Engineering ServicesISCO 7421
Marine electronics technician
A marine electronics technician is a person who places, installs and repairs electronic systems and equipment on ships.
Check yourself in a minute: marine electronics technician
Rate 5 of the 18 essential skills of this occupation (European ESCO data). No account needed.
interpret circuit diagrams
solder electronics
assemble electronic units
clean components during assembly
fasten components
About marine electronics technician
Installation follows the electrical diagrams and assembly drawings: the technician interprets the diagrams, positions units where they belong, fixes components so that vibration cannot work them loose, and runs the wiring to them. They solder electronic components, work on printed circuit boards, and know integrated circuits well enough to establish whether a single device has failed or the whole board has.
Repair work involves finding faults on a ship, at sea or in port. The technician checks circuits, compares what is installed against the documentation, and decides what can be repaired on board and what has to be replaced. Mechanics belongs here, because some of the electronic equipment controls drives and mechanisms, and knowledge of types of sea vessels helps the technician understand how a given ship is built.
The technician follows health and safety standards. Requirements for certificates and endorsements are set by maritime rules and by the shipowner.
Key Work Functions
Core areas of responsibility for a marine electronics technician.
1
Installation of Marine Electronic Systems
- Interpret and follow detailed blueprints and assembly drawings to plan electrical system layouts on vessels
- Assemble electronic components, wiring harnesses, and connectors according to marine specifications and standards
- Install navigational equipment, communication systems, radar, and other electronic devices in designated locations
- Ensure proper cable routing, grounding, and shielding to minimize electromagnetic interference and ensure safety
2
Testing and Troubleshooting Electronic Systems
- Test installed electronic systems using multimeters, oscilloscopes, and specialized marine testing equipment
- Diagnose system faults and malfunctions by analyzing symptoms and conducting systematic troubleshooting procedures
- Repair faulty components by soldering, rewiring, or replacing defective electronic elements
- Verify system functionality after repairs and document all work performed with detailed technical notes
3
Maintenance and Repair of Marine Equipment
- Perform preventive maintenance on electronic systems including inspections, cleaning, and component testing
- Maintain and repair power distribution systems, control panels, and electrical equipment on vessels
- Update and upgrade electronic systems as required by regulatory standards or operational improvements
4
Compliance with Maritime Standards and Safety
- Ensure all work complies with international maritime regulations, SOLAS, and IMO requirements
- Maintain detailed documentation of all electronic system installations and repairs for maritime inspection
- Follow strict safety protocols when working with high-voltage equipment and in maritime environments
European Skills Framework
Skills and knowledge areas required for this occupation based on European classification.
Essential (18)
mechanics of vesselsmechanics of vesselsThe mechanical aspects and principles of vessels operations, and the technicalities and mechanical composition of boats and ships.maritime electric drivesmaritime electric drivesThe technology used to convert electrical energy from a battery or power system into mechanical energy, transmitting the force generated into motion. In the maritime sector, electrical energy is used ...types of maritime vesselstypes of maritime vesselsVarious types of maritime vessels such as container ships, passenger ships and fishing vessels, and their characteristics and specifications, security, technical, and maintenance requirements.printed circuit boardsprinted circuit boardsPrinted circuit boards (PCB) are essential components to almost all electronic devices. They consist of thin wafers or substrates on which electronic components, such as microchips, are placed. The el...electronicselectronicsThe functioning of electronic circuit boards, processors, chips, and computer hardware and software, including programming and applications.mechanicsmechanicsTheoretical and practical applications of the science studying the action of displacements and forces on physical bodies to the development of machinery and mechanical devices.interpret circuit diagramsinterpret circuit diagramsRead and comprehend circuit diagrams showing the connections between the devices, such as power and signal connections.solder electronicssolder electronicsOperate and use soldering tools and soldering iron, which supply high temperatures to melt the solder and to join electronic components.assemble electronic unitsassemble electronic unitsConnect various electronic and computer parts to form an electronic product or device.clean components during assemblyclean components during assemblyClean components before fixing them to other compounds or units of components during the assembly process.fasten componentsfasten componentsFasten components together according to blueprints and technical plans in order to create subassemblies or finished products.apply health and safety standardsapply health and safety standardsAdhere to standards of hygiene and safety established by respective authorities.integrated circuitsintegrated circuitsElectronic components, made up from a set of electronic circuits which are placed on semiconductor material, such as silicon. Integrated circuits (IC) can hold billions of electronic components on a m...align componentsalign componentsAlign and lay out components in order to put them together correctly according to blueprints and technical plans.electrical equipment regulationselectrical equipment regulationsThe national and international regulations with regards to the use and manufacture of electrical equipment on the workfloor. These regulations provide rules and guidelines on topics such as general ri...types of electronicstypes of electronicsThe different categories of electronics, such as consumer electronics, medical devices, microelectronics, computers, information and communication equipment, and measuring equipment.read assembly drawingsread assembly drawingsRead and interpret drawings listing all the parts and subassemblies of a certain product. The drawing identifies the different components and materials and provides instructions on how to assemble a p...use water navigation devicesuse water navigation devicesUtilise water navigation devices, e.g. compass or sextant, or navigational aids such as lighthouses or buoys, radar, satellite, and computer systems, in order to navigate vessels on waterways. Work wi...
