Radiation Shielding Engineer

Ocean Atomics; Bethesda (MD); On-site; USD 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Ocean Atomics designs and analyzes radiation shielding for maritime nuclear systems, ensuring dose rates stay within limits for crew and the public. The role spans L1–L4 levels with scope increasing with experience, and emphasizes artful as well as scientific shielding design.

The work integrates with structural, layout, and construction teams to fit shielding into shipboard configurations, and involves documenting analyses for reviews and licensing commitments.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in nuclear engineering required (advanced degree preferred).
• Experience designing and analyzing radiation shielding for reactor or other high-radiation systems.
• Proficiency with radiation transport codes (MCNP, SCALE, etc.) and shielding/source-term methods (i.e. FW-CADIS).
• Familiarity with shipboard or other space- and weight-constrained installation environments

Responsibilities

• Design and analyze radiation shielding for the reactor, primary systems, and surrounding compartments using transport, Monte Carlo, and hybrid methods.
• Perform activation, dose-rate, and source-term calculations across operating, shutdown, and accident conditions to verify compliance with occupational and public dose limits.
• Study historical ship and other unconventional shielding solutions and bring applied history into our design.
• Develop shielding arrangements optimized for shipboard installation: modular geometries, manageable component weights, access for handling equipment, and compatibility with build and outfitting sequences.
• Coordinate with our structural, layout, and construction teams to integrate shielding into the ship arrangement and resolve weight, space, and installation trade-offs.
• Document shielding designs, analyses, and as-built configurations, and support design reviews, licensing, and certification deliverables.

Skills

Nuclear engineering

Radiation shielding design

Analytical skills

Education

Bachelor's degree in Nuclear Engineering

Tools

MCNP

SCALE

FW-CADIS

Job description

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

Designs and analyzes radiation shielding throughout the reactor and ship to keep dose rates within limits for crew, equipment, and the public, while developing shielding configurations that can be fabricated, handled, and installed efficiently within the constraints of shipyard construction.

This is a role we're hiring at multiple levels (L1 through L4). The work is shared across levels; scope and accountability scale with experience.

This work suits someone who treats shielding design and analysis as an art as well as a science.

What You’ll Do

• Design and analyze radiation shielding for the reactor, primary systems, and surrounding compartments using transport, Monte Carlo, and hybrid methods.

• Perform activation, dose-rate, and source-term calculations across operating, shutdown, and accident conditions to verify compliance with occupational and public dose limits.

• Study historical ship and other unconventional shielding solutions and bring applied history into our design.

• Develop shielding arrangements optimized for shipboard installation: modular geometries, manageable component weights, access for handling equipment, and compatibility with build and outfitting sequences.

• Coordinate with our structural, layout, and construction teams to integrate shielding into the ship arrangement and resolve weight, space, and installation trade-offs.

• Document shielding designs, analyses, and as-built configurations, and support design reviews, licensing, and certification deliverables.

What You Bring

• Bachelor's degree in nuclear engineering required (advanced degree preferred).

• Experience designing and analyzing radiation shielding for reactor or other high-radiation systems.

• Proficiency with radiation transport codes (MCNP, SCALE, etc.) and shielding/source-term methods (i.e. FW-CADIS).

• Familiarity with shipboard or other space- and weight-constrained installation environments

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 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.

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 [e-mail].