naval architect
Naval architects design, build, maintain and repair all types of boats from pleasure crafts to naval vessels, including submarines. They analyse floating structures and take various features into account for their designs such as the form, structure, stability, resistance, access and propulsion of hulls.
naval architect naval architects design, build, maintain and repair all types of boats from pleasure crafts to naval vessels, including submarines. The role shows moderate AI exposure (0.50 on a 0-1 scale) — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. The most in-demand skills for the role include engineering principles, mechanics of vessels, mathematics, engineering processes, mechanical engineering.
Pay in the UK
UK: median £51,110 a year for Mechanical engineers (ONS ASHE 2025, full-time)
Middle half of full-time jobs: £39,125 to £62,237 a year
UK jobs are grouped differently; this is the closest UK occupation group (ONS SOC 2020 2122). ONS rates this estimate precise. 2025 provisional figures; ONS revises them a year later. Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (Open Government Licence)
Pay in India (occupation group)
Average monthly earnings of salaried employees in the occupation group “Professionals” in India, from the Government of India's Periodic Labour Force Survey (January–December 2025). It covers everyone in this group, not only naval architect, and it is not US pay converted to rupees.
Source: MoSPI (Government of India), Periodic Labour Force Survey Annual Report 2025, Table 51 — average wage/salary earnings of regular wage/salaried employees, NCO-2015 division 2. Official India data gives one average per occupation group: there are no official India figures for single careers, experience levels or cities. Read the report
Top skills
Knowledge you'll build
- Engineering and Technology
- Mechanical
- Design
- English Language
- Transportation
- Physics
- Mathematics
- Building and Construction
What you'd actually do
- Perform monitoring activities to ensure that ships comply with international regulations and standards for life-saving equipment and pollution preventatives.
- Design complete hull and superstructure according to specifications and test data, in conformity with standards of safety, efficiency, and economy.
- Conduct analyses of ships, such as stability, structural, weight, and vibration analyses.
- Study design proposals and specifications to establish basic characteristics of craft, such as size, weight, speed, propulsion, displacement, and draft.
- Maintain contact with, and formulate reports for, contractors and clients to ensure completion of work at minimum cost.
- Coordinate activities with regulatory bodies to ensure repairs and alterations are at minimum cost and consistent with safety.
Tools & technology you'd use
Frequently asked questions
What does naval architect do?
Naval architects design, build, maintain and repair all types of boats from pleasure crafts to naval vessels, including submarines. They analyse floating structures and take various features into account for their designs such as the form, structure, stability, resistance, access and propulsion of hulls.
What skills does naval architect need?
The most in-demand skills for this role include engineering principles, mechanics of vessels, mathematics, engineering processes, mechanical engineering, naval architecture. These are the skills O*NET identifies as most important for competent performance.
Will AI replace naval architect?
Our AI-durability model gives naval architect a score of 0.50 on a 0-1 scale (higher = more exposure). That places it at moderate AI exposure — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. Learning to work with AI tools rather than against them is the path forward.