Will AI replace Nuclear Power Reactor Operators?
AI reaches little of this job’s work.
12/100
Low exposure
More exposed to AI than 23% of US workers.
- AI already used in
- 0% of the work
- As AI tools mature: up to
- 25% of the work
What the job involves
Operate or control nuclear reactors. Move control rods, start and stop equipment, monitor and adjust controls, and record data in logs. Implement emergency procedures when needed. May respond to abnormalities, determine cause, and recommend corrective action.
Where AI reaches the work
The job’s main tasks, heaviest first, by how far AI reaches them.
Within reach(4)
- Develop or implement actions such as lockouts, tagouts, or clearances to allow equipment to be safely repaired.
- Record operating data, such as the results of surveillance tests.
- Dispatch orders or instructions to personnel through radiotelephone or intercommunication systems to coordinate auxiliary equipment operation.
- Review and edit standard operating procedures.
Out of reach(15)
- Operate nuclear power reactors in accordance with policies and procedures to protect workers from radiation and to ensure environmental safety.
- Respond to system or unit abnormalities, diagnosing the cause, and recommending or taking corrective action.
- Monitor all systems for normal running conditions, performing activities such as checking gauges to assess output or the effects of generator loading on other equipment.
- Monitor or operate boilers, turbines, wells, or auxiliary power plant equipment.
- Adjust controls to position rod and to regulate flux level, reactor period, coolant temperature, or rate of power flow, following standard procedures.
and 10 more
Also called
Nuclear Reactor Operator · Nuclear Station Operator (NSO) · NSO · Nuclear Control Operator · Nuclear Control Room Operator · Nuclear Plant Operator (NPO) · Reactor Operator (RO) · Control Operator
Related jobs
What these numbers mean
The score is the share of this job’s work, weighted by how important and frequent each task is, that AI could do in half the time: tasks an AI model could do alone count in full, tasks that need software built on AI count half.
“AI already used” is the share of the work in tasks where people are recorded using AI today. “As AI tools mature” counts every task AI could halve, with or without extra software.
The percentile compares the score with every job’s, weighted by how many people in the US do each one. Exposure means AI could change how the work is done, not that the job goes away. These are estimates for the typical job, not predictions.
Sources
- O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration
- GPTs are GPTs: Labor market impact potential of LLMs (task labels), Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), OpenAI and University of Pennsylvania
- Anthropic Economic Index: labor market impacts (task penetration), Anthropic
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (national and metropolitan areas), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics