Top 12 Marine Electrician Skills to Put on Your Resume
Marine electrical work isn’t a generic trade. It’s tight spaces, salt in the air, systems talking to each other while the hull rolls. Hiring managers scan fast, so the right skills need to jump out. These 12 will carry real weight on a resume and on the job.
Marine Electrician Skills
- PLC Programming
- Electrical Troubleshooting
- VFD Installation
- Power Distribution
- Motor Controls
- Navigation Systems
- SOLAS Compliance
- High Voltage Systems
- Automation Systems
- Electrical Safety
- Renewable Energy Systems
- HVAC Systems
1. PLC Programming
PLC Programming means building the logic that drives automated equipment on board—propulsion auxiliaries, pumps, winches, alarms—so systems run safely and predictably in a harsh, moving, noisy environment.
Why It's Important
Reliable automation trims downtime, catches faults early, and keeps crews away from manual work that invites errors. Solid PLC logic underpins safety and efficiency at sea.
How to Improve PLC Programming Skills
- Master the foundations: ladder, function blocks, structured text, scan cycles, task priorities, I/O mapping, debouncing, and state machines.
- Build and break test rigs: use a bench PLC with simulated I/O, fault-inject sensors, verify interlocks and fail-safe states.
- Think marine: follow shipboard wiring practices, vibration and temperature derating, and class/IEC marine standards for cabinets and terminations.
- Engineer for diagnostics: alarm classes, timestamps, latched trips, first-out logic, watchdogs, and clear comments that match drawings and tag names.
- Integrate HMIs and SCADA: meaningful P&IDs, permissive summaries, trends, and secure access levels.
- Version control everything: backups, change logs, and rollback plans. No orphaned code, no mystery firmware.
- Cyber-harden: unique credentials, segmented networks, minimal services, and secure remote access procedures.
- Test before handover: FAT/SAT with I/O checklists, cause-and-effect matrices, and signed acceptance.
How to Display PLC Programming Skills on Your Resume
2. Electrical Troubleshooting
Finding faults at sea demands discipline: trace the circuit, prove the hypothesis, fix it once. Boats don’t tolerate guesswork.
Why It's Important
Fast, accurate troubleshooting prevents cascading failures, keeps critical systems online, and reduces expensive port-side delays.
How to Improve Electrical Troubleshooting Skills
- Read the drawings like a map: single-lines, schematics, cable schedules, and loop sheets. Keep redlines current.
- Measure with intent: verify power quality, use insulation resistance testing, continuity checks, clamp meters, harmonics when needed.
- Work methodically: isolate, test, re-energize. Change one variable at a time and document results.
- Use condition checks: thermal scans for hotspots, visual inspections for salt creep, corrosion, chafe, and loose terminations.
- Know common marine gremlins: ground faults, wicking corrosion, EMI, wet junction boxes, and failed glands.
- Capture root causes: 5-Why analysis, corrective actions, and preventive maintenance entries so the fault doesn’t return.
- Carry the right spares and calibrated tools. Record serials, firmware, and settings in a service log.
How to Display Electrical Troubleshooting Skills on Your Resume
3. VFD Installation
Installing Variable Frequency Drives onboard lets motors breathe—smart speed, softer starts, tighter control. Pumps, fans, thrusters, even propulsion auxiliaries benefit when it’s done right.
Why It's Important
VFDs cut energy use, tame mechanical stress, and extend equipment life. That’s fuel saved and uptime gained.
How to Improve VFD Installation Skills
- Select correctly: match motor ratings, duty cycles, enclosure ratings, ambient and altitude derating, and marine approvals.
- Control EMI: proper grounding, shield terminations, segregated cable routing, and bonding that avoids ground loops.
- Protect the motor: dv/dt or sine-wave filters for long runs, bearing protection for common-mode currents, and correct carrier frequency.
- Manage harmonics: line reactors or filters to meet THD targets and keep upstream gear happy.
- Program with intent: acceleration ramps, torque limits, flying start, fault actions, safe torque off, and PID tuning.
- Ventilate and seal: cooled, dry locations with corrosion-resistant hardware and suitable IP/NEMA enclosures.
- Verify the system: direction checks, no-load to load tests, trips under simulated faults, and final documentation.
- Maintain: torque checks, capacitor health, fan and heatsink cleaning, and firmware updates with rollback plans.
How to Display VFD Installation Skills on Your Resume
4. Power Distribution
From generators or shore power to the last load, distribution is the bloodstream of a vessel. Clean, coordinated, labeled, and resilient.
Why It's Important
Good distribution keeps navigation, communication, propulsion, and life-safety systems energized without drama—even when something trips.
How to Improve Power Distribution Skills
- Inspect and tighten regularly: heat, vibration, and salt loosen everything. Stop corrosion before it blooms.
