# Nuclear Engineers

> Conduct research on nuclear engineering projects or apply principles and theory of nuclear science to problems concerned with release, control, and use of nuclear energy and nuclear waste disposal.

- **SOC code:** 17-2161.00
- **Canonical URL:** https://singulariki.com/roles/role-17-2161-00
- **Also known as:** Engineer, Nuclear Engineer, Nuclear Licensing Engineer, Nuclear Reactor Engineer, Nuclear Design Engineer, Nuclear Process Engineer, Nuclear Safety Engineer, Nuclear Steam Supply System Engineer (NSSS Engineer)
- **Frame:** "AI exposure" means task overlap (how codifiable the work is), not jobs lost or a forecast. Every figure below is traced to a named public dataset.

## What this work is

**Core tasks** (O*NET):
- Design or develop nuclear equipment, such as reactor cores, radiation shielding, or associated instrumentation or control mechanisms.
- Monitor nuclear facility operations to identify any design, construction, or operation practices that violate safety regulations and laws or could jeopardize safe operations.
- Initiate corrective actions or order plant shutdowns in emergency situations.
- Examine accidents to obtain data for use in design of preventive measures.
- Direct operating or maintenance activities of nuclear power plants to ensure efficiency and conformity to safety standards.
- Design or oversee construction or operation of nuclear reactors, power plants, or nuclear fuels reprocessing and reclamation systems.
- Direct environmental compliance activities associated with nuclear plant operations or maintenance.
- Prepare environmental impact statements, reports, or presentations for regulatory or other agencies.
- Prepare technical reports of findings or recommendations, based on synthesized analyses of test results.
- Write operational instructions to be used in nuclear plant operation or nuclear fuel or waste handling and disposal.
- Develop or contribute to the development of plans to remediate or restore environments affected by nuclear radiation, such as waste disposal sites.
- Conduct tests of nuclear fuel behavior and cycles or performance of nuclear machinery and equipment to optimize performance of existing plants.

**Emerging tasks** (O*NET):
- Recommend preventive measures to be taken in handling nuclear technology based on data obtained from operations monitoring, systematic analysis, or evaluation of test results.

## Skills, tools, capabilities

**Knowledge, skills & abilities** (O*NET, highest importance first):
- Problem Sensitivity _(ability)_
- Engineering and Technology _(knowledge)_
- Physics _(knowledge)_
- Mathematics _(knowledge)_
- Science _(essential_skill)_
- Critical Thinking _(essential_skill)_
- Written Expression _(ability)_
- English Language _(knowledge)_
- Reading Comprehension _(essential_skill)_
- Active Listening _(essential_skill)_
- Writing _(essential_skill)_
- Mathematics _(essential_skill)_

**Skills in demand:**
- Physics _(Specialized Skill)_
- Mathematics _(Common Skill)_
- Critical Thinking _(Common Skill)_
- English Language _(Common Skill)_
- Writing _(Common Skill)_
- Reading Comprehension _(Common Skill)_
- Information Ordering _(Specialized Skill)_
- Inductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Deductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Complex Problem Solving _(Common Skill)_
- Active Listening _(Common Skill)_
- Active Learning _(Common Skill)_

**Tools & technology:**
- Microsoft Excel _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft Office software _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Python _(hot technology, in demand)_
- C++ _(hot technology)_
- Linux _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Access _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft PowerPoint _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Word _(hot technology)_
- Oracle Java _(hot technology)_
- Salesforce software _(hot technology)_
- SAP software _(hot technology)_
- SAS _(hot technology)_

## AI exposure & outlook

- **AI task-overlap index:** 77th percentile (High) across all occupations — composite of current-era exposure studies (ai-exposure-index-v1).
- **Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.):** 87th percentile (High) — source: felten_aioe.
- **LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou):** 71st percentile (High) — source: eloundou_gamma.
- **AI assistant applicability (Microsoft):** 71st percentile (High) — source: microsoft_applicability.
- **Frey–Osborne (2013, historical computerization estimate):** 25th percentile — kept separate from current-era studies.
- **Remote-capable (Dingel–Neiman):** no — task structure, not who actually works remote.
- **Projected employment (BLS 2024–34):** -1.1% growth (Declining); 0.8k annual openings; 15.4k → 15.3k jobs.
- **Pay & employment (BLS OEWS, May 2024):** median $127,520; 14,740 employed.

## How people actually use AI here

Anthropic Economic Index — measured AI conversations mapped to this occupation's tasks:

- **Automation vs augmentation:** 15% automation, 40% augmentation (usage-weighted).
- **Autonomy median:** 4.0 (higher = AI acts more independently).
- **Dominant collaboration mode:** task iteration.

**Tasks most handed to AI here:**
- Design and direct nuclear research projects to discover facts, to test or modify theoretical models, or to develop new theoretical models or new uses for current models. _(1.1% of measured AI use; task iteration)_
- Analyze available data and consult with other scientists to determine parameters of experimentation and suitability of analytical models. _(0.3% of measured AI use)_

**Example prompts (honest phrasings of the tasks above — starting points, not endorsed instructions):**
- Help me design and direct nuclear research projects to discover facts, to test or modify theoretical models, or to develop new theoretical models or new uses for current models.
- Help me analyze available data and consult with other scientists to determine parameters of experimentation and suitability of analytical models.

## Sources

- **O*NET** (30.3) — U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)** (May 2024) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS Employment Projections** (2024–2034) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **Anthropic Economic Index** (v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27)) — Anthropic. https://www.anthropic.com/economic-index
- **Microsoft “Working with AI”** (working-with-ai) — Microsoft Research. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/
- **“GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.)** (arXiv 2303.10130) — OpenAI / academic. https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130
- **AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE)** (Felten, Raj & Seamans) — academic. https://github.com/AIOE-Data/AIOE
- **Frey & Osborne (2013)** (frey-osborne-automation) — academic. https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/publications/the-future-of-employment/
- **Dingel & Neiman (2020)** (dingel-neiman-workathome) — academic. https://github.com/jdingel/DingelNeiman-workathome

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_Generated from Singulariki's joined dataset; data snapshot 2026-06-02T21:00:32.945303+00:00. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-17-2161-00_