a wide range of safety skills. They typically work in factories, office buildings, hospitals, warehouses, power generation plants, industrial facilities, and residential and commercial buildings.
The use of the title Stationary Engineer predates other engineering designations and is not to be confused with Professional Engineer, a title typically given to design engineers in their given field. The job of today's engineer has been greatly changed by computers and automation as well as the replacement of steam engines on ships and trains. Workers have adapted to the challenges of the changing job market.
Today, stationary engineers are required to be significantly more involved with the technical aspect of the job, as many plants and buildings are updated with increasingly more automated systems of control valves and distributed control systems.