Electronics and machinery

How to become a materials engineer

Official title: Materials engineer

Also called: Corrosion engineer, Metallurgist, Sheetmetal engineer, Armament engineer, Hydrometallurgical engineer, Metallographer, Process engineer

Materials engineers design, develop and test new and improved machinery, processes and materials used to make products. They may review new products and advise on suitable materials.

Main tasks

Design materials, machinery and processes
Test materials, machinery and processes
Analyse data to guide design decisions
Oversee material creation
Monitor how materials are used
Plan how materials should be used
Review plans for environmental impacts

How to become one

You need a qualification to become a materials engineer and experience may be useful. You need University Entrance to do the study or training for this job. Required: a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, manufacturing engineering or similar area. Other requirements: a Postgraduate Diploma in Materials Engineering or similar; experience in similar work; to be a member of a professional organisation like Engineering New Zealand; a driver licence; to pass a drug test.

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: $69,000 to $113,000 a year (median $88,000), a TEC estimate before tax.
Lower: $55,000 a year · Upper: $146,000 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: Strong increase (TEC). This is past change, not a forecast.
People employed in the group Chemical and Materials Engineers: 600 at the 2018 Census and 783 at the 2023 Census (+30.5%). 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 770 people did this job at the 2023 Census (TEC).
In the group Chemical and Materials Engineers, 20% of workers are female (sex at birth, 2023 Census).
Where people in the group Chemical and Materials Engineers work (2023 Census): Auckland 33%, Canterbury 12.3%, and Wellington 10.7%.

Questions people ask

How do I become a materials engineer?

How much does a materials engineer earn in New Zealand?

The Tertiary Education Commission estimates median pay at $88,000 a year, before tax. Most common pay is $69,000 to $113,000 a year.

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

It has grown strongly: TEC records a strong 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 materials 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 totals by topic for individuals 2013, 2018, 2023 (CEN23_TBT_004): employed by occupation, ANZSCO V1.3, summed to unit group (2023 Census (CEN23_TBT_004)), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), 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