I am on a mammoth with mostly best gears and still gets my bottom kicked in solaris wasteland due to enemy squads patrolling long ranges and most of the time I can encounter 3 squads with heavy loaded guards and long range attackers at the same time. Thats means their patrol route meet at some point and even too much. As an engineer frigate, I have little chance to run away. Besides, it is hard to repair when the torpedos and other missile attacks kill all my drones in seconds. I suggest that you should space them out quite a bit or reduce their damages. I have not tried with other ships, but my guess is that no one will survive alone unless by evading one way or another. The only region I find ‘safe’, is around the terramorphing station gate and to its right when exiting it.
Rank 10 maps are supposed to be hard. You can either work with other people or fit more aggresive ships.
Engineers are always useful in invasion squads, but you need to be in a wing or squad to heal your allies. Even a single gunship at your side will make a rather difficult map, a walk on the park.