Electronics and machinery

How to become a biomedical engineer

Official title: Biomedical engineer

Also called: Bioengineer, Biotronics engineer, Prosthetist, Orthotist, Biomedical engineering technologist, Bioprocess engineer, Clinical engineer

Biomedical engineers design and develop medical equipment and products, and machines for diagnosing medical problems. They also install and maintain biomedical equipment.

Main tasks

Design medical equipment, products and machines
Test medical equipment, products and machines
Develop software for medical equipment
Create computer simulations of medical systems
Analyse data to check equipment performance
Write instructions for using equipment
Train workers to use equipment
Explain technical information to suppliers and agencies

How to become one

You need a qualification to become a biomedical engineer and experience may useful. You need University Entrance to do the study or training for this job. Required: a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Biomedical Engineering) OR a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering or similar area. Other requirements: experience in similar work; a postgraduate diploma in biomedical engineering; a Master of Medical Engineering; to be registered as a Chartered Professional Engineer with Engineering New Zealand.

See the full Tahatū profile

Ways in

University: Engineering degrees, Offered by 5 universities in New Zealand

Pay · Past change · AI and this job

Most common pay: $81,000 to $124,000 a year (median $100,000), a TEC estimate before tax.
Lower: $68,000 a year · Upper: $162,000 a year
TEC's pay figures are estimates only. TEC says they must not be used to set pay, in pay negotiations or in visa applications.
Change in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses: Increase (TEC). This is past change, not a forecast.
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Who does this work

About 250 people did this job at the 2023 Census (TEC).
In the group Other Engineering Professionals, 14% of workers are female (sex at birth, 2023 Census).
Where people in the group Other Engineering Professionals work (2023 Census): Auckland 33.8%, Canterbury 14.8%, and Waikato 9.8%.

Questions people ask

How do I become a biomedical engineer?

How much does a biomedical engineer earn in New Zealand?

The Tertiary Education Commission estimates median pay at $100,000 a year, before tax. Most common pay is $81,000 to $124,000 a year.

Has the number of people working as a biomedical engineer grown in New Zealand?

It has grown: TEC records an increase in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses. This is past change, not a forecast.

Will AI change the work of a biomedical engineer?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

Tertiary Education Commission (Tahatu Career Navigator): Tahatu career ideas: descriptions, tasks, pay estimates, people employed, employment change 2018 to 2023, entry requirements, registration, interest scores (Site scrape 2026-10 (816 career ideas, sitemap lastmod 2026-10-01)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census 2023: employed by regional council, occupation (ANZSCO V1.3 unit group) and sex at birth (2023 Census), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), retrieved 4 October 2026
International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

This content is sourced from the Tertiary Education Commission through the Tahatū Career Navigator website (www.tahatu.govt.nz) and used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. All or some of the information has been modified by Peernovo. TEC has not approved, endorsed or tested these modifications. TEC will not be held accountable for any errors within this content.

Qualification information from NZQA, used under CC BY 3.0 NZ.

This work is based on/includes Stats NZ's data which are licensed by Stats NZ for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. Census data via Figure.NZ.

Includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

Sources: Tertiary Education Commission, Tahatū Career Navigator (career ideas, pay estimates, entry requirements and study options, CC BY 4.0, modified by Peernovo); Stats NZ, 2023 Census (via Figure.NZ) and the National Occupation List (CC BY 4.0); NZQA qualification information (CC BY 3.0 NZ); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Links between career ideas and ANZSCO groups, degree fields and broad job groups are Peernovo's.

These results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.

Graduate outcomes: these results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.

Updated 4 October 2026