Nuclear engineers typically do the following:

• Design or develop nuclear equipment, such as reactor cores, radiation shielding, and associated instrumentation
• Direct operating or maintenance activities of operational nuclear power plants to ensure that they meet safety standards
• Write operational instructions to be used in nuclear plant operation or in handling and disposing of nuclear waste
• Monitor nuclear facility operations to identify any design, construction, or operation practices that violate safety regulations and laws
• Perform experiments to test whether methods of using nuclear material, reclaiming nuclear fuel, or disposing of nuclear waste are acceptable
• Take corrective actions or order plant shutdowns in emergencies
• Examine nuclear accidents and gather data that can be used to design preventive measures

In addition, nuclear engineers are at the forefront of developing uses of nuclear material for medical imaging devices, such as positron emission tomography (PET) scanners. They also may develop or design cyclotrons, which produce a high-energy beam that the healthcare industry uses to treat cancerous tumors.