NDT Training in New Mexico — Online & Onsite ASNT Courses

NDT training in New Mexico: how it works for New Mexico employers and technicians

Short answer: Atlantis NDT delivers ASNT SNT-TC-1A-based NDT training for New Mexico employers and technicians, from the Permian Basin towns of Hobbs, Carlsbad and Artesia to Farmington, Albuquerque, Las Cruces and Los Alamos. Level I, II and III courses in UT, PAUT, TOFD, RT, MT, PT, VT and ET run live online or onsite at your facility, yard or plant under ASNT Level III oversight. Your employer certifies you against its written practice. Atlantis has no training centre in New Mexico.

New Mexico has one of the most varied NDT markets in the Mountain West. In the south-east, the New Mexico side of the Permian Basin in Lea and Eddy counties runs a dense network of wells, gathering lines, compressor stations, gas processing plants, tank batteries and a refinery. In the north-west, the San Juan Basin around Farmington has decades of gas production and pipeline infrastructure. Along the Rio Grande corridor, national laboratories, air force bases, a missile range, semiconductor manufacturing and a growing aerospace sector need precision inspection of a completely different kind. Oilfield contractors want technicians who can shoot and read pipeline radiographs and run thickness surveys; laboratory and defence employers want precise, documented technique under strict quality programmes. This section explains how Atlantis training serves both.

If you know what you need, request a New Mexico training quote. Cohort and onsite quotes are returned within one business day.

ASNT Level I, II and III courses available in New Mexico

All courses follow ASNT SNT-TC-1A, so the outlines and exams slot into your employer's written practice. Worked examples are drawn from New Mexico work: pipeline girth welds and repair sleeves, tank floors and shells, pressure vessels and piping in gas processing plants and the refinery, compressor components, structural steel, aerospace and defence components, and precision-machined parts.

Ultrasonic testing. UT Level I covers wave theory, transducers, calibration, straight-beam and angle-beam technique and thickness gauging; Level II adds DAC and TCG, flaw sizing and code interpretation. In the Permian and San Juan basins, the majority of UT work is corrosion and erosion monitoring on produced-water, gathering and process piping, plus weld examination on new construction. On the Rio Grande corridor, UT is applied to machined and forged components under strict procedure control.

PAUT and TOFD. Advanced UT at Level II covers focal laws, sectorial and linear scans, encoded scanning, corrosion mapping, TOFD set-up, analysis and reporting. Operators and pipeline construction contractors increasingly prefer encoded UT to radiography because it removes radiation exclusion zones on busy sites and produces a recorded dataset for integrity programmes.

Radiographic testing. RT covers radiation physics, gamma and X-ray sources, film, computed and digital radiography, exposure technique for single- and double-wall pipe shots, image quality and interpretation to API 1104 and ASME acceptance criteria. Field pipeline radiography is one of the largest sources of NDT employment in south-east New Mexico, and it is tightly regulated; see the licensing section below.

MT, PT and VT. MT is used heavily on oilfield tubulars, rig and lifting components and structural welds; PT on stainless, aluminium and non-ferrous parts; and VT on every weld on pipeline and facility work. Courses cover equipment, technique, interpretation and the acceptance criteria your contracts name.

Eddy current. ET covers impedance-plane analysis, surface probes, bolt-hole and bobbin-probe tube inspection. It is used on heat exchangers at gas plants and the refinery and on aircraft at the state's air bases.

Level III preparation. Senior technicians can prepare for the ASNT Level III Basic and method examinations through ASNT Level III training, including writing procedures and administering a certification programme.

SNT-TC-1A certification path in New Mexico, step by step

New Mexico does not license NDT technicians. Under SNT-TC-1A your employer certifies you against its written practice:

1. Employer written practice covering levels, methods, training and experience requirements, exam content and grading, and recertification.
2. Classroom training to the hours the written practice requires. See the training requirements matrix for current recommended figures.
3. On-the-job experience under supervision, logged separately from training. Field hands in the oilfield often already have useful experience; it must be documented to count.
4. General examination on method theory.
5. Specific examination on your employer's equipment, procedures, codes and acceptance criteria.
6. Practical examination on real specimens with known discontinuities, administered and graded under a Level III.
7. Vision examination: near-vision acuity and colour-contrast differentiation, near vision annually.
8. Certification signed by the employer and held on file for operators and auditors.
9. Recertification at the written-practice interval, by examination or evidence of continuing performance where permitted.

