Securing the Future: Building the US Nuclear Security Workforce Pipeline : Stimson Center , March 31 , 2026
Securing the Future: Building the US Nuclear Security Workforce Pipeline : Stimson Center , March 31 , 2026
From the report: “Modernization of the U.S. nuclear triad and revitalization of the U.S. civil nuclear energy industry will put new demands on public and private sector nuclear security workforces, even as rapid advances in complementary technologies, including artificial intelligence, quantum technology, and more, bring new challenges and opportunities in the nuclear security field. This U.S. nuclear security workforce comprises both a government element — the civilian, military, and contractor personnel aligned with the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), its laboratories, plants, and security sites, and the Department of Defense (DOD), including the U.S. Air Force, and the U.S. Navy — and a private sector element employed at the fleet of mostly aging nuclear power plants located across the country. Even as they face the new demands of technological modernization and disruption, both the government and private sector are losing significant numbers of retirement-age nuclear specialists while they grapple with recruitment, retention, and development challenges for the remaining workforce. For the military, nuclear weapons modernization is expected to drive a need for more security personnel at a greater number of Air Force bases as well as new and more technical educational and professional development requirements. NNSA and the rest of its nuclear security enterprise, meanwhile, have roles not just in nuclear weapons modernization but in civil nuclear energy, where interest in advanced and small nuclear reactor (A/SMR) technology and anticipated integration of artificial intelligence and other technologies, are driving a parallel demand for new technical skillsets. Novel deployment scenarios and lean economic models built on assumptions of cost efficiency mean the full implications of any potential “nuclear energy renaissance” for nuclear security remain to be seen, but it is likely that the security workforce of the future will need to be curious, interdisciplinary, cybersecurity-savvy, and adept at filling multiple demanding roles at once. Recommendations to address the enduring recruitment, retention, and development challenges of the multi-faceted U.S. nuclear security workforce against this rapidly evolving backdrop of technological change and modernization include:”
Authors - McAllister, ChristinaRelated Resources
