Design and oversee construction and repair of marine craft and floating structures such as ships, barges, tugs, dredges, submarines, torpedoes, floats, and buoys. May confer with marine engineers.
U.S. Workers
8,440
Median Salary
$105,670
10-Year Growth
+5.8%
Annual Openings
600
Typical entry: Bachelor's degree
7 of 7 tasks have some AI capability
Exposure Trend
This score reflects estimated AI technical capability for tasks in this occupation. It does not predict employment changes, and it does not account for company-specific constraints, regulation, or adoption barriers.
Conduct stability analyses of ships.
AI: Fully automatable - Stability analyses are well-defined physics and simulation tasks that current software and AI tools can perform end-to-end given accurate inputs and models.
Study design proposals and specifications to establish basic characteristics of craft, such as size, weight, speed, propulsion, displacement, and draft.
AI: Fully automatable - Establishing basic craft characteristics from proposals and specifications is largely computational and rule-based and can be automated by design software and AI.
Design complete hull and superstructure according to specifications and test data, in conformity with standards of safety, efficiency, and economy.
AI: Partial - Designing a complete hull and superstructure requires creative synthesis, trade-offs, and safety certification judgments that AI can support but not fully replace.
Oversee construction and testing of prototype in model basin and develop sectional and waterline curves of hull to establish center of gravity, ideal hull form, and buoyancy and stability data.
AI: Partial - AI can process model-basin test data and develop sectional and waterline curves, but cannot physically oversee construction/testing or replace on-site human supervision and judgement.
Evaluate performance of craft during dock and sea trials to determine design changes and conformance with national and international standards.
AI: Partial - AI can evaluate trial data against standards and suggest design changes, but final determinations about conformance and regulatory acceptance require human experts.
Design layout of craft interior, including cargo space, passenger compartments, ladder wells, and elevators.
AI: Partial - AI and generative-design tools can produce interior layouts, but human oversight is needed for ergonomics, regulatory compliance, aesthetics, and practical trade-offs.
Confer with marine engineering personnel to establish arrangement of boiler room equipment and propulsion machinery, heating and ventilating systems, refrigeration equipment, piping, and other functional equipment.
AI: Partial - AI can propose equipment arrangements based on constraints and standards, but effective coordination, integration with other systems, and final decisions depend on human collaboration and responsibility.