How to become a radio frequency specialist
Official title: Radio frequency specialist
Also called: Radio frequency engineer, Radio engineer, Radio frequency technician, Radio frequency systems engineer, Radio frequency design engineer, Senior compliance technician, Radio frequency engineering consultant
Radio frequency specialists design, test and install systems that use radio waves to transmit and receive information.
Main tasks
- Develop technology to transmit and receive information
- Design electronic and computer equipment
- Test electronic instrument performance
- Find and fix transmission problems
- Develop software applications
- Maintain safety and security standards
- Write operational procedures
- Collect and analyse data
How to become one
You need experience and a qualification to become a radio frequency specialist. You need NCEA Level 3 to do the study or training for this job. Required: experience in similar work; a relevant tertiary qualification in electrical and electronic engineering and technology or similar area. Other requirements: a New Zealand Certificate in Telecommunications (Level 3); a New Zealand Certificate in Telecommunications (Level 4); an Electrical Workers Registration Board (EWRB) licence.
Ways in
- University: Engineering degrees, Offered by 5 universities in New Zealand
Pay
- Most common pay: $60,000 to $80,000 a year (median $80,000), a TEC estimate before tax.
- Lower: $50,597 a year · Upper: $122,331 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.
Who does this work
- About 18 people did this job at the 2023 Census (TEC).
Related jobs
- Photonics engineer
- Electrical and electronic engineering technician
- Photonics technician
- Electric motor technician
- Electrical and electromechanical assembler
- CNC machine programmer
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Questions people ask
How do I become a radio frequency specialist?
You need experience and a qualification to become a radio frequency specialist. You need NCEA Level 3 to do the study or training for this job. Required: experience in similar work; a relevant tertiary qualification in electrical and electronic engineering and technology or similar area. Other requirements: a New Zealand Certificate in Telecommunications (Level 3); a New Zealand Certificate in Telecommunications (Level 4); an Electrical Workers Registration Board (EWRB) licence.
How much does a radio frequency specialist earn in New Zealand?
The Tertiary Education Commission estimates median pay at $80,000 a year, before tax. Most common pay is $60,000 to $80,000 a year.
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
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