For more detail, see SNT-TC-1A training and certification.

Online, live-virtual or onsite NDT training for New Mexico crews

New Mexico is large and its industrial sites are spread across it: Hobbs to Farmington is roughly the length of the state. Delivery reflects that:

• Live online classroom. Instructor-led theory that field technicians can take from Hobbs, Carlsbad, Artesia, Farmington, Roswell or Albuquerque without driving. See online NDT training.
• Onsite at your yard or facility. The instructor comes to your shop, yard or plant, trains on your cameras, flaw detectors, crawlers and specimens, and can administer examinations under Level III oversight. For radiography and pipeline contractors, this means the practical uses the same equipment and techniques your crews run in the field.
• Blended. Online theory first, then a short onsite practical block scheduled around field work.

Scheduling fits the Permian and San Juan rhythm: pipeline construction spreads, plant turnarounds at gas processing plants and the refinery, and the shifts that come with drilling and completion activity. Laboratory and defence employers often schedule around programme milestones and site access processing. Tell us your windows and we plan training ahead of them. Ask about onsite training for your New Mexico crew, or see corporate NDT training.

Where NDT technicians work in New Mexico

• Permian Basin oil and gas. Lea and Eddy counties are among the most productive oil and gas areas in the country. Gathering and transmission pipelines, compressor stations, cryogenic gas processing plants, saltwater disposal facilities and tank batteries generate continuous demand for RT and UT on welds, thickness surveys and MT and VT on equipment. Pipeline construction follows API 1104; plant piping follows ASME B31.3; pipelines follow ASME B31.4 and B31.8 under federal PHMSA rules, with intrastate pipelines overseen by the state's pipeline safety programme.
• Refining. HF Sinclair's Navajo Refinery in Artesia is New Mexico's operating refinery, with turnaround and in-service inspection of vessels, piping, tanks and heat exchangers. Owner-user inspection programmes often also require API 510, 570 or 653 authorised inspectors, which are separate API certifications Atlantis does not train; our UT, RT, MT, PT, VT and ET courses cover the NDT technician side.
• San Juan Basin. The Farmington area has long-established natural gas production, gathering systems and processing plants, with steady pipeline integrity and facility inspection work.
• National laboratories and nuclear facilities. Los Alamos National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories apply DOE and NNSA quality and safety requirements to NDT and generally require security clearances. The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad operates under DOE requirements, and the uranium enrichment facility near Eunice is licensed by the NRC. Qualification requirements at these sites are set by the site programmes; SNT-TC-1A-based training builds the method foundation.
• Aerospace and defence. Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, Holloman Air Force Base near Alamogordo, Cannon Air Force Base near Clovis and White Sands Missile Range create aircraft and test-infrastructure inspection work using ET, PT and UT. Commercial space activity at Spaceport America and aerospace suppliers in Albuquerque add component inspection; aerospace customers often specify NAS 410, which Atlantis does not issue.
• Manufacturing and construction. Semiconductor manufacturing in Rio Rancho, structural fabrication for commercial and industrial buildings, and New Mexico Department of Transportation bridge work to AWS D1.1 and D1.5 add VT, UT and MT work.

Radiography licensing in New Mexico. New Mexico is an NRC Agreement State, and radioactive materials licences, including industrial radiography, are administered by the Radiation Control Bureau of the New Mexico Environment Department, which also registers X-ray equipment. A contractor running gamma radiography needs a state licence with an approved radiation safety programme and radiation safety officer; each radiographer needs radiation safety training and a qualifying radiographer certification, and field work follows two-person, survey, dosimetry and source-security requirements. Crews that work on both sides of the Texas line must also satisfy Texas requirements when working there, and work on federal enclaves such as DOE sites or military installations can fall under different jurisdiction. Atlantis RT courses cover interpretation competence; licensing, dosimetry and source security are the employer's responsibility.

What New Mexico employers ask for. Pipeline and facility contractors typically want RT Level II with radiographer credentials, UT Level II for thickness and weld work, and increasingly PAUT; plant and refinery contractors want UT, MT, PT and VT Level II and sometimes API authorised inspectors for oversight; laboratory and defence employers want precise, well-documented method competence and site-specific qualification. Some construction clients also require an AWS CWI, which Atlantis does not train.

