Chief Maritime Officer

Chief Maritime Officer

Location: Charleston, South Carolina

Reports to: CEO

Employment: Full-Time

Level: Executive Leadership

About the Company

We are building the next generation of American commercial shipping.

Our mission is to develop, build, and operate commercially viable nuclear-powered merchant vessels designed to transform the economics, endurance, and strategic importance of maritime transportation.

Headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina, we are assembling a world-class team across maritime engineering, nuclear technology, shipbuilding, regulation, and operations.

The Role

We are seeking a Chief Maritime Officer (CMO) to lead the maritime side of the company.

The CMO will be responsible for translating our mission into a vessel that can be designed, classified, built, certified, operated, and deployed in commercial service.

This person will serve as the company’s principal authority on commercial ship design, shipbuilding, classification, marine operations, and maritime regulatory requirements.

What You’ll Own

• Define the top-level requirements and maritime architecture for our first nuclear-powered commercial vessel.
• Lead naval architecture, marine engineering, vessel integration, and major design tradeoffs.
• Build and lead the maritime engineering organization.
• Develop the shipbuilding strategy, including construction approach, modularization, commissioning, sea trials, and future production scaling.
• Lead engagement with classification societies, the U.S. Coast Guard, MARAD, IMO stakeholders, flag-state authorities, and other maritime regulators.
• Work closely with the Chief Nuclear Officer to integrate nuclear propulsion with the broader vessel design and certification strategy.
• Ensure the vessel is designed around the realities of commercial shipping, including crewing, maintenance, port operations, cargo handling, drydocking, and lifecycle support.
• Establish maritime safety, reliability, and operational-readiness standards.
• Represent the company with shipyards, shipping companies, ports, regulators, government partners, suppliers, investors, and customers.

Ideal Background

We are looking for an experienced maritime leader from backgrounds such as:

• Commercial shipbuilding
• Naval architecture or marine engineering
• Commercial shipping
• Classification societies
• U.S. Navy ship design, acquisition, engineering, or nuclear programs
• U.S. Coast Guard or MARAD
• Large first-of-class or complex vessel programs

Qualifications

Strong candidates will likely have:

• 15+ years of experience in naval architecture, marine engineering, shipbuilding, vessel operations, or a related field.
• Experience with large oceangoing commercial or military vessels.
• Deep understanding of vessel design, construction, commissioning, certification, operation, and lifecycle support.
• Experience working with shipyards and major marine-equipment suppliers.
• Knowledge of classification requirements, SOLAS, IMO, flag-state rules, and applicable U.S. maritime regulations.
• Demonstrated leadership of multidisciplinary technical teams.
• Strong judgment across technical, regulatory, schedule, and commercial tradeoffs.

Particularly Valuable Experience

Highly relevant experience includes:

• First-of-class or first-of-kind vessel programs
• Nuclear-powered ships or submarines
• Complex propulsion-system integration
• ABS, DNV, Lloyd’s Register, Bureau Veritas, or similar organizations
• USCG, MARAD, IMO, or international flag-state engagement
• Container ships, LNG carriers, tankers, bulk carriers, or other large commercial vessels
• Shipyard development or serial vessel production

What Success Looks Like

In the first phase, the Chief Maritime Officer will help establish the vessel requirements and reference architecture, select key engineering partners, build the preliminary ship design, develop the classification and regulatory pathway, define the shipbuilding strategy, and recruit the core maritime team.

Why Join

Nuclear propulsion has the potential to fundamentally reshape commercial shipping.

Realizing that opportunity requires more than placing a reactor aboard a ship. It requires designing an exceptional commercial vessel around a new energy architecture—and building the regulatory, industrial, and operational ecosystem around it.

This is an opportunity to design the ship, build the company, and establish a new American maritime industry.