Principal Marine Engineer

The ocean is the largest undeveloped frontier on earth — and the next chapter of abundant energy will be written at sea. We're building the infrastructure to power it.

ABOUT OCEAN ATOMICS (OA)

Ocean Atomics is an American company designing, licensing, and assembling a standardized nuclear electric power plant and the surrounding support systems for maritime applications. We will install these plants on any vessel built to our nuclear-ready standards, and will provide end-to-end sustainment in our planned nuclear lifecycle dockyard. We will help develop the licensed operators to unlock this new capability for your energy intensive application at sea. To move fast and to lead the creation of this new market, we are leveraging the compact, proven systems enabled by water-cooled reactors.

OUR MISSION

Scale nuclear energy. Power generations.

OUR VISION

A maritime commons thriving with abundant, economical, modern, and safe nuclear-powered activity — built, serviced, and staffed by re-industrialized American shipyards and people.

ROLE SUMMARY

The Principal Marine Engineer serves as the technical authority for marine engineering across Ocean Atomics' standardized nuclear electric plant and the vessels built to our nuclear-ready guide. Where naval architecture shapes the vessel, this role owns the propulsion, electrical, auxiliary, and control systems that let a compact, water-cooled reactor integrate cleanly onto a maritime platform after delivery.

You will lead the Marine Engineering domain—directing specialist leads across Propulsion, Electrical Generation, Auxiliary & Distribution, and Controls & Communications—from initial concept through class approval and operational deployment. You will define the physical, thermal, and electrical interface boundaries between the conventional hull and the reserved reactor compartment, and convert cross-disciplinary inputs into regulatory-approved, shipyard-ready packages. This is the engineering that brings nuclear power to sea.

The ideal candidate treats interface discipline as the foundation of a clean integration rather than a constraint to work around, and holds technical rigor and collaborative work with class and flag reviewers as two sides of the same job.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Lead the marine engineering of the Test and Training Platform (TTP) and follow-on products across their full life cycle, directing the propulsion, electrical, auxiliary, and controls domain leads toward a harmonized machinery plant.
• Define the physical, thermal, and mechanical interface boundaries that separate the conventional maritime hull from the reserved reactor compartment, ensuring clean isolation of vital ship systems.
• Develop and validate the Piping & Instrumentation Diagrams (P&IDs) for high-capacity secondary cooling loops and containment isolation networks engineered for marine hazard conditions.
• Establish the electrical load profiles and high-voltage distribution topologies that accept the nuclear electric plant's power output and synchronize it safely with onshore utility grids.
• Steer the technical submittal strategy through classification society (ABS, LR, etc.) and flag state (USCG, etc.) reviews to secure hull classification and U.S. flag registration.
• Evaluate fabrication tolerances and lifting capability at targeted integration yards so design specifications hold against real shipyard infrastructure constraints.

WHAT YOU BRING

Required

• Advanced degree in Marine Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related heavy power or propulsion engineering discipline.
• Track record of leading complex marine machinery and power systems from concept through regulatory approval and deployment. Typically built over 12+ years of engineering leadership in commercial shipbuilding, offshore energy, or first-of-a-kind marine platform design. Depth of experience, design cycles, and successful leadership of major marine engineering projects is valued above years of experience.
• Direct experience leading multidisciplinary engineering teams through classification society (ABS, LR, etc.) and flag state (USCG, etc.) review processes.

Preferred

• Experience with high-voltage marine power systems, utility grid integration, or hazardous fluid thermal management.
• Exposure to nuclear quality assurance frameworks (ASME Section III, N-Stamp) or complex containment systems.

Don't meet every bullet? We'd still like to hear from you. If you're excited by the mission and most of this resonates, apply.

WHY THIS MATTERS

Every industry on Earth needs scalable, clean energy, and the ocean is the ideal place to unlock it. Joining Ocean Atomics means building real, lasting infrastructure — the kind that powers generations. The world needs abundant energy. Let's make it happen.

OCEAN ATOMICS LLC IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER.

We are committed to a workplace free of discrimination and do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations; if you need an accommodation during the application process, contact info@oceanatomics.com.