AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 17-2121.00

Will AI replace Marine Engineers and Naval Architects?

Marine Engineers and Naval Architects: AI can already handle 5 of 30 tasks; the work mostly needs a frontier-tier model.

Have a team in this role?

Get your free 10-role sample: send this role and up to nine others, and a founder sends a board-pack PDF within two business days.

Get your free 10-role sample Book a 15-minute call

Every task, scored

The 30 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Marine Engineers and Naval Architects, from most to least exposed. 5 reach 60 or more, the level at which AI already handles a task.

Task AI exposure Evidence Model tier Importance
Study design proposals and specifications to establish basic characteristics of craft, such as size, weight, speed, propulsion, displacement, and draft. 85 Estimated Efficient 3.9
Analyze data to determine feasibility of product proposals. 80 Estimated Efficient 3.1
Evaluate performance of craft during dock and sea trials to determine design changes and conformance with national and international standards. 65 Estimated Standard 3.6
Evaluate operation of marine equipment during acceptance testing and shakedown cruises. 65 Estimated Standard 3.5
Review work requests and compare them with previous work completed on ships to ensure that costs are economically sound. 65 Estimated Efficient 3.0
Perform monitoring activities to ensure that ships comply with international regulations and standards for life-saving equipment and pollution preventatives. 55 Estimated Standard 4.1
Conduct analyses of ships, such as stability, structural, weight, and vibration analyses. 55 Estimated Standard 3.9
Prepare technical reports for use by engineering, management, or sales personnel. 55 Estimated Standard 3.7
Prepare, or direct the preparation of, product or system layouts and detailed drawings and schematics. 55 Estimated Frontier 3.7
Investigate and observe tests on machinery and equipment for compliance with standards. 55 Estimated Standard 3.4
Schedule machine overhauls and the servicing of electrical, heating, ventilation, refrigeration, water, and sewage systems. 55 Estimated Efficient 3.4
Conduct environmental, operational, or performance tests on marine machinery and equipment. 55 Estimated Standard 3.2
Design complete hull and superstructure according to specifications and test data, in conformity with standards of safety, efficiency, and economy. 50 Estimated Frontier 4.0
Coordinate activities with regulatory bodies to ensure repairs and alterations are at minimum cost and consistent with safety. 50 Estimated Frontier 3.8
Design layout of craft interior, including cargo space, passenger compartments, ladder wells, and elevators. 50 Estimated Frontier 3.7
Maintain and coordinate repair of marine machinery and equipment for installation on vessels. 50 Estimated Efficient 3.6
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. 50 Estimated Frontier 3.5
Conduct analytical, environmental, operational, or performance studies to develop designs for products, such as marine engines, equipment, and structures. 50 Estimated Efficient 3.5
Prepare plans, estimates, design and construction schedules, and contract specifications, including any special provisions. 50 Estimated Efficient 3.4
Design and oversee testing, installation, and repair of marine apparatus and equipment. 50 Estimated Frontier 3.3
Confer with research personnel to clarify or resolve problems and to develop or modify designs. 50 Estimated Standard 3.0
Determine conditions under which tests are to be conducted, as well as sequences and phases of test operations. 40 Observed Standard 3.1
Supervise other engineers and crew members and train them for routine and emergency duties. 35 Estimated Standard 3.8
Maintain contact with, and formulate reports for, contractors and clients to ensure completion of work at minimum cost. 20 Estimated Efficient 3.9
Check, test, and maintain automatic controls and alarm systems. 20 Estimated Efficient 3.8
Act as liaisons between ships' captains and shore personnel to ensure that schedules and budgets are maintained, and that ships are operated safely and efficiently. 20 Estimated Efficient 3.6
Maintain records of engineering department activities, including expense records and details of equipment maintenance and repairs. 20 Estimated Efficient 3.6
Inspect marine equipment and machinery to draw up work requests and job specifications. 20 Estimated Efficient 3.6
Procure materials needed to repair marine equipment and machinery. 20 Estimated Standard 3.5
Establish arrangement of boiler room equipment and propulsion machinery, heating and ventilating systems, refrigeration equipment, piping, and other functional equipment. 12 Estimated No tier 3.5

Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 1 of 30 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 29 of 30. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central the task is. Model tier is the lowest tier that can do the task under the published rubric; "No tier" marks hands-on work.

The model tier this role needs

A frontier-tier model or lower covers 97% of the role's importance-weighted task work. 97% of the work is something AI can address at some tier, and 3% is hands-on.

Efficient, standard and frontier tiers come from the JobRoute model tier reference. The recommended tier is the lowest one that covers 80% of the work AI can address. How the method works.

Wages, employment and outlook

US employment
8,250
Median annual wage
$112,230
Middle half of earners
$99,250 to $137,690
Projected change, 2024 to 2034
+5.8%

Employment and wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, national. Projection: BLS Employment Projections 2024 to 2034.

Adjacent roles

The occupations that reuse the most of this role's skills, with the usual time to move. These are the first places to look when you plan to redeploy or retrain people in this role.

Skill overlap and transition time from the JobRoute role adjacency graph on O*NET 30.3 skills.

Questions about Marine Engineers and Naval Architects and AI

Will AI replace Marine Engineers and Naval Architects?

AI already handles 5 of the 30 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, at a task exposure of 60 or more, and the role's importance-weighted exposure is 47 out of 100. JobRoute scores tasks, not whole jobs, so the score shows how much of the work changes rather than whether the job disappears. BLS projects employment to change by +5.8% from 2024 to 2034.

What is the AI exposure of Marine Engineers and Naval Architects?

47 out of 100 on JobRoute's task exposure measure, the importance-weighted average of the role's O*NET task scores. Higher means more of the work is AI-doable today. 1 of the 30 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 29 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.

Which Marine Engineers and Naval Architects tasks can AI already do?

The tasks with the highest exposure are: Study design proposals and specifications to establish basic characteristics of craft, such as size, weight, speed, propulsion, displacement, and draft; Analyze data to determine feasibility of product proposals; Evaluate performance of craft during dock and sea trials to determine design changes and conformance with national and international standards. They are three of the 5 tasks that reach 60 or more.

What AI model tier does this role need?

A frontier-tier model or lower covers 97% of the role's importance-weighted task work. JobRoute assigns each task the lowest tier that can do it under a published rubric and recommends the lowest tier that covers 80% of the work AI can address.

How many people work as Marine Engineers and Naval Architects, and what do they earn?

8,250 people in the United States, with a median annual wage of $112,230 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). BLS Employment Projections expect a change of +5.8% from 2024 to 2034.

How to cite

Data version 2026-11-02, JobRoute method v1.0.0. Download all occupations or this occupation as JSON. Methodology.

JobRoute (2026). AI exposure: Marine Engineers and Naval Architects. Data version 2026-11-02, method v1.0.0. Built on O*NET 30.3, BLS OEWS May 2025 and the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026). CC BY 4.0. https://www.jobroute.ai/jobs/marine-engineers-and-naval-architects

Have a team in this role?

Get your free 10-role sample. Send this role and up to nine others, with no employee data, and a founder sends a PDF in board-pack format within two business days.

Get your free 10-role sample Book a 15-minute call

A founder replies within one business day.