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Refrigeration engineer resume example

A refrigeration engineer, or frigoriste in France, installs, maintains and repairs the systems that keep food, medicines and buildings cold: supermarket display cases, cold rooms in restaurants, industrial chillers, heat pumps and air conditioning units.

Much of the week is spent on the road between sites. You install pipework and units, braze copper connections, pull a vacuum and charge refrigerant, then commission the system and record pressures and temperatures. In maintenance you check for leaks, clean condensers and keep the fluid logbook up to date. Breakdowns are a large part of the job: a cold room that drifts above its set point at a butcher's on a Saturday morning needs a fast diagnosis, often during on-call duty. Despite the English title, in France this is mostly a technician role rather than an engineering degree position.

Resume example

[First name Last name]

Refrigeration Technician (Frigoriste) | Commercial Refrigeration, Breakdowns, On-call

[City] · [phone] · [email]

Profile

Frigoriste for [x] years in commercial refrigeration. I install and repair cold rooms, display cases and condensing units for supermarkets and restaurants, run diagnosis on electrical and refrigeration circuits and take part in on-call rotations. I keep regulatory leak checks and fluid records up to date.

Experience

Refrigeration Technician, [Company], [City]

[month year] to present

  • Installed and commissioned cold rooms and condensing units for restaurants and food shops
  • Carried out preventive maintenance and regulatory leak checks on supermarket refrigeration plants
  • Diagnosed and repaired breakdowns on compressors, expansion valves and controllers during on-call rotations
  • Recovered and recorded refrigerants in compliance with the fluid traceability rules
  • Wrote intervention reports and advised clients on replacing old installations running on phased-out refrigerants

Resume headlines

  • Refrigeration Technician (Frigoriste) | Commercial Refrigeration, Breakdowns, On-call
  • Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Installer | Split Systems, VRV, Heat Pumps
  • Industrial Refrigeration Technician | Ammonia and CO2 Plants, Preventive Maintenance

Summaries for your profile

Entry level

Holder of a Bac pro Métiers du froid et des énergies renouvelables, completed in work-study with a refrigeration contractor. I hold the category I attestation d'aptitude for handling refrigerants and electrical clearance, and I have assisted on cold room installations and supermarket maintenance.

Experienced

Frigoriste for [x] years in commercial refrigeration. I install and repair cold rooms, display cases and condensing units for supermarkets and restaurants, run diagnosis on electrical and refrigeration circuits and take part in on-call rotations. I keep regulatory leak checks and fluid records up to date.

Career change

Former industrial electrician retrained in refrigeration through an adult training programme. My electrical diagnosis background helps on control panels and compressor faults, and I now hold the refrigerant handling attestation required to work on circuits.

Tips

  • Put your refrigerant attestation category and your electrical clearance level near the top: employers filter on them.
  • Specify your field: commercial, industrial, air conditioning or transport refrigeration.
  • List the refrigerants and system types you have worked on, especially CO2 and ammonia if relevant.
  • Mention your driving licence and acceptance of on-call duty, both often required.
  • Name the controller brands you know; it shows hands-on experience.

Mistakes to avoid

  • Forgetting to state the attestation d'aptitude, which is mandatory to work on circuits.
  • Presenting yourself as an engineer when applying for technician roles, which confuses French recruiters.
  • Describing only installation work when the job is mainly breakdowns.
  • Leaving out electrical skills.

Working as a refrigeration engineer in France

Search for 'Frigoriste', 'Technicien frigoriste', 'Monteur-dépanneur frigoriste' or 'Technicien froid et climatisation'. Handling refrigerants is regulated: technicians need an attestation d'aptitude for the relevant category (category I covers all operations), and their employer must hold an attestation de capacité. Electrical clearance (habilitation électrique) is also expected, and gas qualifications are sometimes required for certain installations. Usual training routes are the CAP Installateur en froid et conditionnement d'air, the Bac pro Métiers du froid et des énergies renouvelables (formerly TFCA), then the BTS Fluides, énergies, domotique with its refrigeration option, often in apprenticeship. In France the English title 'refrigeration engineer' maps to a technician role; 'ingénieur frigoriste' refers to design engineers with an engineering degree.

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Frequently asked questions

Is my foreign refrigerant certificate valid in France?

The F-gas certificates of other EU countries are recognised in France under the European regulation. Certificates from outside the EU are not automatically recognised, so you would usually need to pass the French attestation d'aptitude with an approved assessment body.

Should I call myself an engineer on a French CV?

In France 'ingénieur' suggests a five-year engineering degree. If your profile is technical and hands-on, use 'technicien frigoriste' or 'frigoriste'. Keep 'ingénieur' for design and engineering office roles, if your training matches.

Which training route do employers prefer?

Many recruit from the Bac pro and BTS in refrigeration and climate engineering, often taken in work-study. Adult retraining programmes are also well regarded, because demand for technicians is strong and employers value hands-on experience.

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