Environmental Heath and Safety Officer

JOB SUMMARY

The Environmental Health and Safety Officer will work directly with quality, operations, delivery, and management teams to evaluate safety compliance, identify opportunities for and implement safe practices, and monitor compliance with identified safety best practices.

PRINCIPAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

1.

Workplace Safety and EHS Program (35 %)

• Assess current engineering, laboratory, fabrication, shop, and manufacturing operations for workplace hazards and opportunities for improvement.
• Establish, maintain, and continuously improve practical safety policies, procedures, and work practices appropriate for Kaleidoscope's operations.
• Advise leadership on applicable OSHA requirements, recognized industry practices, and other relevant occupational safety requirements.
• Conduct routine workplace inspections and periodic formal safety audits.
• Identify unsafe conditions or practices and work with responsible stakeholders to establish corrective actions.
• Track significant safety findings and corrective actions through closure.
• Help establish appropriate safety metrics and periodically report safety status, trends, risks, and priorities to management.
• Support investigation of incidents, injuries, near misses, and significant safety observations, including identification of root causes and preventive actions.

2.

Project & Process Hazard Review (25 %)

• Participate in the review of new or non-routine engineering, fabrication, testing, and manufacturing activities before work begins.
• Facilitate or support job hazard analyses (JHAs/JSA), process hazard assessments, equipment risk assessments, and other appropriate hazard-review methods.
• Evaluate hazards associated with machinery, tooling, fixtures, test equipment, pressure systems, electrical systems, chemicals, thermal processes, mechanical energy, lifting, material handling, and other operations relevant to Kaleidoscope's work.
• Review prototype and experimental test setups where conventional production safeguards may not yet exist.
• Recommend engineering controls, administrative controls, PPE, training, guarding, interlocks, procedures, or other mitigations appropriate to identified hazards.
• Establish criteria for determining when a formal safety review is required before a project or activity proceeds.
• Verify that significant project hazards have been adequately identified and controlled prior to commencement of higher-risk work.
• Escalate unresolved safety risks to appropriate leadership when project teams and the Safety Officer cannot reach agreement.

3.

Equipment & Facility Safety (20 %)

• Review new, modified, relocated, or internally developed equipment for safety considerations prior to use.
• Advise on machine guarding, lockout/tagout, electrical safety, emergency stops, stored-energy hazards, compressed gases, pressure systems, ventilation, chemical handling, fire prevention, ergonomics, and related areas.
• Partner with Facilities and operational leaders on facility-level safety improvements.
• Assist in establishing inspection and maintenance requirements for safety-critical equipment and safeguards.
• Review contractor activities when they introduce material safety risks to Kaleidoscope personnel or facilities.

4.

Procedures, Training & Documentation (20 %)

• Develop and maintain safety procedures that are appropriately scaled to a fast-moving engineering and manufacturing organization.
• Establish or improve programs as applicable for areas such as:
• Lockout/tagout and control of hazardous energy
• Machine and equipment safety
• Personal protective equipment
• Hazard communication and chemical safety
• Electrical safety
• Compressed gases and pressure systems
• Hot work
• Material handling and lifting
• Emergency response and evacuation
• Incident and near-miss reporting
• Contractor safety
• Laboratory and prototype-testing safety
• Determine required safety training by role and activity.
• Deliver or coordinate safety training and maintain appropriate training records.
• Provide concise, practical guidance that personnel can readily apply to project work.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required Experience

• At least 7 years of progressive occupational safety/EHS experience, preferably including hands-on work in engineering, R&D, prototype development, fabrication, machining, industrial, or manufacturing environments.
• Demonstrated ability to identify and assess hazards associated with machinery, tools, equipment, fabrication processes, testing, and manufacturing operations.
• Working knowledge of applicable OSHA general-industry requirements and accepted industrial safety practices.
• Experience developing and implementing practical workplace safety programs and procedures.
• Experience conducting hazard assessments, workplace inspections, incident investigations, and corrective-action follow-up.
• Ability to evaluate unfamiliar equipment or processes and systematically identify credible hazards.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with engineers, technicians, tradespeople, manufacturing personnel, and organizational leadership.
• Strong written communication and documentation skills.

Strongly Preferred

• Experience in an engineering consultancy, product-development organization, R&D environment, prototype shop, contract manufacturer, medical-device company, or similarly varied technical environment.
• Experience reviewing experimental or one-off equipment and test setups where hazards cannot be managed solely through established production procedures.
• Experience with machine safety and guarding, lockout/tagout, electrical safety, chemical safety, pressure systems, compressed gases, hot work, and fabrication processes.
• Experience implementing EHS systems in smaller or mid-sized organizations where the individual must operate independently rather than relying on a large corporate EHS department.
• Experience balancing regulatory compliance with practical risk management in a fast-paced technical environment.
• Familiarity with quality-management systems and controlled documentation is beneficial, particularly in regulated product-development or manufacturing environments.

Education & Credentials

• Bachelor's degree in Occupational Safety, Industrial Safety, Environmental Health & Safety, Engineering, Industrial Technology, or a related technical field.
• OSHA 100 certification

Preferred credentials include one or more of the following:

• Certified Safety Professional (CSP)
• Associate Safety Professional (ASP)
• Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH)
• Certified Hazardous Materials Manager (CHMM)
• OSHA 300 certification
• Relevant NFPA, electrical-safety, machine-safety, or industrial-hygiene training

WORKING CONDITIONS

Tools and Equipment Used

• Laptop
• Hand tools, power tools, workshop equipment

Travel

• Occasional travel to support safety evaluations and trainings at client sites with Kaleidoscope onsite teams, up to 40% of the time

Physical & Mental Demands

• Frequent standing, walking, bending kneeling, stooping, crouching, crawling and climbing throughout the day
• Frequent ability to lift and/or move items over 100 lbs
• Ability to speak to and hear clients/employees via phone or in person
• Ability to see at close or far range, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus
• Ability to analyze unique situations and develop appropriate response
• Additional Physical Requirements: file, speak, write, hear, read, type, see
• Additional Mental Requirements: compare, decide, direct, problem solve, analyze, instruct, interpret

Environment

• Work typically performed in an office, shop, laboratory, and manufacturing facility setting.
• Exposure to various noise levels typically present in an office setting and on a job site; potential exposure to fumes or airborne particles and moving mechanical parts