AV/IT Officer
The AV/IT officer keeps a superyacht connected and entertained. You look after the network, satellite links, phones, cinema and every screen and speaker on board. When the owner's video call drops, you are the one who answers for it. It is a technical post with a heavy service side, and you will find it mostly on yachts of 60m and above.
The jobWhat fills the day
The AV/IT officer runs everything on board that carries data, sound or pictures. That covers the network core, the firewalls and Wi-Fi, and the VSAT, Starlink and 4G/5G links. It also covers phones, crew and guest devices, and the cinema, audio zones, TVs and lighting control in every cabin. On a modern 80m yacht that can mean hundreds of endpoints on a Crestron or Savant system. You also keep the cyber security records for the ISM audit, along with software licences and backups. On many yachts the CCTV and access control are yours too.
When guests are aboard, most of the job is service. The owner's iPad has to connect the moment they step off the tender, the cinema has to start first time, and you will hear about a dropped video call within seconds. You stay on call with a radio and fix faults quietly in a cabin while a stew keeps the guests elsewhere. Between trips you install patches, update firmware, rebuild failed racks and plan upgrades. On 60-70m yachts the role is often combined with ETO duties. Above 100m you may lead a team of two or three.
Captains look for proven network skills first and AV second. Typical backgrounds are shoreside IT support, broadcast or live events, and high-end residential integration with Crestron or Control4. A Cisco CCNA or CompTIA Network+ carries real weight, and so do manufacturer programming certificates. Yacht experience helps, but plenty of first-time officers come straight from luxury hotel or private estate IT. Like all crew, you need STCW and an ENG1. You also need a calm, discreet manner with principals and their staff, who expect technology to work every time.
Most people start as an AV/IT engineer in a large yacht's technical team, or as the sole AV/IT officer on a 60m. From there you can move to bigger yachts and then to a team lead post on 100m+. Another route is ETO work, which means adding electrical training and the MCA ETO CoC. Others go ashore into technical yacht management, new build projects, or the specialist integrators who fit out yachts in Dutch and German yards. Senior posts are usually rotational, which keeps experienced people in the role for longer.
Skills captains look for
- Enterprise networking and Wi-Fi
- VSAT and Starlink management
- Crestron and Savant programming
- Cyber security and ISM records
- Cinema and audio calibration
- Discreet guest-facing troubleshooting
A day aboardCharter day, 85m motor yacht, Maldives
Check the overnight monitoring alerts, satellite link status and backup reports. Generate fresh guest Wi-Fi codes for two late arrivals.
Breakfast in the crew mess.
Short meeting with the chief engineer and chief stew about today's guest requests. A board call at 15:00 and an outdoor film after dinner are the priorities.
Take portable speakers and a screen ashore by tender for a sandbank lunch. Test the Bluetooth playlist and the radio link back to the yacht.
Lunch, then thirty minutes off in your cabin.
A stew calls because the master cabin TV is showing no picture. You trace it to a failed HDMI matrix card and swap in a spare while the guests are on deck.
Stand by in the technical office during the guest's board call. Starlink carries it, with VSAT on failover, and you watch the bandwidth closely.
Gym session and dinner before the evening watch.
Run the outdoor cinema on the sundeck, then stay on call until the guests retire. Log the day's faults and order a replacement card.
Pay by yacht sizeMonthly, before tips. Estimates. Bars share one scale.
Charter tips add significantly in a busy season, usually shared equally with the rest of the crew. Rotational posts on 100m+ yachts pay at the top of the range, with every other block of weeks off on full pay. See the ETO & AV/IT salary guide for figures from live adverts.
Tickets and visas
Must have
- STCW Basic Safety Training
- ENG1 medical certificate
- Proficiency in Designated Security Duties (PDSD)
Gets you hired
- Cisco CCNA or CompTIA Network+
- Crestron or Savant programming certification
- AVIXA CTS
- Starlink and VSAT vendor training
- Cyber security certificate such as CompTIA Security+
Visas
- US B1/B2
- Schengen visa if not an EU national
Where it leadsA typical career path
ETO & AV/IT jobsOpen now on SuperyachtRoles.com
Questions crew ask
Do I need yacht experience to get an AV/IT officer job?
No. Many officers come from residential integration, hotel IT or live events. A strong networking background and STCW and ENG1 certificates will get you interviews, especially for a team post on a large yacht.
How is the AV/IT officer different from the ETO?
The ETO looks after the electrical and electronic systems: generators, switchboards, navigation and alarm systems. The AV/IT officer covers networks, communications and entertainment. On smaller yachts one person often does both.
Which certifications matter most?
Captains and chief engineers look first for networking credentials such as a CCNA or Network+, then for Crestron or Savant programming. Cyber security knowledge matters more every year because the ISM Code now requires yachts to manage cyber risk.
Is the role rotational?
On yachts over 80m it often is, with 2:2 or 3:1 rotation becoming the norm for senior AV/IT officers. On smaller yachts it is usually a permanent post with annual leave.