Our MissionScale nuclear energy.
Power generations.Scale
nuclear energy.
Power
generations.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 maritime economy of the future.
Who we Are
Capability meets conviction.
We’re a specialist team that’s growing fast. Bringing together nuclear engineers, naval architects, operations specialists, policy and regulatory navigators, and infrastructure experts. Together, we’re pooling this unique group of talent and experience to craft and lead the industry’s next phase of evolution.
We operate with a nuclear mindset: intellectually honest, early to surface risk, serious about safety – without ever using it as an excuse to slow down. We move fast because the mission demands it, and we take care of each other. Because work at this scale is only possible with good people; driven by purpose, curiosity, grit, and integrity.
Chief Executive Officer, Co-Founder
William R. Cahill
Will served as the White House maritime lead on the National Security Council and later the Council of Economic Advisors, where he built and led interagency efforts to enhance American energy and maritime industrial base competitiveness to confront the return to Great Power Competition. Will co-founded Ocean Atomics to turn that insight and experience into action, building civil maritime nuclear power into an anchoring technology for the country and a benefit to the world. His 20-year career as a U.S. Coast Guard officer spanning training as naval architect and marine engineer, offshore operations both at sea and in the air, and national policymaking at the highest levels of government have given him the maritime expertise this project requires.
Chief Strategy and Operations Officer, Co-Founder
Akemi Reed
Akemi is a team builder and problem solver. She spent the last 15 years working alongside some of the most ambitious entrepreneurs in America, managing large scale, capital-intensive projects where the playbook had to be written in real time. She helped develop the concept behind Ocean Atomics after years of research and obsession with nuclear energy. Her ability to work with people across disciplines, and to solve problems that seem impossible, is what she brings to Ocean Atomics every day.
Chief Technology Officer
Dr. Nick Touran
With a Ph.D. in nuclear engineering from the University of Michigan and 15 years of advanced reactor development at TerraPower, Nick is among the most respected voices in the nuclear industry. He has spent his career demystifying reactor technology for public audiences as much as he has advanced it in practice – a combination that makes him uniquely equipped to transform civil maritime nuclear power from a historical sidenote into a world-scale prime mover.
Chief Financial Officer
James Lightbourn
James has spent his career moving capital through the maritime sector – working alongside shipowners, family offices, investment banks, and private equity to finance, acquire, and operate transportation assets. That breadth of experience across shipping, aviation, and emerging ventures gives him a distinctive lens on the financing structures that will bring maritime nuclear power to commercial scale.
William R. Cahill
Chief Executive Officer, Co-Founder
Akemi Reed
Chief Strategy and Operations Officer, Co-Founder
Dr. Nick Touran
Chief Technology Officer
James Lightbourn
Chief Financial Officer
Will served as the White House maritime lead on the National Security Council and later the Council of Economic Advisors, where he built and led interagency efforts to enhance American energy and maritime industrial base competitiveness to confront the return to Great Power Competition. Will co-founded Ocean Atomics to turn that insight and experience into action, building civil maritime nuclear power into an anchoring technology for the country and a benefit to the world. His 20-year career as a U.S. Coast Guard officer spanning training as naval architect and marine engineer, offshore operations both at sea and in the air, and national policymaking at the highest levels of government have given him the maritime expertise this project requires.
With a Ph.D. in nuclear engineering from the University of Michigan and 15 years of advanced reactor development at TerraPower, Nick is among the most respected voices in the nuclear industry. He has spent his career demystifying reactor technology for public audiences as much as he has advanced it in practice – a combination that makes him uniquely equipped to transform civil maritime nuclear power from a historical sidenote into a world-scale prime mover.
James has spent his career moving capital through the maritime sector – working alongside shipowners, family offices, investment banks, and private equity to finance, acquire, and operate transportation assets. That breadth of experience across shipping, aviation, and emerging ventures gives him a distinctive lens on the financing structures that will bring maritime nuclear power to commercial scale.
JOIN US
We need your expertise.
We’re hiring across the board: all levels in nuclear engineering, naval architecture, and shoreside infrastructure.
If you can make RELAP models, run CASMO or OpenMC, perform ASME pressure vessel design, design and analyze ships, or deliver nuclear-grade cranes, we’d like to meet you.
Department
Nuclear
Location
Bethesda, MD
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
Owns the safety case and probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) for a marine reactor and its supporting systems, demonstrating that the plant meets safety requirements across normal, off-normal, and accident conditions throughout the vessel's operating life. Beyond just analyzing, this role will iterate closely with the engineering team to establish the optimal architecture of systems.
