A method and apparatus improve the design and control of amplification stages in a radio frequency (RF) transmitter, so as to reduce its power consumption. In some aspects, the transmitter is operable to transmit an output RF signal at a target power level, which may vary over a wide dynamic range. For each target power level in the dynamic range, a control module in the transmitter configures operational settings of amplification stages of the transmitter in order to produce the output RF signal having the appropriate target power level, while consuming minimal power from the power source.