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Engineering | Nuclear Safety Engineer

Nuclear Safety Engineer

What Does a Professional in this Career Do?

A Nuclear Safety Engineer oversees operations and maintains the safety of nuclear power systems, including nuclear power plants, ships or other plants that use nuclear technology. Develops and documents nuclear safety procedures. Reviews nuclear plant construction design and maintenance. Oversees handling of nuclear waste and monitors compliance with safety regulations.

Job Outlook

There were 6 Nuclear Safety Engineer job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 280 in the United States.

In combination with other careers in the Nuclear Engineer industry, which includes the Nuclear Safety Engineer career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2015:

Salary

Many new Nuclear Safety Engineer jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.

National

The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $120,745.

State

The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $120,745.

Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Nuclear Safety Engineer postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $106,918.

Education and Experience

Posted Nuclear Safety Engineer jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.

Education LevelPercentage
Associate's Degree0%
Bachelor's Degree83.93%
Master's Degree43.93%
Doctoral Degree18.21%
Other0.71%

Posted Nuclear Safety Engineer jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.

Years of ExperiencePercentage
0 to 2 years22.6%
3 to 5 years25%
6 to 8 years22.12%
9+ years30.29%

Skills

Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Nuclear Safety Engineer positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.

Baseline Skills

A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.

  • Operations (49.29%)
  • Management (35.36%)
  • Communication (27.5%)
  • Verbal Communication Skills (15.71%)
  • Research (15%)
  • Writing (13.21%)
  • Mathematics (11.43%)
  • Mentorship (10%)
  • Accountability (9.29%)
  • Self-Motivation (8.57%)

Defining Skills

A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.

  • Nuclear Criticality Safety (31.29%)
  • Nuclear Power (65.11%)
  • Nuclear Safety (71.58%)
  • Physics (17.63%)
  • RELAP5-3D (7.91%)

Necessary Skills

A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.

  • Project Schedules (5.4%)
  • Thermal Hydraulics (4.68%)
  • Radioactive Materials (4.32%)
  • Analytical Techniques (4.32%)
  • Auditing (14.39%)
  • Calculations (7.55%)
  • Accident Analysis (21.58%)
  • Regulatory Compliance (16.19%)
  • Chemistry (5.76%)
  • Technical Support (8.63%)
  • Systems Engineering (4.68%)
  • Engineering Design Process (7.91%)
  • Nuclear Weapons (7.55%)
  • Hazard Analysis (20.5%)
  • Fortran (Programming Language) (5.04%)
  • Heat Transfer (3.24%)
  • Fluid Dynamics (2.52%)
  • Monte Carlo N-Particle Transport Codes (14.75%)
  • Facility Operations (7.19%)
  • Mechanical Engineering (6.47%)
  • Hazard And Operability Study (1.8%)
  • Nuclear Engineering (40.65%)
  • Project Management (7.19%)
  • Safety Engineering (6.47%)
  • Systems Development Life Cycle (2.88%)
  • Risk Analysis (14.03%)
  • ANSI/ANS Standards (9.71%)
  • Environment Health And Safety (5.76%)
  • Nuclear Reactor (3.96%)
  • Export Control (5.04%)
  • System Safety (10.79%)

Salary Boosting Skills

A professional who wishes to excel in this career path may consider developing the following highly valued skills. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is listed.

  • Nuclear Engineering (100%)

Alternative Job Titles

Sometimes employers post jobs with Nuclear Safety Engineer skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:

  • Nuclear Criticality Safety Engineer
  • Safety Analyst
  • Nuclear Weapon Specialist
  • Nuclear Project Manager
  • Nuclear Engineer
  • Fellow Engineer
  • Nuclear Operator
  • Subject Matter Expert
  • Safety Sales Specialist

Similar Occupations

If you are interested in exploring occupations with similar skills, you may want to research the following job titles. Note that we only list occupations that have at least one corresponding NC State Online and Distance Education program.

Common Employers

Here are the employers that have posted the most Nuclear Safety Engineer jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.

United States

  • Edgewater Technical Associates (23)
  • Amentum (21)
  • Oak Ridge National Laboratory (14)
  • Westinghouse Electric Company (13)
  • Spectratech (10)
  • Consolidated Nuclear Security (9)
  • Idaho National Laboratory (9)
  • BWX Technologies Incorporated (9)
  • Pantex Plant (8)
  • Duke Energy (7)

North Carolina

  • Duke Energy (4)
  • GE Vernova (2)

NC State Programs Relevant to this Career

If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!