What You'll Do
Develop and maintain the safety case and supporting PRA models for the reactor and associated ship systems.
Actively use the PRA and underlying data to inform and optimize the engineering design of the overall system throughout the design phases
Identify initiating events and failure modes, perform hazard and accident analyses, and quantify risk to verify compliance with safety acceptance criteria.
Support design reviews and trade studies, translating safety findings into requirements and design changes for the secondary and balance-of-plant systems.
Maintain safety documentation and traceability through configuration changes, operational feedback, and as-built modifications.
Interface with regulators, classification societies, and internal review boards, and prepare licensing and certification deliverables.
What You Bring
Bachelor's degree in nuclear, or mechanical (advanced degree preferred).
Demonstrated experience developing safety cases and PRA for nuclear systems.
Proficiency with PRA methods and tools (e.g., fault/event tree analysis, reliability data, SAPHIRE or equivalent).
Working knowledge of nuclear safety standards and regulatory frameworks (NRC, IMO, naval, or international equivalents).
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 info@oceanatomics.com.
Department
Nuclear
Location
Bethesda, MD
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
We are seeking an experienced and highly motivated Reactor Core Mechanical Engineer to help us scale nuclear energy at sea. You will design and analyze the mechanical components and internals of the reactor core, with a focus on discerning and optimizing operation in dynamic marine environments. Flow-induced vibration, ship motions, and shock loading reshape structural integrity implications across the core's service life. Your analysis is what separates a reactor designed for a fixed terrestrial foundation from one engineered to operate reliably in maritime conditions.
This is a role we're hiring at multiple levels. The work is shared across levels; scope and accountability scales with experience.
The ideal candidate is genuinely curious about how to improve upon 60+ years of nuclear reactors at sea and is uniquely competent in tackling the core mechanical engineering challenges required to design, license, and produce a reactor system that allows commercial reactors to unlock the potential of the ocean.
What You'll Do
Design and analyze core mechanical components and internals for structural integrity, fatigue, and wear across operating, transient, and accident conditions including those unique to the maritime domain.
Evaluate flow-induced vibration of fuel assemblies, control elements, and internals, and develop design features to mitigate wear and dynamic effects in marine operational load profiles.
Assess the effects of ship motions and dynamic/shock loading on core mechanical performance and structural margins.
Coordinate with thermal-hydraulics, fuels, and structural teams to integrate mechanical design with flow, thermal, and neutronic requirements.
Document mechanical analyses, design basis, and qualification results, and support design reviews, testing campaigns, and regulatory documentation.
At more senior levels you will additionally:
Lead system-level decisions on core mechanical architecture and material selection.
Mentor newer engineers and review their analyses.
Interface directly with our regulatory team on NRC-facing documentation packages.
Drive cross-team trade studies across thermal-hydraulics, fuels, and structural domains.
What You Bring
Required
Bachelor's degree in mechanical or nuclear engineering required
Experience in mechanical design and structural analysis of reactor core components or internals.
Proficiency with finite element analysis and structural/vibration tools (e.g., ANSYS, ABAQUS, or equivalent).
Working knowledge of flow-induced vibration, fatigue, and dynamic/shock loading analysis.
Strong grounding in solid mechanics, materials behavior, and structural dynamics
Preferred
Background in naval architecture, marine engineering, or offshore energy.1
Experience with PWRs, first-of-a-kind reactor designs, or small modular reactor (SMR) programs.
Advanced degree in mechanical or nuclear engineering.
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 info@oceanatomics.com.
Department
Nuclear
Location
Bethesda, MD
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 the instrumentation and control (I&C) systems for the reactor and ship plant, sensors, control logic, protection systems, and operator interfaces. Uses the engineering simulator to develop, test, and validate control strategies and system response.
What you'll do
Design and analyze I&C systems, considering control logic, reactor protection, and human-machine interfaces.
Develop and validate control strategies and system response using the engineering simulator, tuning logic and verifying behavior across normal and transient conditions.
Define I&C requirements, set points, and instrument specifications, and establish interfaces with plant systems.
Support failure modes, reliability, and safety analyses for control and protection functions.
Document I&C designs, simulator validation results, and as-built configurations, and support design reviews and integration testing.
What you bring
Bachelor's degree in electrical, computer, nuclear, or systems engineering required (advanced degree preferred).
