Nuclear Engineer Jobs in Reston, VA (NOW HIRING)

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.

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.

Scale nuclear energy. Power generations.

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

We are seeking a Nuclear Systems Integration Engineer to perform mechanical design and management of systems that span the nuclear power plant, ship, and shipyard interfaces of civil nuclear-powered maritime applications. This role ensures that integrated systems are performant, economical, safe, manufacturable, maintainable, and compliant with maritime and nuclear regulatory frameworks.

• Perform mechanical design and integration of cross-boundary systems including reactor/fuel handling equipment, plant-to-hull structural interfaces, shielding integration, and supporting auxiliary systems.

• Define and manage interface requirements between the reactor, ship systems (structure, propulsion, HVAC, electrical, fluid systems), and shipyard construction/maintenance processes.

• Assess and design for ship-specific hazards affecting the nuclear plant, including collision, grounding, flooding, fire, motion/sea-state loads, and shock/vibration.

• Develop and maintain interface control documents, system specifications, and integration plans.

• Coordinate across naval architecture, reactor engineering, safety/licensing, and shipyard production teams to resolve cross-discipline conflicts.

• Support safety case development and hazard analyses for integrated systems.

• Review designs for constructability, installation sequencing, and in-service maintenance and refueling access.

• Ensure compliance with applicable classification society rules, IMO/maritime regulations, and nuclear regulatory requirements.

• Lead, mentor, and develop teams of engineers responsible for mechanical, structural, civil, and nuclear system design and operation.

• Establish and maintain a high-performance culture centered on nuclear safety, technical excellence, accountability, and continuous improvement.

• Recruit, onboard, and develop engineering talent to support organizational growth and long-term engineering expertise.

• Conduct performance evaluations, career development planning, and technical mentoring for engineering staff.

• Support the expansion of Ocean Atomics through effective knowledge transfer, agile prioritization of critical business needs, and collaboration across functional company areas to build a scalable organization.

• Ensure engineering products meet rigorous nuclear industry standards and quality requirements.

• Provide technical leadership during emergent operational events and high-consequence engineering challenges.

Required

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Marine, Naval, Nuclear, or related engineering discipline.

• 5+ years of experience in mechanical design and systems integration for complex engineered systems.

• Demonstrated experience managing technical interfaces across multiple engineering disciplines.

• Working knowledge of structural and mechanical design principles, including dynamic and accident loading.

• Familiarity with safety analysis methods and regulated-industry design controls.

• Strong written technical documentation skills (specifications, interface control documents).

• A hustle mindset: bias toward action, comfort with ambiguity, and relentless follow-through.

Preferred

• Professional Engineer (PE) license or chartered engineer status.

• Experience in nuclear plant systems, marine propulsion, and/or shipbuilding.

• Knowledge of classification society rules (e.g., ABS, Lloyd's Register) and IMO requirements relevant to nuclear-powered ships.

• Familiarity with fuel handling systems, shielding design, or reactor auxiliary systems.

• Experience with collision/grounding analysis or ship survivability engineering.

• Proficiency with 3D CAD and structural/thermal analysis tools.

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.

This role involves access to information subject to U.S. export control laws, including unclassified nuclear technology governed by the U.S. Department of Energy under 10 CFR Part 810. Depending on a candidate's status, access may require DOE authorization, which Ocean Atomics may apply for. Any offer is contingent on your ability to work in compliance with these requirements. We evaluate all applicants regardless of citizenship or national origin, except where required by law.

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.

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.