- Balance loads and phases: reduce neutral currents, minimize voltage drop, and free capacity where it counts.
- Engineer selectivity: protective device settings that trip the smallest possible section and keep the ship moving.
- Study the system: short-circuit, arc-flash, and load-flow assessments with updated single-line diagrams.
- Build redundancy: essential services, emergency feeders, auto-transfer schemes, and load shedding in the PMS.
- Label like you mean it: panel schedules, cable tags, isolation points, and tested lockout/tagout points.
- Comply with marine standards: appropriate cable types, glands, supports, and class/IEC requirements for the environment.
- Test shore power, UPS, chargers, and battery banks routinely; log results and fix drift fast.
How to Display Power Distribution Skills on Your Resume
5. Motor Controls
Contactors, overloads, soft starters, VFDs, interlocks, and protections—all wired to make motors start, stop, and survive.
Why It's Important
Motors drive the ship’s lifeblood: pumps, fans, winches, and more. Smart control preserves equipment, saves energy, and prevents downtime.
How to Improve Motor Controls Skills
- Nail the basics: control circuits, ladder logic, permissives, and fail-safe designs that default to safe states.
- Protect properly: thermal and electronic overloads, ground fault, short-circuit, and phase-loss detection set to real loads.
- Add intelligence where it pays: soft starters or VFDs, condition monitoring, and networked I/O for visibility.
- Clean power paths: correct cable sizing, terminations, and surge protection; route control and power cables to avoid crosstalk.
- Verify interlocks: mechanical and electrical interlocks tested under real conditions, not just on paper.
- Speak the networks: NMEA 2000, Modbus, Ethernet-based protocols—consistent addressing and resilient topologies.
- Maintain relentlessly: torque checks, contact inspections, insulation testing, and spares ready to go.
How to Display Motor Controls Skills on Your Resume
6. Navigation Systems
GPS, radar, AIS, depth, gyro/compass, autopilot, ECDIS or plotters—wired and networked so the bridge sees clearly and acts decisively.
Why It's Important
Accurate position, clear targets, and dependable data chains protect lives, steel, and schedules.
How to Improve Navigation Systems Skills
- Keep data fresh: chart updates, firmware, and configuration backups. Verify licenses and expiries.
- Calibrate sensors: compasses swung, GPS antennas verified, radar tuned, depth offsets set to reality.
- Integrate cleanly: NMEA 0183/2000 or Ethernet networks with proper termination, power injection, and device priorities.
- Fight interference: segregate power and signal, bond correctly, and shield cables to keep EMI out of the bridge.
- Condition the power: stable DC supplies, noise filtering, and protected feeds for critical nav gear.
- Build resilience: redundant sensors, backup displays, and clear fallbacks when one path goes dark.
- Secure the network: strong credentials, segmented subnets, controlled remote access, and audit trails.
- Train operators and document procedures; good gear is wasted without skilled hands.
How to Display Navigation Systems Skills on Your Resume
7. SOLAS Compliance
Meeting the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea means electrical systems are built, maintained, and tested to protect people and ships—especially when the lights must not go out.
Why It's Important
Compliance isn’t paperwork. It’s emergency lighting that works, alarms that sound, and essential power that appears when the main bus doesn’t.
How to Improve SOLAS Compliance Skills
- Track changes: review current amendments affecting electrical installations and emergency systems.
- Inspect and test routinely: align with SOLAS Chapter II-1 and related rules—emergency generator starts, lighting tests, and automatic transfers.
- Document everything: maintenance records, test results, calibrations, and corrective actions—traceable and auditable.
- Drill for failure: verify emergency switchboards, steering gear backups, alarms, and communications under simulated loss of main power.
- Train and refresh: qualifications, onboard refreshers, and toolbox talks that link procedures to the actual gear.
How to Display SOLAS Compliance Skills on Your Resume
8. High Voltage Systems
On larger vessels, high voltage (typically above 1 kV AC) feeds propulsion, big thrusters, and large distribution with leaner currents and lighter conductors.
Why It's Important
Higher voltage shrinks cable sizes, cuts losses, and enables serious power delivery to heavyweight consumers. But it raises the stakes for safety and protection design.
How to Improve High Voltage Systems Skills
- Maintain with rigor: insulation resistance and, where applicable, partial discharge testing; clean, dry switchrooms with controlled access.
- Choose the right materials: marine-rated EPR/XLPE cable, tested terminations, glands that keep salt out, and proper bending radii.
- Protect fast and smart: differential protection, arc-flash mitigation, zone-selective interlocking, and clear trip coordination.
- Grounding strategy: defined earthing (including high-resistance grounding where specified) and continuous monitoring for insulation faults.
- Handle harmonics: drives at MV need filters and careful design to protect upstream gear.
- Lock down procedures: permits to work, HV switching programs, test-before-touch, and barriers that prevent inadvertent contact.
