Director of Maritime Technical

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 Director of Maritime Technical is the technical authority for Ocean Atomics' maritime engineering, owning the structural, machinery, electrical, and auxiliary systems architecture across every marine product line. While policy, workforce, and infrastructure secure the legal and physical pathways, this role defines how vessels are engineered to carry our nuclear electric plant.

Leading the Maritime Technical Division—including the Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering domains—you translate core intellectual property and reactor integration requirements into a standardized Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) that codifies each design for shipyard fabrication. You direct fast-moving design iterations, guide the Principal Naval Architect and Principal Marine Engineer, and set the design criteria that clear classification society and flag state review. This is the role that turns a novel plant-integration concept into buildable maritime assets, and establishes the technical basis every vessel that carries our plant is engineered against—so nuclear energy can scale at sea.

The ideal candidate holds engineering discipline as the foundation of trust while still compressing the design cycle, and treats intense technical friction as collaborative problem-solving rather than a contest of authority.

What You'll Do

• Own the technical strategy for the vessels that carry Ocean Atomics' nuclear electric plant — the structural, machinery, electrical, and auxiliary systems architecture across all marine product lines.

• Direct the translation of core intellectual property and reactor integration requirements into a standardized Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) that codifies each design for shipyard fabrication.

• Guide the Principal Naval Architect and Principal Marine Engineer, coordinating specialized engineering leads across the Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering domains.

• Run the design loops, trade studies, and engineering sprints that mature early concepts into submission-ready packages for critical design reviews.

• Standardize design criteria across disciplines to clear classification society (ABS, LR, etc.) and flag state (USCG, etc.) review, while helping shape international regulatory.

What You Bring

Required

• Advanced degree in Naval Architecture, Marine Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related heavy-industry engineering discipline.

• Track record of directing multi-disciplinary engineering organizations from concept through buildable marine assets. Typically built over 15+ years of engineering leadership in large-scale commercial shipbuilding, offshore energy, or first-of-a-kind (FOAK) marine platform programs. Depth of experience, program complexity, and successful leadership of major marine programs is valued above years of experience.

• Proven ability to translate complex, high-stakes technical designs into standardized, fabrication-ready packages.

Preferred

• Direct experience leading engineering teams through classification society (ABS, LR, etc.) and flag state (USCG, etc.) review.

• International regulatory experience (IMO, foreign flag states).

• Track record of building and scaling engineering teams from the ground up.

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.

Export control notice

This position involves access to information subject to U.S. export control laws (ITAR and/or EAR). Any offer is contingent on your ability to work in compliance with these laws, and Ocean Atomics LLC may apply for U.S. government authorization where needed. We evaluate all applicants regardless of citizenship or national origin, except where required by law.

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 [email protected].