The Submarine Industrial Base (SIB) Program Office sponsors of a Promoting Electric Propulsion (PEP) competition in Port Orchard, Washington, near Naval Undersea Warfare Center Keyport Division and directly across from Naval Base Kitsap Bremerton. We welcome eight universities to qualify for racing in the morning and race in the afternoon.
The SIB Program Office is working to meet a projected demand for approximately 250,000 skilled workers over the next decade to support submarine construction, maintenance, and modernization. The PEP West competition creates a highly visible, hands-on opportunity to engage high school students, community colleges, universities, technical training programs, and industry partners in the types of engineering and manufacturing challenges directly relevant to the submarine enterprise. Students participating in electric propulsion, autonomy, energy storage, systems integration, advanced materials, and manufacturing projects gain practical experience that mirrors many of the skills required by submarine shipyards, suppliers, and warfare centers. We welcome hiring managers to directly hire from PEP participants at the event.
Students interested in directly connecting with recruiters can upload resumes. Hiring managers are welcomed to give job talks, share open positions via our Discord, and/or directly work with teams; just email [email protected].
Are you in? The required steps are listed below. If you have any questions or would like to discuss, just email [email protected]. There are optional Office Hours meetings on August 31 and September 15 (Office Hours sign-up form).
- Complete sign-up page by Monday, September 28. You can also complete this PEP27 Sign-up PDF and email it to [email protected].
- Checks are sent to the address listed on the sign-up during the Fall semester.
- Paper and video are due 3 weeks before the start of your competition.
- On-site qualification requires craft to go out 100 feet and turn around.
- PEP27 Race dates: PEP West: April 2 (tentative); PEP South: April 7 (tentative); PEP East: April 13-16 (Portsmouth City Park, VA)
The PEP West event supports the SIB Program Office’s goal of expanding advanced manufacturing capabilities and strengthening critical supplier networks throughout the region. The Pacific Northwest is home to a growing concentration of maritime manufacturers, naval facilities, and technology companies that contribute to undersea warfare and submarine programs. By bringing together universities, workforce organizations, defense contractors, suppliers, and government laboratories, the competition would help build relationships across the industrial base while encouraging innovation in technologies such as robotics, autonomous systems, additive manufacturing, battery systems, digital engineering, and artificial intelligence. Support from organizations such as Naval Undersea Warfare Center Keyport Division would further connect participants to real-world naval challenges and emerging technology needs. In this way, a West Coast PEP competition would serve as both a workforce pipeline and an industrial base development initiative, helping the SIB Program Office cultivate future talent, strengthen regional suppliers, and accelerate adoption of advanced manufacturing technologies that are essential to increasing submarine production and sustainment capacity.
Want help finding your next internship/job? You can email [email protected] or upload your resume to the PEP27 Resume Repository.