- Train to standard: HV endorsements, rescue drills, and scenario-based switching exercises.
- Align with class and IEC marine requirements; keep diagrams and settings current and verified after any change.
How to Display High Voltage Systems Skills on Your Resume
9. Automation Systems
From power management to ballast, HVAC, and alarm monitoring—automation ties subsystems into a coherent whole the crew can trust.
Why It's Important
Good automation sees problems early, guides decisions, and reduces manual drift. That’s smoother voyages and fewer surprises.
How to Improve Automation Systems Skills
- Modernize the core: reliable controllers, quality sensors, hardened networks, and time sync that keeps events aligned.
- Engineer redundancy: hot-standby PLCs, dual networks, and fallback control modes when a module quits.
- Rationalize alarms: prioritize, suppress chatter, and present causes, consequences, and actions that make sense under stress.
- Secure the stack: network segmentation, least-privilege accounts, whitelisted services, and tested backup/restore.
- Trend and learn: historians with useful tags, KPIs that matter, and analytics to tune setpoints or maintenance windows.
- Test thoroughly: FAT/SAT against cause-and-effect, HAZOP actions addressed, and updated documentation after commissioning.
- Plan lifecycle: spares, firmware baselines, and obsolescence roadmaps—no dead-end hardware.
How to Display Automation Systems Skills on Your Resume
10. Electrical Safety
Ships are unforgiving. Tight quarters, conductive spray, metal everywhere. Safety isn’t a poster; it’s muscle memory.
Why It's Important
Prevent shocks, burns, fires, and explosions. Protect people first, equipment next, and the mission always.
How to Improve Electrical Safety Skills
- Train constantly: procedures, rescue drills, arc-flash awareness, and marine-specific hazards.
- Lockout/Tagout: clear, enforced, and verified isolation with test-before-touch every single time.
- Wear the right PPE: arc-rated clothing as required, insulated gloves, eye and face protection, dielectric footwear.
- Use proper tools: rated meters, insulated hand tools, and verified proving units.
- Engineer protections: RCD/GFCI where appropriate, isolation transformers, bonding networks, and clear emergency stops.
- Label hazards: updated arc-flash boundaries, shock protection limits, and accessible one-lines.
- Respect hazardous areas: correct Ex-rated gear and installation practices where flammable atmospheres exist.
- Keep spaces orderly: dry decks, protected cables, clean panels, and tidy cable trays reduce risk.
How to Display Electrical Safety Skills on Your Resume
11. Renewable Energy Systems
Solar arrays on deckhouses, wind-assist, hybrid gensets, battery banks, shoreside charging—maritime power is evolving fast.
Why It's Important
Cleaner energy trims fuel burn, extends range on hybrids, cuts noise, and reduces maintenance. Regulations are tightening; efficiency saves money.
How to Improve Renewable Energy Systems Skills
- Design for the sea: corrosion-resistant hardware, sealed penetrations, UV-stable cable, and watertight terminations.
- Optimize outputs: correct MPPT settings, string layouts, shading studies, and realistic energy modeling underway and at berth.
- Manage storage: robust BMS, proper fusing, contactors, thermal management, and clear emergency isolation for lithium systems.
- Integrate safely: DC/DC converters, isolating chargers, galvanic isolation, and coordinated protection with the main distribution.
- Control power flow: smart energy management that prioritizes essential loads and shifts charging to low-demand windows.
- Test routinely: capacity checks, impedance tracking, firmware updates, and accurate SoC/SoH calibration.
- Plan the whole ecosystem: shore power interfaces, charging protocols, and ventilation for battery spaces with gas detection where required.
How to Display Renewable Energy Systems Skills on Your Resume
12. HVAC Systems
Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning keep people comfortable and electronics alive. Salt air is the enemy; stable climate is the shield.
Why It's Important
Controlled temperature and humidity protect crew health and expensive gear. Poor HVAC invites condensation, corrosion, and failure.
How to Improve HVAC Systems Skills
- Maintain on schedule: clean coils and strainers, check belts, verify refrigerant charge, and ensure drains run free.
- Drive efficiency: VFDs on fans and pumps, smart setpoints, economizer modes where feasible, and heat recovery options.
- Seal and insulate: tight ducting, quality insulation, and vapor barriers to stop sweating and energy loss.
- Balance airflows: measured supply/return, correct diffusers, and quiet, even comfort across compartments.
- Choose marine-grade parts: corrosion-resistant coils, coated fasteners, sealed controls, and protected sensors.
- Monitor continuously: temperatures, humidity, pressures, and alarms that warn before comfort collapses.
- Handle refrigerants responsibly: leak checks, proper recovery, and compliant records; train techs on new blends and procedures.
How to Display HVAC Systems Skills on Your Resume
