What does a naval architect do?
Naval architects are professionals who collaborate with marine engineers and other naval professionals in designing and building ships such as submarines and aircraft carriers. These architects must prepare the system layouts and detailed drawings of the internal systems of ships and marine equipment. They must follow marine standards to conduct environmental or performance tests on marine machinery and equipment. Naval architects are also required to prepare technical reports and cost estimates to be used by engineers, managers, and sales personnel.
Naval architect responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real naval architect resumes:
- Produce & manage electrical drawings for USCG approval on newly construct passenger vessel.
- Work with multiple trades to accomplish design/build projects, corrective maintenance, preventive maintenance, and retrofit projects.
- Manage technical architects for development and support of existing and new terminal platforms to support Walmart mobile and batch application infrastructure.
- Train all shipboard personnel on firefighting techniques and procedures.
- Provide training in firefighting techniques, including equipment use training.
- Implement and review ships for compliance with SOLAS and CFR regulations.
- Prepare survey of advance marine vehicles for future USCG SAR and ELT missions.
- Analyze the structure and perform longitudinal strength analysis for the LCS using GHS.
- Operate and maintain marine boilers, pumps, force draft blowers, and heat exchangers.
- Provide keen oversight to crew members to guarantee the implementation of safety precautions and procedures daily.
- Install test instrumentation on U.S. Navy boom handling boats for bollard pull and assist in performing open water trials.
- Design and submit FEA analyses of the barge/tug interconnect, crane foundation, deck houses, mooring and anchor handling winches.
- Calculate and verify vessel stability using GHS.
- Supervise shipyard implementation, review production plans and work schedules.
- Negotiate with shipyard to settle discrepancies between owner specifications and work perform during construction.
Naval architect skills and personality traits
We calculated that 15% of Naval Architects are proficient in Marine Engineering, DOD, and System Design. They’re also known for soft skills such as Math skills, Problem-solving skills, and Communication skills.
We break down the percentage of Naval Architects that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Marine Engineering, 15%
Contributed mainly in the Marine Engineering division apart from frequent stints in the Naval Architecture division.
- DOD, 6%
Gained working knowledge of DOD Military Specifications and Standards applicable to SSN594 and SSN637 Class Fast Attack Nuclear Submarines.
- System Design, 5%
Perform hull global performance analysis and mooring system design for strength.
- ABS, 5%
Prepared recommendations for modifications to ABS NVR for high-expansion fire-fighting foam systems in JHSV and water-mist sprinkling.
- CAD, 5%
Developed hull forms, general arrangement and weight budget through 3D and CAD tools.
- Structural Design, 5%
Create GHS stability models and calculations, create weight estimates, structural design, and report writing.
"marine engineering," "dod," and "system design" are among the most common skills that naval architects use at work. You can find even more naval architect responsibilities below, including:
Math skills. The most essential soft skill for a naval architect to carry out their responsibilities is math skills. This skill is important for the role because "marine engineers and naval architects use the principles of calculus, trigonometry, and other advanced topics in math for analysis, design, and troubleshooting in their work." Additionally, a naval architect resume shows how their duties depend on math skills: "prepared the ghs hull geometry of the alaska region research vessel (arrv) including compartments. "
Problem-solving skills. Many naval architect duties rely on problem-solving skills. "marine engineers must design several systems that work well together in ships," so a naval architect will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways naval architect responsibilities rely on problem-solving skills: "resolved critical design issues in co-ordination with mep and hvac consultants to attain design goals. "
Communication skills. naval architects are also known for communication skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to naval architect responsibilities, because "marine engineers and naval architects must give clear instructions and explain complex concepts when leading projects." A naval architect resume example shows how communication skills is used in the workplace: "designed and implemented a communication mechanisms to the external systems using java. "
The three companies that hire the most naval architects are:
- S & B Engineers and Constructors11 naval architects jobs
- Austal6 naval architects jobs
- CACI International4 naval architects jobs
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Compare different naval architects
Naval architect vs. Architectural internship
The job of architectural interns is to assist an architect with all aspects of architectural work. Their duties and responsibilities may include maintaining project files, conducting research on construction sites such as zoning laws and regulations, and preparing presentations for clients. They are also expected to create 3D models and do drafting. The skills and qualifications required for this role include a degree in architecture or a related field, in-depth knowledge of 3D modeling software such as Autodesk and AutoCAD, and hand drafting skills.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, naval architect responsibilities require skills like "marine engineering," "dod," "system design," and "abs." Meanwhile a typical architectural internship has skills in areas such as "sketch," "auto cad," "powerpoint," and "bim." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Architectural interns tend to make the most money working in the professional industry, where they earn an average salary of $58,087. In contrast, naval architects make the biggest average salary, $97,261, in the technology industry.architectural interns tend to reach similar levels of education than naval architects. In fact, architectural interns are 0.7% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.9% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Naval architect vs. Architectural designer
An Architectural Designer is specialized in planning and designing structures/urban landscapes. They ensure that company policies and standards are maintained when providing services to clients.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, naval architect responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "marine engineering," "dod," "system design," and "abs." Meanwhile, an architectural designer has duties that require skills in areas such as "sketch," "sketchup," "bim," and "architectural design." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
On average, architectural designers earn a lower salary than naval architects. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, architectural designers earn the most pay in the professional industry with an average salary of $60,879. Whereas naval architects have higher pay in the technology industry, with an average salary of $97,261.architectural designers earn similar levels of education than naval architects in general. They're 0.0% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.9% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Naval architect vs. Senior architect
A Senior Architect performs design drafting and evaluates architectural or engineering plans regarding building construction or improvement projects. They review building plans and site design for aesthetics, environmental acceptability, and compliance with quality standards.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, naval architects are more likely to have skills like "marine engineering," "dod," "system design," and "abs." But a senior architect is more likely to have skills like "cloud," "java," "infrastructure," and "emerging technologies."
Senior architects typically earn higher educational levels compared to naval architects. Specifically, they're 8.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.4% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Naval architect vs. Naval architect specialist
Even though a few skill sets overlap between naval architects and naval architects specialist, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a naval architect might have more use for skills like "marine engineering," "dod," "system design," and "abs." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of naval architects specialist require skills like "cloud," "java," "hand-on," and "perl. "
In general, naval architects specialist hold higher degree levels compared to naval architects. Naval architects specialist are 7.7% more likely to earn their Master's Degree and 1.2% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of naval architect
Updated January 8, 2025