Optional (52) — show
information structureinformation structureThe type of infrastructure which defines the format of data: semi-structured, unstructured and structured.business intelligencebusiness intelligenceThe tools used to transform large amounts of raw data into relevant and helpful business information.data miningdata miningThe methods of artificial intelligence, machine learning, statistics and databases used to extract content from a dataset.electromechanicselectromechanicsThe engineering processes that combine electrical and mechanical engineering in the application of electromechanics in devices that need electricity to create mechanical movement or devices that creat...visual presentation techniquesvisual presentation techniquesThe visual representation and interaction techniques, such as histograms, scatter plots, surface plots, tree maps and parallel coordinate plots, that can be used to present abstract numerical and non-...programmable logic controllerprogrammable logic controllerProgrammable logic controllers or PLC's are computer control systems used for the monitoring and control of input and output as well as the automation of electromechanical processes.information extractioninformation extractionThe techniques and methods used for eliciting and extracting information from unstructured or semi-structured digital documents and sources.sensorssensorsSensors are transducers that can detect or sense characteristics in their environment. They detect changes in the apparatus or environment and provide a corresponding optical or electrical signal. Sen...robotic componentsrobotic componentsThe components that can be found in robotic systems, such as microprocessors, electronics, sensors, circuit boards, encoders, servomotors, controllers, pneumatics or hydraulics.power electronicspower electronicsThe functioning, design, and usage of electronics that control and convert electric power. Power conversion systems are usually categorised as AC-DC or rectifiers, DC-AC or inverters, DC-DC converters...microprocessorsmicroprocessorsComputer processors on a microscale that integrate the computer central processing unit (CPU) on a single chip.data storagedata storageThe physical and technical concepts of how digital data storage is organised in specific schemes both locally, such as hard-drives and random-access memories (RAM) and remotely, via network, internet ...cloud technologiescloud technologiesThe technologies which enable access to hardware, software, data and services through remote servers and software networks irrespective of their location and architecture.control engineeringcontrol engineeringSubdiscipline of engineering that focuses on controlling the behaviour of systems through the use of sensors and actuators.unstructured dataunstructured dataThe information that is not arranged in a pre-defined manner or does not have a pre-defined data model and is difficult to understand and find patterns in without using techniques such as data mining.defense systemdefense systemThe various weapons and weapon systems used to protect citizens and to harm or shield incoming enemies and enemy weapons.electricityelectricityThe principles of electricity and electrical power circuits, as well as the associated risks.mechatronicsmechatronicsMultidisciplinary field of engineering that combines principles of electrical engineering, telecommunications engineering, control engineering, computer engineering, and mechanical engineering in the ...computer technologycomputer technologyComputers, computer networks and other information technologies and equipment that can store, retrieve, transmit and manipulate data.roboticsroboticsThe branch of engineering that involves the design, operation, manufacture, and application of robots. Robotics is part of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and computer science and over...automation technologyautomation technologySet of technologies that make a process, system, or apparatus operate automatically through the use of control systems.assemble sensorsassemble sensorsMount chips on a sensor substrate and attach them using soldering or wafer bumping techniques.assemble hardware componentsassemble hardware componentsAssemble the necessary hardware components, such as the motherboard, Central Processing Unit (CPU), hard drive, disk drive, power supply unit, RAM, PCI card, mouse, keyboard, cameras and other necessa...perform data miningperform data miningExplore large datasets to reveal patterns using statistics, database systems or artificial intelligence and present the information in a comprehensible way.use diagnostic tools for electronic repairsuse diagnostic tools for electronic repairsUse diagnostic equipment to measure current, resistance and voltage. Handle sophisticated multimeters to measure inductance, capacitance and current transistor gain.install mechatronic equipmentinstall mechatronic equipmentInstall equipment used for the automation of a specific machine or device.perform test runperform test runPerform tests putting a system, machine, tool or other equipment through a series of actions under actual operating conditions in order to assess its reliability and suitability to realise its tasks, ...analyse big dataanalyse big dataCollect and evaluate numerical data in large quantities, especially for the purpose of identifying patterns between the data.assemble printed circuit boardsassemble printed circuit boardsAttach electronic components to the printed circuit board through applying soldering techniques. Electronic components are placed in holes in through-hole assembly (THT), or are placed on the surface ...manage quantitative datamanage