Experience designing or analyzing instrumentation and control systems, preferably for nuclear or other safety-critical plants.
Familiarity with control system modeling and engineering simulators for design validation.
Working knowledge of reactor protection systems, sensors, and control architectures.
Strong grounding in control theory and signal processing.
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 info@oceanatomics.com.
Department
Nuclear
Location
Bethesda, MD
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
What You’ll Do
Electrical System Design
Develop the electrical power system design for the nuclear plant from functional requirements through detailed one-line diagrams, schematics, elementary and connection diagrams, cable schedules, and equipment specifications.
Establish and document the design basis for each system and load, including voltage and frequency, load classification, safety class and division assignment, design life, duty cycle, and applicable codes and standards.
Design safety-related and non-safety-related distribution: switchgear, load centers, motor control centers, vital AC and DC systems, batteries, chargers, inverters, and their protection.
Specify power supplies to reactor plant loads including control rod drive mechanisms, coolant pumps, motor-operated valves, heat tracing, and instrument and control power, and define the isolation between safety-related and non-safety-related circuits.
Perform protective device coordination and selectivity, and specify protection and control schemes consistent with the plant's safety and availability requirements.
Produce design specifications, design reports, and the supporting calculation packages that flow to suppliers and to the certifying authority.
Lead design reviews at concept, preliminary, critical, and final design stages. Drive resolution of action items and design changes through formal configuration control.
Vessel Integration
Define the boundary and interface between the nuclear plant electrical system and the vessel's generation and distribution, including which loads are served from which source under each operating and casualty condition.
Define equipment arrangement, mounting, and access requirements within the constraints of the vessel hull, deck structure, and surrounding plant systems.
Design equipment mounts, restraints, and cable support to transfer loads into the ship's primary structure without compromising either the equipment or the hull.
Route cable and define penetration treatment across watertight, fire, and shielding boundaries while preserving divisional separation and boundary integrity.
Coordinate with naval architecture and structural engineering on deck accelerations at equipment locations, weight and center-of-gravity impact, and the load path from equipment to hull.
Resolve interface issues with adjacent disciplines: mechanical, piping, instrumentation and control, HVAC, shielding, and maintenance access.
Support outfitting sequence planning so that equipment can be installed, terminated, tested, and commissioned within the shipyard build strategy.
What You Bring
Required
Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Electrical Engineering Technology, or a closely related discipline.
10+ years of electrical power system design experience on nuclear, marine, utility, or other code-governed power systems, with at least 5 years on nuclear systems.
Demonstrated working knowledge of safety-related (Class 1E) electrical design requirements, including redundancy, divisional independence, single-failure criterion, and separation.
Strong proficiency with power system analysis software (ETAP, SKM, EasyPower, or equivalent), including load flow, short-circuit, protective device coordination, and motor-starting analysis.
Direct experience producing design reports, calculation packages, or equivalent code-compliant analyses that have been reviewed by a third party or regulator.
Experience sizing and specifying DC systems and uninterruptible power: station batteries, chargers, inverters, and vital AC and DC distribution.
Working knowledge of cable and raceway design: ampacity and derating, voltage drop, raceway fill, separation and segregation, and penetration treatment.
Working knowledge of equipment qualification principles, environmental, seismic and shock, and vibration, and of how qualification evidence is assembled and defended.
Preferred
Master's degree in Electrical Engineering or a related discipline.
Professional Engineer (PE) license.
Experience applying the IEEE nuclear standards set and the corresponding NRC Regulatory Guides.
Experience with an environmental qualification program under 10 CFR 50.49, including qualified life determination and maintenance of the EQ file.
Experience supporting a regulatory licensing submittal or a classification society design appraisal.
Experience with classification society electrical rules (ABS, DNV, Lloyd's Register) and with IEC 60092 shipboard electrical installation requirements.
Experience in shipbuilding, offshore, or naval applications, including main and emergency switchboard design, generator paralleling, power management systems, blackout recovery and dead-ship start, and shore power connection.
Experience with medium-voltage distribution, integrated electric propulsion, variable frequency drives, and harmonic analysis and mitigation.
Experience with loss-of-offsite-power and station blackout coping analysis, emergency generator sizing and loading, and load shedding and sequencing schemes.
Experience with grounding and ground-fault detection philosophy for both solidly grounded and isolated (IT) distribution systems.
Experience with arc flash and incident energy analysis and with electrical safety program requirements.
Familiarity with NQA-1 quality assurance program requirements.
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 info@oceanatomics.com.
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