Fission. Enriched uranium. Pressurized water reactors. Things that may be important in the plot of a cinematic thriller are real-world concerns for Naval Reactors Engineers in America's Navy. They are assuming oversight for designing, maintaining, operating and regulating the nuclear reactors and power plants that drive the most advanced fleet of submarines and aircraft carriers on earth. With oversight of the Navy's entire fleet as well as shore-based prototypes and nuclear propulsion facilities, they are involved in a wide array of technical areas, including:
• Reactor and fluid systems design
• Reactor physics • Materials development
• Component design such as steam generators, pumps and valves
• Instrumentation and control of reactor, steam and electric plants
• Testing and quality control
• Shielding
• Chemistry and radiological controls
As a Navy Engineering Officer stationed at Naval Reactors Headquarters in Washington, D.C., you will provide technical oversight while managing projects ranging from reactor design to fleet operations to de-fueling and decommissioning warships. Part of a small team of just 500 people, you will oversee the entire Naval Nuclear Propulsion program from cradle-to-grave. Even junior level engineers assume responsibility for key technical work at Department of Energy laboratories, nuclear prototype training sites, shipyards and the thousands of firms that support the Naval Reactors Program