quantitative dataGather, process and present quantitative data. Use the appropriate programs and methods for validating, organising and interpreting data.wear appropriate protective gearwear appropriate protective gearWear relevant and necessary protective gear, such as protective goggles or other eye protection, hard hats, safety gloves.test mechatronic unitstest mechatronic unitsTest mechatronic units using appropriate equipment. Gather and analyse data. Monitor and evaluate system performance and take action if needed.test sensorstest sensorsTest sensors using appropriate equipment. Gather and analyse data. Monitor and evaluate system performance and take action if needed.maintain robotic equipmentmaintain robotic equipmentDiagnose and detect malfunctions in robotic components and systems and remove, replace, or repair these components when necessary. Execute preventative equipment maintenance tasks, such as storing rob...install automation componentsinstall automation componentsInstall the automation components according to the specifications of the circuit diagram.analyse test dataanalyse test dataInterpret and analyse data collected during testing in order to formulate conclusions, new insights or solutions.install pneumatic systemsinstall pneumatic systemsInstall systems and components that use pneumatics to create mechanical movements such as air brakes, pneumatic cylinders, air compressors and other systems.utilise machine learningutilise machine learningUse techniques and algorithms that are able to extract mastery out of data, learn from it and make predictions, to be used for program optimisation, application adaptation, pattern recognition, filter...calibrate electronic instrumentscalibrate electronic instrumentsCorrect and adjust the reliability of an electronic instrument by measuring output and comparing results with the data of a reference device or a set of standardised results. This is done in regular i...maintain electronic systemsmaintain electronic systemsCalibrate and maintain electronic systems. Execute preventive equipment maintenance tasks.manage datamanage dataAdminister all types of data resources through their lifecycle by performing data profiling, parsing, standardisation, identity resolution, cleansing, enhancement and auditing. Ensure the data is fit ...check system parameters against reference valuescheck system parameters against reference valuesMake sure that the measurable factors which define the operation of a system correspond to the predetermined norms.liaise with engineersliaise with engineersCollaborate with engineers to ensure common understanding and discuss product design, development and improvement.install softwareinstall softwareInstall machine-readable instructions, such as computer programs, in order to direct the computer's processor to perform a certain set of actions.use specific data analysis softwareuse specific data analysis softwareUse specific software for data analysis, including statistics, spreadsheets, and databases. Explore possibilities in order to make reports to managers, superiors, or clients.keep records of work progresskeep records of work progressMaintain records of the progress of the work including time, defects, malfunctions, etc.assemble mechatronic unitsassemble mechatronic unitsAssemble mechatronic units using mechanical, pneumatic, hydraulic, electrical, electronic, and information technology systems and components. Manipulate and attach metals through using welding and sol...interpret technical information for electronic repair workinterpret technical information for electronic repair workAnalyse and understand given technical information for electronic repair work.repair electronic componentsrepair electronic componentsRepair, replace or adjust damaged electronics components or circuitry. Use hand tools and soldering and welding equipment.build electronic prototypesbuild electronic prototypesConstruct prototypes from rough plans and sketches.statistical analysis system softwarestatistical analysis system softwareSpecific software system (SAS) used for advanced analytics, business intelligence, data management, and predictive analytics.test electronic unitstest electronic unitsTest electronic units using appropriate equipment. Gather and analyse data. Monitor and evaluate system performance and take action if needed.
Related Occupations
Occupations that need many of the same essential skills, so the move between them is shortest.
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Frequently asked questions
What does a marine electronics technician do?
Marine electronics technicians lay out, install and repair electronic systems and equipment in vessels. They assemble electronic components and wiring according to blueprints and assembly drawings.
What skills does a marine electronics technician need?
A marine electronics technician needs 18 essential skills, including mechanics of vessels, maritime electric drives, types of maritime vessels, printed circuit boards, electronics.
Will AI replace marine electronics technician jobs?
The AI disruption score for marine electronics technician is 64/100 (high risk). Skills most exposed to automation: assemble printed circuit boards, check system parameters against reference values, sensors. Most resilient: electricity, types of electronics, install pneumatic systems.
AI Replacement Risk
64/ 100
High Risk
Low riskHigh risk
Skills most at risk from AI
Skills resilient to automation
This is the average for the whole occupation. The AI Career Shield test (about 10 minutes) shows the risk in your own work and what you can do about it.
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