Level III services and written practices for New Mexico NDT companies

Many Permian and San Juan inspection companies grow quickly from a few crews to many, and their written practice and certification records do not always keep up. Operators audit those records, and gaps cost work. Atlantis provides outsourced Level III support:

• Written practice development and gap reviews against the current SNT-TC-1A edition; see written practice development.
• Procedures and techniques for API 1104 radiography, UT thickness and weld examination, PAUT and the other methods you perform.
• Examinations prepared, administered and graded under Level III authority, with records ready for operator and auditor review.
• Audit and pre-qualification support for operator contractor-qualification reviews, ISO 9001 surveillance and customer audits.

See SNT-TC-1A guidance for the rules, and book a Level III consultation to discuss your programme.

Practise before the practical exam

Field technicians rarely get spare time on equipment to practise. Practical NDT, the Atlantis 3D simulator, lets trainees practise 12 NDT methods in five environments: an NDT lab, a welding workshop, an aircraft hangar, an oil and gas site and a storage tank. The oil and gas site and storage tank environments reflect much of the work in the Permian and San Juan basins.

The simulator is practice only. It does not replace hands-on training or the practical examination, which must be performed on real specimens and graded under Level III authority. For written-exam revision, use the UT Level 2 practice questions.

Your instructor

Training is led by Anoop Rayavarapu, ASNT NDT Level III and founder of Atlantis NDT. Anoop authors the course material, provides Level III oversight of examinations and works directly with New Mexico employers on written practices and programme planning.

Frequently asked questions about NDT training in New Mexico

How do I get NDT certified in New Mexico?

There is no state NDT licence. Under ASNT SNT-TC-1A your employer certifies you after classroom training, supervised experience, general, specific and practical exams under a Level III, and a vision test. In the Permian, many technicians start as radiography assistants or UT helpers and complete training alongside field experience.

Can I take NDT training online in New Mexico?

Yes. Classroom theory is available live online statewide. Practical training and the practical exam require real equipment and specimens, normally onsite at your employer's yard or facility. See online NDT training.

How long does UT Level 2 training take?

It depends on your employer's written practice and your existing training and documented experience. SNT-TC-1A recommends minimum classroom and experience hours; see the training requirements matrix and send us your hours to map what remains.

Do I need a license for radiography in New Mexico?

The company needs a radioactive materials licence from the New Mexico Environment Department's Radiation Control Bureau, as New Mexico is an NRC Agreement State. Each field radiographer needs radiation safety training and a qualifying radiographer certification and works under the licensee's programme. RT Level II under SNT-TC-1A is a competence certification, not a radiation licence.

What does NDT training cost in New Mexico?

Quote on request, depending on method, level, group size, delivery format, travel for onsite work and whether examinations and Level III services are included. Quotes are returned within one business day: request a New Mexico quote.

Is ASNT certification recognised by New Mexico employers?

Yes. ASNT SNT-TC-1A is the standard framework for oilfield, pipeline, plant and inspection employers across the state. Certification is employer-specific, so a new employer may re-examine you before certifying you.

What NDT jobs are there in the Permian Basin in New Mexico?

Pipeline and facility radiography, UT thickness and weld inspection, PAUT on girth welds, MT on oilfield equipment and VT on construction are the main roles, based around Hobbs, Carlsbad and Artesia and serving operators across Lea and Eddy counties.

Can I work at Los Alamos or Sandia with SNT-TC-1A certification?

The laboratories set their own qualification requirements under DOE and NNSA programmes and usually require a security clearance. SNT-TC-1A-based method training is useful preparation, but check the specific posting requirements.

Does Atlantis offer API 510, 570 or 653 training?

No. Atlantis training is ASNT SNT-TC-1A-based NDT only. Some New Mexico plant and refinery employers also require API authorised inspectors, which is a separate API certification.

Can you train our radiography crews at our yard in Hobbs or Farmington?

Yes. Onsite training at your yard or facility is the usual model for groups, using your equipment and specimens, with examinations under Level III oversight. Radiation licensing and dosimetry remain under your company's licence.

Can a New Mexico inspection company certify its own technicians?

Yes, with a compliant written practice and a qualified Level III to administer exams and sign certifications. Many companies use an outsourced Level III; see written practice development.

What do NDT technicians earn in New Mexico?

Pay varies with method, level, overtime and field travel, and Permian work differs from laboratory and defence roles. For sourced ranges, see the NDT salary guide 2026.

Next steps: request a New Mexico training quote, browse all NDT training programmes, or talk to a Level III about your written practice.