What Does a Chief Broadcast Engineer Do?
When a transmitter fails in the middle of a live broadcast, the chief engineer's groundwork can be the deciding factor in whether the station goes silent or whether listeners never notice. The chief broadcast engineer runs the technical side of a radio or TV station and leads its engineering staff. This might involve transmitter repairs, studio wiring, network security or FCC filings.
Also known as: Chief Radio TV Engineer, Broadcast Engineering Supervisor
Other Job Titles for This Work
Workers in this occupation report titles such as Audio Engineer, Board Operator, Broadcast Engineer, Broadcast Maintenance Engineer, Broadcast Operations Engineer, Broadcast Technician, Control Operator, Production Engineer.
Chief Broadcast Engineer Duties and Responsibilities
The primary responsibilities of a chief broadcast engineer include:
- Keep transmitters, antennas and studio links running; log readings and fix faults before they cause dead air.
- Supervise staff engineers and board operators, setting on-call rotations for overnight and weekend coverage.
- Plan and budget for equipment replacement, from consoles and microphones to transmitters and backup generators.
- Prepare FCC filings, public inspection file records and Emergency Alert System tests on schedule.
- Design and wire new studios, working with IT staff on the station's audio-over-IP network.
- Monitor signal strength and coverage; order repairs when readings drift outside licensed limits.
- Respond to after-hours outages, often driving to remote transmitter sites to restore service.
- Evaluate automation and playout systems and negotiate service contracts with equipment vendors.
- Train producers and on-air staff to use consoles, codecs and remote broadcast kits correctly.
- Document maintenance, tower light checks and radio-frequency exposure safeguards ahead of inspections.
Required Skills and Qualifications
To succeed as a chief broadcast engineer, you will need the following skills and qualifications:
- Associate's degree in electronics or broadcast technology
- SBE certification, such as CBRE or CPBE
- Radio-frequency (RF) and transmitter maintenance
- Audio-over-IP and IT networking
- Working knowledge of FCC rules and the Emergency Alert System
- Leading a small technical team
- Budgeting for capital equipment
- Calm fault-finding during live outages
Education and Training
Society of Broadcast Engineers certification gives candidates a clear edge for the top engineering job. Most chiefs spend years as staff engineers first, and an associate degree in electronics is common. Some first learned to fix equipment in the military or at a college radio station.
Salary and Job Outlook
Typical pay: $40,320 - $83,520 per year, with a median of $59,570.
The range covers the middle half of earners nationwide. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Broadcast Technicians.
According to BLS, employment of broadcast technicians, the wider group that includes chief engineers, is projected to fall about 3 percent in the decade ending in 2035. While that means fewer staff jobs, retirements should still open roughly 1,600 positions a year across the group. Engineers who understand both transmitters and computer networks are hard to replace. Median pay for the group was about $59,600 in May 2025, and chiefs, who carry the most responsibility, tend to earn above that middle figure.
Outlook source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035, Broadcast technicians.
Chief Broadcast Engineer Pay Range
| Earners | Annual pay |
|---|---|
| Bottom 10% earn less than | $31,390 |
| Bottom 25% earn less than | $40,320 |
| Median (half earn more, half less) | $59,570 |
| Top 25% earn more than | $83,520 |
| Top 10% earn more than | $123,670 |
Highest-Paying States for Chief Broadcast Engineers
The states with the highest median pay for this occupation are District of Columbia ($108,270), New Hampshire ($81,150), Pennsylvania ($80,470), New York ($78,840), Illinois ($74,210). Pay is lowest in Utah ($31,490), Mississippi ($27,750), West Virginia ($27,310).
Median pay in all 47 states with BLS data
| State | Median annual pay |
|---|---|
| Alabama | $47,290 |
| Arizona | $73,040 |
| Arkansas | $41,870 |
| California | $72,800 |
| Colorado | $74,040 |
| Connecticut | $58,930 |
| District of Columbia | $108,270 |
| Florida | $64,950 |
| Georgia | $47,340 |
| Hawaii | $49,200 |
| Idaho | $44,730 |
| Illinois | $74,210 |
| Indiana | $44,400 |
| Iowa | $46,820 |
| Kansas | $41,600 |
| Kentucky | $40,240 |
| Louisiana | $44,440 |
| Maine | $55,110 |
| Maryland | $64,030 |
| Massachusetts | $47,260 |
| Michigan | $47,730 |
| Minnesota | $46,790 |
| Mississippi | $27,750 |
| Missouri | $41,600 |
| Montana | $46,600 |
| Nebraska | $43,680 |
| Nevada | $73,070 |
| New Hampshire | $81,150 |
| New Mexico | $49,990 |
| New York | $78,840 |
| North Carolina | $47,780 |
| North Dakota | $48,090 |
| Ohio | $48,720 |
| Oklahoma | $44,530 |
| Oregon | $44,420 |
| Pennsylvania | $80,470 |
| Rhode Island | $49,580 |
| South Carolina | $46,860 |
| South Dakota | $32,150 |
| Tennessee | $47,340 |
| Texas | $49,440 |
| Utah | $31,490 |
| Virginia | $57,940 |
| Washington | $62,070 |
| West Virginia | $27,310 |
| Wisconsin | $62,400 |
| Wyoming | $39,380 |
What the Work Is Like
O*NET surveys people who work as broadcast technicians about their daily conditions. Of those surveyed:
- 98% use email every day
- 98% say being exact and accurate is very or extremely important
- 97% say teamwork is very or extremely important in their job
- 96% work indoors in a climate-controlled space every day
- 65% are on the phone every day
- 64% spend more than half the workday sitting
- 51% use their hands on tools, objects or controls for more than half the day
Education Workers Say the Job Needs
| Education level | Share of workers |
|---|---|
| Associate's degree | 43% |
| Some college | 27% |
| High school diploma or GED | 17% |
| Post-secondary certificate | 10% |
Tools and Software Chief Broadcast Engineers Use
Tools and equipment
Software
Is This Job a Good Fit for You?
People who do well in this job tend to enjoy organized work with data, records and clear procedures as well as hands-on work with tools, machines or the outdoors.
Skills O*NET rates most important: Critical Thinking, Active Listening, Monitoring, Operations Monitoring, Writing, Complex Problem Solving.
Knowledge areas used most: Computers and Electronics, Telecommunications, Engineering and Technology, Communications and Media, English Language.
Preparation: O*NET places this occupation in Job Zone 3 of 5, which means medium preparation.
Related Careers
These jobs use similar skills, according to O*NET's related-occupation data:
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Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035.
- O*NET 30.1 Database, occupation 27-4012.00 (Broadcast Technicians). View on O*NET OnLine.
This page includes information from the O*NET 30.1 Database 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. The Job Explorer has modified some of the information; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed or tested these changes.