Head of Safety

BACKGROUND

The Giant Magellan Telescope is the most powerful ground-based telescope ever engineered. It was designed to push the boundaries of human knowledge and discover the unknown. With unmatched image quality, seven of the world’s largest mirrors will launch our view into the universe to uncover the cosmic mysteries of dark matter, investigate the origins of chemical elements, and search for signs of life on distant exoplanets for the first time.

The 30-meter class telescope is under construction at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile’s Atacama Desert, one of the best locations on Earth to view the heavens. From this unrivaled vantage into the southern sky, the Giant Magellan Telescope will produce the sharpest and most detailed images ever taken of our universe, ten times greater than the famed Hubble Space Telescope and four times the James Webb Space Telescope.

When complete in the late 2020s, the Giant Magellan Telescope will be the largest public-private funded science project in history. The endeavor was founded by an international consortium of leading universities and research institutions representing five countries, and is managed by the GMTO Corporation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Pasadena, California. Our culture is impactful, inclusive, and fearlessly innovative. We solve the most difficult engineering challenges and scientific questions with talented individuals who share a passion for revolutionizing humanity’s knowledge of the universe.

We invite you to join our team and leave your mark on astronomy’s future and beyond.

The Universe Awaits.

 

JOB SUMMARY

The Head of Safety will be responsible for the development, implementation, and ongoing compliance of a Safety Program addressing all applicable requirements for environmental safety and health (ES&H) at the GMTO Corporation (GMTO) and exercise leadership to nurture and sustain a culture of safety for the GMTO enterprise and project.

The Safety Program must comply with all applicable laws and regulations and reflect best practices for the work performed by and for GMTO in the U.S. and around the globe, including the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) remote construction site in Chile. The Safety Program will comprise policies, plans, and procedures to ensure that appropriate safety practices are followed to protect personnel from injury and high value equipment from damage. The GMTO Head of Safety will report to the GMTO President with accountability to the Project Manager for safety concerns arising with respect to the design and construction of the GMT.

The GMTO Safety Program must include the applicable OSHA and Cal/OSHA requirements for facilities and operations in the U.S. and California, as well as appropriate Chilean regulations for facilities and operations in Chile. It must also assure that appropriate safety programs are implemented by GMTO’s subcontractors and suppliers. The Safety Program must be appropriately tailored to the special challenges of an observatory being constructed at a remote mountain top located in a seismically active region, and involving large moving structures, confined spaces, limited access and visibility, routine heavy lifts of fragile high-value equipment, and the use of various refrigeration and cryogenic cooling systems.

This position will require travel to various GMTO work locations and subcontractor facilities, including the GMT construction site in Chile.

 

JOB DUTIES

• Develop, implement, manage, and maintain the Safety Program for the GMTO offices in the United States and Chile; this includes a dual-use office-laboratory site in Pasadena, CA and the GMT campus site in Chile that comprises a large observatory housing the GMT, laboratory and technical support, warehouse, office, and residential facilities
• Instill in all GMTO personnel the philosophy and commitment of a rigorous and vigilant safety philosophy
• Organize and conduct safety training for all GMTO staff including specialized training as appropriate for selected personnel
• Oversee a training program to conduct occupational safety hazard analyses and ensure compliance with the guidelines provided in the Safety Program
• Conduct safety audits of GMTO’s subcontractors to determine their compliance with appropriate regulations and accepted practices, and, when appropriate, work closely with subcontractor safety officers
• During contractor selection processes, review contractor Safety Programs and advise the Project Manager (or PM’s delegate) and the Technical Group Leads on the adequacy of contractor Product Safety Programs
• Participate in design reviews to address any environmental, safety and health (ES&H) issues
• Conduct regular ES&H audits at the Pasadena, CA and Chilean campus sites and at vendor sites.
• Work directly with the safety personnel in Chile to ensure compliance with the GMTO Safety Program at all times

 

ESSENTIAL SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE AND ABILITIES

• Bachelor’s degree in Safety Engineering, Occupational Safety or related discipline
• A minimum of 7 years of professional experience with safety practices at large industrial construction sites
• Experience with safety standards and issues associated with the use of lasers (ANSI Z136.1), cryogenic liquids, hazardous chemicals, machine shop tools and equipment, forklift and cranes, and hydraulic equipment
• Experience with fire and earthquake safety management planning and training
• Proven ability to communicate and lead teams to formulate a culture of safety within a large, technical organization
• Demonstrate a solid understanding of safety principles, concepts, theory, regulations, and practices
• Prior experience implementing and maintaining safety programs
• Previous experience working in an engineering environment and interfacing with teams of scientists, engineers, and technicians
• Prior experience formulating, documenting and maintaining safety standards and on-going safety objectives
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to read, analyze and interpret, technical procedures and standards
• Effectively function in a matrix and team environment
• Experience with construction safety requirements at large civil construction sites
• Expertise with Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, Power Point)
• Strong technical background, and excellent interpersonal skills working with all levels of an engineering organization
• Proven ability to find solutions and resolve issues
• Previous experience developing training programs on safety topics
• Familiar with federal and multiple states’ OSHA, ANSI, EPA, and other ES&H standards and regulations
• Experience supervising physical inspection of the structures and equipment components of large and complex construction projects
• Flexibility to work outside of core business hour and travel to GMTO member locations, vendor premises, and the GMT site in Chile when necessary, to accomplish goals.
• Ability to work at an altitude of 8,000 feet for extended periods

 

DESIRED SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE AND ABILITIES

• Minimum of a MS degree in Safety Engineering, Occupational Safety or related discipline required with a minimum of 10 years of professional experience with safety practices at large industrial construction sites
• Ability to speak and read Spanish
• Capable of climbing structures and inspection of hardware on large construction projects
• Supervisory experience of a small, dedicated safety team
• Expertise and experience with system safety (including design safety and related hazard analyses) as described by Mil-STD-882
• Certified by the American Society of Safety Engineers and other professional safety certifying organizations
• Familiar with Chilean and other international ES&H standards and regulations

 

APPLYING

To apply send your resume and a cover letter to [email protected].

If your skills and experience are a match for the position or if we need additional information, we will contact you. If we do not see a suitable match between your qualifications and the position, we will keep your information on file in the event future positions become available that are more suitable to your qualifications.

The GMTO Corporation is an equal employment opportunity employer.